“One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves.” — Carl Jung,
Jung and the Story of Our Time, Laurens van der Post
Aims
How do you invent, design and build a game that is really original and fun?
The aim of this subject is to explore this question, through lectures, workshops, group projects and (of course) playing games. We will consider such issues as:
- What is a game? What are the formal elements that all games have in common?
- What is fun? Are there different kinds of fun? How do you design and tune the rules of a game to make it fun? What role does story or art have in a fun game?
- How do I create a fun game? Processes for brainstorming, prototyping and playtesting games, which keep the player in mind.
You will also have opportunity to put these ideas into practice in a series of small group projects, in which you will design, prototype and playtest your own computer games.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this course, you should:
- understand the definition of a game as a combination of play and pretend, within a structure of rules and goals,
- be able to distinguish the different kinds of “fun” that games can provide,
- be able to describe what makes computer games different from more traditional kinds of games,
- be able to analyse and critique games in terms of both their core mechanics, gameplay dynamics and aesthetic components,
- be able to apply the experience-based design methodology
- be able to use the player-centric design process to invent new games for a specific target audience,
- know how to document your game designs to best communicate your ideas,
- appreciate the broader ramifications of gaming within society.
Pre-requisites
This subject has three main ‘intake’ programs: Comp Sci/Eng, Digital Media and Media & Coommunications, but also welcomes any students who think they have something to contribute to a group designing and developing a game.
CSE students need to have completed COMP2911.
Other students need to be in Stage 3 of their program.
Enrolments are managed to try to get a reasonable balance of students from different programs. This may mean that myUNSW will not allow you to enrol online, even if the subject is not yet marked as full. If this happens, contact Malcolm to see whether you can be allowed in.
Course Web Pages
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs4431
Staff
Lecturer in Charge:
Malcolm Ryan
malcolmr@cse.unsw.edu.au
ph: 9385-6921
Tutors:
Tim Gurto
tgurto@cse.unsw.edu.au
Syllabus
Classes will be run as discussion groups, interspersed with game activities and analysis. The topics covered by week are listed below (tentative, subject to change):
- Introduction. What is a game? What is fun?
- Mechanics – Dynamics – Aesthetics
- Resource economies
- Player-centric design: Brainstorming and Prototyping
- Player-centric design: Playtesting
- Dynamics: Feedback and tuning
- Challenge and Drama
- Sensation: Art, Sound and Game Feel
- Co-operation, competition and community
- Storytelling, Self-expression, Self-defining play
- Serious Games. The social aspects of gaming.
- Working in Industry.
Reading Materials
Text:
- The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Jesse Schell, Morgan Kaufmannl
Recommended reading:
- Challenges for Game Designers, Brenda Brathewaite and Ian Schreiber, Charles River Media
- Fundamentals of Game Design, Ernest Adams and Andrew Rollings, Prentice-Hall
- Rules of Play, Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, MIT Press.
- The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, Bernard Suits, Broadview Press.
- Game Design Workshop, Tracy Fullerton, Christopher Swain and Steven Hoffman, CMP Books.
Classes
| Time | Location | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 6-8pm | Law 276 | Lecture |
| Tue 6-8pm | Law 388 | Tutorial |
| Thu 6-8pm | Law 276 | Tutorial |
Note that the Thursday tutorial starts in Week 1 and the Tuesday tutorial in Week 2.
How we use these times will vary from week to week. Classes will be a mix of lectures, tutorials, lab time, and game playing.
Assessment
There will be five assessment tasks: a game analysis task, a journal, an individual design project, a group design project, and a take home exam. The details below are tentative and may be subject to change.
Journal (10%)
As a reflection exercise, you will be required to keep an online journal of game design ideas and reflections on lecture topics and games your have played. Your journal should also include reflections on lecture material, games you have played and other reading material. Journals will be inspected by your tutor every 4 weeks to make sure you are keeping up to date.
1 week mod (5%)
As a lab exercise you will re-implement a simple arcade of yore. You will then have a week to implement a simple twist of the rules and playtest it with 2 friends. Due in week 4.
Game Analysis (20%)
Your task will be to analyse and critique a selected game, in terms of its mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics. You will produce a report and give a short presentation in class describing your findings. Due in week 5.
Group Project (50%)
Your major assessment task will be a group project in which you design and prototype an original game based on a theme provided in class. This task will be marked based on the following milestones:
- Pitch (5%) – A 1 page description of your proposed game and an in-class presentation. Due in week 7 & 8.
- Prototype (not marked) – A playable prototype of your game which implements the core gameplay, for in-class playtesting. Due in week 11.
- Design Document (15%) – A report describing and justifying the design decisions you made in your game. Due in week 13.
- Playtest (10%) – A playtesting report in which you summarise the playtesting feedback on your game. Due in week 13.
- Post-mortem (20%) – A post-mortem describing the positives and negatives of your design and your process. Due in Week 13.
Marks will be based on game design, not on the code, the art, or other features except in so far as they contribute to the fun of the gameplay.
Groups will have 3-4 members. The games produced will be distributed to other class members and will be invited to play them and discuss them in class.
Essay / Serious Game (15%)
There will be a take-home exam about the social implications of gaming. There are two options for this task. You can either write an essay on one of a list of topics about gaming, or you can design and outline the implementation of a ‘serious game’ which makes a point about a social issue of your choice. Due in Week 15.
Assessment tasks will be graded on the following scale:
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| HD | Evaluation: Ability to critically reflect on the ideas taught. |
| DN | Synthesis: Ability to apply the taught concepts to design. |
| CR | Analysis: Ability to apply the taught concepts to the analysis of a problem. |
| PS | Comprehension: Ability to understand and explain the basic ideas taught. |
| FL | Failure to adequately understand or apply the fundamental ideas of the course. |
Plagiarism
Plagiarism (taking the ideas or words of others and passing them off as your own) will not be tolerated. See the UNSW Statement on Plagiarism at: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/Plagiarism.html
Teaching Rationale and Strategies
The aim of this course is to give you a vocabulary and methods for understanding, analysing, designing and critiquing games. A variety of teaching approaches are used:
- Lectures provide the core concepts needed to begin understanding games.
- Games are played and analysed to illustrate these concepts first-hand and to teach reflective practice.
- Design exercises are given to apply the learnt concepts to the construction of new games.
- Peer assessment is used to encourage critical evaluation.
- Journalling is used to encourage personal reflection on the learning process.
Course Feedback and Improvement
Student feedback on this course will be obtained via electronic survey at the end of session and will be used to make continual improvements to the course. Students are also encouraged to provide informal feedback during the session and to let the lecturer in charge know of any problems as soon as they arise. Suggestions will be listened to very openly, positively, constructively and thankfully, and every reasonable effort will be made to address them.
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