The 100 Games That Taught Me Game Design

One of the best ways to learn about game design is to just play a whole bunch of games. But with thousands of titles to choose from... where do you start? Well, this video lists 100 games that have most helped me in my journey to understand game development - from arcade classics to virtual reality thrills.

Space Invaders
Space Invaders
Pac-Man
Pac-Man
Rogue
Rogue
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
Mega Man
Mega Man
Tetris
Tetris
Doom
Doom
Super Metroid
Super Metroid
Pokémon Blue Version
Pokémon Blue Version
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Resident Evil
Resident Evil
Half-Life
Half-Life
Thief: The Dark Project
Thief: The Dark Project
Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi
Deus Ex
Deus Ex
Diablo II
Diablo II
The Sims
The Sims
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Ico
Ico
Rez
Rez
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
September 12th: A Toy World
September 12th: A Toy World
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Katamari Damacy
Katamari Damacy
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Dead Rising
Dead Rising
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Portal
Portal
Mass Effect
Mass Effect
Skate
Skate
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
BioShock
BioShock
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 2
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Spelunky Classic
Spelunky Classic
Dead Space
Dead Space
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Plants vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombies
Fruit Ninja
Fruit Ninja
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Dark Souls
Dark Souls
Minecraft
Minecraft
SpaceChem
SpaceChem
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Journey
Journey
Mark of the Ninja
Mark of the Ninja
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line
Spaceteam
Spaceteam
Dishonored
Dishonored
The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Cookie Clicker
Cookie Clicker
Gone Home
Gone Home
Papers, Please
Papers, Please
SteamWorld Dig
SteamWorld Dig
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8
80 Days
80 Days
Her Story
Her Story
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Undertale
Undertale
Downwell
Downwell
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0
Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program
Super Mario Maker
Super Mario Maker
Doom
Doom
Factorio
Factorio
Persona 5
Persona 5
Hitman
Hitman
Overcooked!
Overcooked!
Furi
Furi
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Fortnite
Fortnite
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Among Us
Among Us
Celeste
Celeste
RimWorld
RimWorld
Florence
Florence
Into the Breach
Into the Breach
Slay the Spire
Slay the Spire
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium
Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds
Half-Life: Alyx
Half-Life: Alyx
Inscryption
Inscryption
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors
Tunic
Tunic
Shadows of Doubt
Shadows of Doubt

11 Comments


21 days ago

Banger list. Definitely gonna check out the games I havent played from here. Also Zero Escape being mentioned is a W

20 days ago

Rez mention 🎉🎉🎉

17 days ago

FACTORIO MENTIONED 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️

14 days ago

I love that Space Team made it in the list. Truly a unique experience and the onboarding was exceptional.

8 days ago

Zero Escape and Tunic mentioned, yaay

4 days ago

Vampire survivors?

4 days ago

:0 I didn't know you used backloggd!

4 days ago

I have a question, how should I look at videogames as a way of learning game design? It seems so intriguing, I want to learn more!

3 days ago

bro sorted metacritic by top score

3 days ago

yep this is definitely a list with 100 games on it
you should have a rose stem driven up your urethra


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