At the Nottingham Trent School of Art & Design, where students are encouraged to break down the borders between disciplines, including maths, science, engineering, and AI, they’re also exploring hands-on approaches to learning game design. 

We caught up with Andrew Jones, the Game Design course leader, as he sought a solution that would enable students to rapidly prototype game projects without the steep learning curve of traditional game engines. 

In the Programming Gameplay module in February 2025, Fiero plays a crucial role in the students’ learning process.  Andrew tells us,

We get a mix of abilities in the first year, and the course is designed to bring everyone up to the same level. However, some individuals have shared that it’s been discouraging to see classmates who are already proficient with certain software or who have game development projects that showcase their skills. This has made them feel intimidated and, at times, challenged their confidence. What Fiero has done is bridge that gap by allowing those students to catch up in terms of doing, creating artifacts, and producing tangible outputs. I think it has significantly reduced that sense of intimidation and made them more comfortable.

Implementing Fiero in the classroom

The workshop was structured over four days, spread across four weeks, with three classes per day and a total of 30 students. We designed the sessions to include both theoretical and practical work. 

Throughout this project, students developed a deep understanding of the core principles of gameplay design on both micro and macro levels, from individual encounters to overall level structure. By the end of the project, they were able to design, build, and critically evaluate a small, self-contained game level.

When introducing Fiero to the class, one student shared their excitement, saying,"I already made a game, it's phenomenal!" Explaining how to use the product takes less than five minutes; our browser-based engine features a series of story-like interactive tutorials with branded mascot characters, eliminating the need for lengthy documentation or video tutorials. That’s the thing about Fiero, it's very simple to pick up, easy for the students to go, learn and create with and they see very quick results. 

The tutorial shows off everything I need to. It's not too long and it's engaging. Very simple and low stress and the informal tone made it less intimidating.

How does Fiero work for the students and Nottingham Trent University

The programming gameplay classroom straightforwardly accessed their projects on their in-class computers right away with a simple sign-in, without the tedious process of provisioning new installations. 

It's just simple. You can make something in five minutes if you really want to, and I really like that. You can just see everything.

Students used the game engine to create a fully playable platformer-level, complete with a player, enemies, hazards, a simple win or start screen, and environmental objects that serve as decorations or puzzles. They could choose between art assets from our provided library or creating their own colorful shapes. Unlike static wireframes, their prototypes are real gameplay levels, enhanced by power-ups; these are pre-made gameplay components that can be attached to layers. 

The process of getting a character moving with a power-up takes just five minutes in Fiero, significantly reducing development time. In fact, 45.5% of students reported that making a character move took them 1–3 hours in traditional engines (Unity, Godot, Game Maker, etc). With Fiero, they accomplished it in just five minutes, a time reduction of up to 98%. 

I really liked it. I really enjoyed it. It's gonna be my main engine that I'm using for my actual assessment.  I think it was really simple, really easy.

By the module’s end, despite minimal homework - 73% spent just 1–3 hours weekly outside class - over 40% completed full games, while 46.7% delivered polished prototypes with core mechanics. A strong outcome for a short timeframe.  

If I'd have had Fiero at the start of school that I was programming, I would chose immediately.

Every single student surveyed praised Fiero for its instant results and easy prototyping, emphasising its user-friendly appeal. Most importantly, over 85% of students recommended Fiero to others for learning game design. 

It's unlike any other engine that I've used, possibly, because the other engines are more like block dragging and dropping and stuff. This is more just having your asset and then adding, certain, like, features to that thing to make it where you want it to be.

When it comes to why the course leader Andrew chose Fiero for their in-class practice, he said

there’s a gap between having a concept and seeing it in action on a screen, it’s a barrier. That gap can be demotivating. The time it takes, distractions, and real-life responsibilities can all get in the way, lowering the chances of actually reaching that point where you see your idea come to life. Fiero eliminates that gap. Anyone using it can have an idea and bring it to life almost immediately, and that’s really empowering.