HOW TO S.T.E.A.L LIKE A GAME DESIGNER
Guided by an experienced Game Designer, you’ll use the S.T.E.A.L. framework to break down real game features and understand why they work. You’ll examine the player behaviours and emotions they create, then remix those insights to fit a new game and team context.
Along the way, you’ll practise how designers communicate ideas across disciplines, build team alignment, and shape features that belong to the whole game, not just the feature itself.
Along the way, you’ll practise how designers communicate ideas across disciplines, build team alignment, and shape features that belong to the whole game, not just the feature itself.
Saturday 14 March 2026
3.00 PM - 5.30 PM
"Directly transplanting features is fast-tracking to a disjointed, hollow game."
Why Join This Masterclass?
Because...
Copying features is quietly killing a lot of games
Great ideas don’t work in isolation. This masterclass shows how to learn from existing games without copying, so your designs feel intentional, not hollow.
Knowing tools isn’t the same as knowing design
Many designers learn to build features before learning how to clearly explain why they work and what they mean for the player. This masterclass focuses on that skill.
Designers are diplomats, not just idea generators
Design is communication, not just ideas. You’ll learn how to communicate ideas across art, code, and production and get real buy-in from a team.
Inspiration should lead somewhere concrete
Based on real studio workflows, you’ll practise turning inspiration into clear, testable design through breakdowns, prototyping, and discussion.
We'll cover how to...
Unpack Game Features
Systematically break down existing games to understand why certain features work.
Adapt Insights
Learn how to adapt those inspiration and insights to new game contexts without direct copying.
Remix References
Build confidence turning teardowns and remixing into a repeatable design workflow.
Navigate Collaboration
Improve communication by asking better questions, explaining ideas clearly, and gaining team buy-in.
Who Should Join ?
Early Career Game Designers
If you’re still building confidence in game design and want a clearer understanding of how designers actually work in studios. If you’re confident making things but less confident explaining, adapting, or aligning ideas with a team, this session will help.
Indie Developers
If you’re an indie developer wearing the design hat and want a clearer, more structured way to learn from other games and communicate ideas across disciplines, this masterclass will help you build that clarity and a practical approach.
Meet the Professional
Annie Grudeva
Annie Grudeva is a Lead Designer at Radical Forge, currently a lead on Golf With Your Friends 2. Previously, she was a Lead Designer at Perpetual Games, where she worked on Elegos.
Annie specialises in systems design, invisible tutorials, accessibility, and building strong, collaborative teams. While her focus is game design, she has a deep understanding of production, programming, art, and pipelines, and believes that great design comes from understanding how every discipline works together.
She is the founder of PixAll, a resource dedicated to diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility in games, and actively mentors emerging developers through Limit Break and Into Games.
Patrick Jones - Course author