| WEEK |
DATE |
TOPIC |
ASSIGNMENT *** |
CRITICAL QUESTIONS |
| Week 1 |
Tue Jan 29 |
Introduction to the course |
None |
Why do you play games? |
| Thu Jan 31 |
The Role of the Game Designer |
GDW Chapter 1 |
What does it take to become a game designer? What is the
"game design process"? Why is playtesting so important to good game
design? |
| Week 2 |
Tue Feb 5
(WEATHER RELATED CANCELLATION) |
The Structure of Games |
GDW Chapter 2 |
What common elements are found in games? What will engage a
game player?
|
| Thu Feb 7
(WEATHER RELATED CANCELLATION) |
Pattern Recognition and Tic-Tac-Toe |
Read this
article (note that it is two pages long)
|
What changes would make Tic-Tac-Toe more
interesting? What is the underlying pattern of Tic-Tac-Toe? |
| Week 3 |
REVISED Tue Feb 12 |
What Games Are |
|
What makes something a game? What makes something a
good game? Does War meet the definition of a game? What
is the major weakness of the game? What changes would make War
more interesting? |
| Thu Feb 14 |
Formal Elements of Games |
GDW Chapter 3 |
What are the formal elements of War? Can we make
changes to make War more interesting? |
| Week 4 |
REVISED Tue Feb 19 |
Dramatic Elements of Games |
- GDW Chapter 4
- Think about a game that you really like. Hand in a short paper
(3-5 pages) in which you use the information from GDW Chapter 2 to explain
why the game is so enjoyable. Include enough information about the rules
of the game so that someone not familiar with the rules will be able to
understand your explanation.
|
What are the dramatic elements of games? Do dramatic
elements make games better? Are dramatic elements necessary? What is
"flow"? Would dramatic elements make War more interesting? |
| Thu Feb 21 |
Games as Systems |
GDW Chapter 5 |
What are the objects of War? What are the properties
of those objects? Behaviors? What do the system dynamics of War
look like? Can we make War more interesting by changing something
about its system dynamics? Does War have an economy? Should it?
What kind of information structure does War have? |
| Week 5 |
Tue Feb 26 |
Playtesting War Modifications |
Describe (in writing) how to play your new game so that
someone may playtest it without help from you |
How do we describe our games unambiguously so that someone
else may play them? Is your new game better than the original game
of War? Why or why not? |
| REVISED Thu Feb 28 |
Presenting War Modifications |
- 10 Minute Presentations on
War modifications
|
What are the rules of your new game? Do these rules
make the game more interesting to play? What changes are most
important for any improvements you saw? |
| Week 6 |
Tue Mar 4 |
Presenting War Modifications continued |
More Presentations |
None |
| REVISED Thu Mar 6 |
Presenting War Modifications continued |
More Presentations |
None |
| Week 7 |
REVISED Tue Mar 11 |
Conceptualizing a New Game |
- GDW Chapter 6
- 5 page Paper describing your new game and the
changes you made
|
What interests you in life? Which of these interests might
make a good game? |
| Thu Mar 13 |
Game Design Session |
None |
What kind of game are you going to create? What steps do you
have to take in order to create this new game? |
| Week 8 |
Tue Mar 18 |
NO CLASS |
Spring Break |
NONE |
| Thu Mar 20 |
NO CLASS |
Spring Break |
NONE |
| Week 9 |
Tue Mar 25 |
NO CLASS--Team meetings with the instructor |
Bring Exercise 6.8 (page 150) results for three game
possibilities to your team meeting |
What do you want to say with your new game? What is
your message? |
| Thu Mar 27 |
NO CLASS--Team meetings with the instructor |
Bring Exercise 6.8 (page 150) results for three game
possibilities to your team meeting |
What do you want to say with your new game? What is
your message? |
| Week 10 |
Tue Apr 1 |
Prototyping Your Game |
- GDW Chapter 7
- Hand-in a treatment for your game (see
Exercise 6.9 on page 156)
|
What game materials are critical to playing your game? How
can you create those materials quickly? |
| Thu Apr 3 |
Playtesting |
GDW Chapter 8 |
What kind of playtesting will you do? What do you want to
know from your playtesters? |
| Week 11 |
Tue Apr 8 |
Early Playtesting Session |
- Bring your prototype to class
- Hand in a short paper (3-5 pages--1 per
team) describing your game. Be sure to check the rubric for this
paper in the game project assignment description document.
|
What do the playtesters think of your game? Is your
game meeting its goals? |
| Thu Apr 10 |
Functionality, Completeness and Balance |
GDW Chapter 9 |
What do you do with the results of your first
playtesting session? Is your game functional? Is your game
internally complete? Is your game balanced? |
| Week 12 |
Tue Apr 15 |
Game Design Session |
Bring game materials to class. Respond to the playtesting
results by making some changes to your game. |
What did the playtesters say about the game? How can the
game be improved to better meet the goals of the game? How can the
game's message be strengthened? |
| Thu Apr 17 |
Playtesting Session |
- Bring your revised prototype to
class
- Hand-in a short paper (3-5 pages--1 paper per
team) explaining the changes you made to the game. Be sure to check the
rubric for this paper in the game project assignment description document.
|
What do the playtesters think of your game? Is your
game meeting its goals? |
| Week 13 |
Tue Apr 22 |
Fun and Accessibility |
GDW Chapter 10 |
Is your game fun? Can you make changes to make it more fun?
Is your game accessible? Can you make changes to make it more
accessible? |
| Thu Apr 24 |
Game Design Session |
Bring game materials to class. |
What additional changes should you make to the game? How can
the game be improved to better meet the goals of the game? How can the
game's message be strengthened? What more do you want to know from
playtesters? |
| Week 14 |
Tue Apr 29 |
Final Playtesting Session |
- Bring your revised prototype to
class
- Hand-in a short paper (3-5 pages--1 paper per
team) explaining the changes you made to the game. Be sure to check the
rubric for this paper in game project assignment description document.
|
What do the playtesters think of your game? Is your
game meeting its goals? |
| Thu May 1 |
NO CLASS |
I will be at a conference |
NONE |
| Week 15 |
Tue May 6 |
Presentation Planning Session |
Games DUE. Be sure to check the game project
assignment description document to see what you are supposed to hand
in. |
What do you want to tell us about your game? |
| Thu May 8 |
Projects |
Project Presentations begin |
None |
| Week 16 |
Section 1:
Section 2:
|
Final Exam Period |
Project Presentations continue |
None |
