ClassInfo

GAM 226 Fundamentals of Game Design

Jonathan Hey

Office: CDM 635
Fall 2013-2014
Class number: 15701
Section number: 701
Th 6:00PM - 9:15PM
LEVAN 00305 Lincoln Park Campus

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Summary

GAM 226

CLASS MEETING TIMES & LOCATIONS

GAM 226 701 FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN
Levan Center Room 305 THUR 06:00 PM - 09:15 PM
2322 North Kenmore Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614

INSTRUCTOR
Jonathan Hey
Office: CDM building TBD, Levan Center TBD
Office hours: TBD
Email: jhey@cdm.depaul.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION

GAM 226 provides students with a practical foundation in game design with a focus on concept development, design decomposition, and prototyping. Using game design theory, analysis, physical prototyping, play testing, and iteration students learn how to translate game ideas, themes, and metaphors into gameplay, game pitches, and design documents.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will learn to:
Develop the vocabulary and critical understanding to describe and analyze the components of games and gameplay experiences, Develop a game idea from concept to playable, analogue prototype, Use common methods for documenting game designs such as game design documents and play testing reports, Communicate their game ideas effectively through a game pitch.



Texts

REQUIRED MATERIALS (Not necessary to buy hard copy, PDFs available)

Fullerton, T. (2007). Game Design Workshop: A playcentric approach to creating innovative games. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Schell, J. (2008) The Art of Game Design A Book of Lenses. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Inc.

Other recommended reading as listed in the weekly listings.

GAME DESIGN JOURNAL

You are expected to bring a game design journal to class. You will be asked to write in your game design journal: (a) during class and (b) to write down ideas you have outside of class. This will help you learn to see life through the eyes of a game designer. As your game designer eyes develop (focus) you will find that game ideas will pop up everywhere and the journal will provide a place to collect them for future reference. You might also be asked to present ideas from you design journal.

RESOURCES

As a student in the class, you have access to the CDM Gaming labs (see http://defrag.depaul.edu for details). If youʼre working on an assignment, you have priority for the use of the lab hardware and software. Student ID is required to use the labs.



Grading

Grand total of 100 possible points.

A = 91+
A- = 90
B+ = 89
B = 88-81
B = 80
C+ = 79
C = 78-71
C- = 70
D+ = 69
D = 68-61
D- = 60
F = 59 or lower


Prerequisites

None


Policies:

Attendance: You are expected to attend all classes and participate in class activities as scheduled.

Late assignments: Late assignments will be accepted upon arrangement with me. Please contact me as soon as you know you cannot meet the deadline.

Please note that some of the main assignments for this class consist of in-class play testing of your projects. Since these assignments require your presence on the day of play testing, deadlines are fixed and extensions cannot be granted. Plus you will be working in teams.

While this class does not emphasize essay writing, game rules and text are expected to be clear, spell-checked, and demonstrate a high proficiency in written English. The Writing Center offers free one-on-one professional advice from published writers about all types of academic, creative, and professional writing and oral presentations. Go to http://condor.depaul.edu/writing/ for more information and to set up appointments.

Email: Email is the preferred means of communication between faculty and students enrolled in this course outside of class time. My email is jhey@cdm.depaul.edu

Plagiarism: It is your professional responsibility to ensure that all submitted work is your own. Please read DePaul's policy on plagiarism and other academic integrity violations at: http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ContributionFolder/Resources/Students/ViolationDefinitions.html#aiPlagarism

Student rights: You have rights as a student. To learn about these rights please read DePaul's policies for students regarding student rights, located here http:// sr.depaul.edu/catalog/catalogfiles/current/undergraduate%20student %20handbook/pg51.html

Incomplete: An incomplete grade is given only for an exceptional reason such as a death in the family, a serious illness, etc. Any such reason must be documented. Any incomplete request must be made at least two weeks before the final and approved by the Dean of the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems. Any consequences resulting from a poor grade for the course will not be considered as valid reasons for such a request.

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussion will remain confidential. To ensure that you receive the most reasonable accommodation based on your needs, contact me as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of the course) and be sure to contact the following office for support and additional services:

Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) Lincoln Park Campus, Student Center #370, 773.325.1677 phone Loop Campus, Lewis Center #1400. 312.362.8002 phone www.studentaffairs.depaul.edu/csd csd@depaul.edu


Week 1: September 09-13, 2013

Introduction, course overview and pragmatics
role of the game designer
brainstorming (blank cards)

Reading:
GDW CH1: Role of Game Designer
The Art of Game Design Intro
The Art of Game Design Chapter 1

Assignment 1: due start Week 2
1-3 paragraphs game idea - upload to COLWEB or email to me - Describe [in short, a paragraph or two or three] a premise for a game. Platform, subject, brief description, goal, characters, action, etc.

Week 2: September 16-20, 2013

PART I

discussion of game ideas
formal game elements
types of games

PART II

Rules and procedures
FLUXX
meaningful play; identifying play

Reading:
GDW CH2: The Structure of Games
GDW CH6: Conceptualization
Nowords2002 (Costikyan)
The Writing of Stones
Caillois

Assignment 2: due start Week 3
Create a Card Game of Any Type (But not a board game) Please reference Assignment 2 PDF. We will play and evaluate your games in Week 3. Week 3: September 23-27, 2013

Discussion of game ideas
Experiences for players: player types and play personalities
MDA
Sissyfight
Prisoner's Dilemma / Game Theory

Quiz: Topics covered including Readings through Week 3

Assignment 3: due start Week 4
"Design" 4 distinct characters for a fighting, themed role-playing, sports, or other game. Brief description of game: example: ?Just like Mortal Kombat?. Describe costuming, physical attributes, weapons or gear, powers, personalty, traits, background, etc. Write a storytelling scenario of why these 4 characters are in your game and what are they to accomplish, or try to accomplish (goal). This is TEXT only, but if you are handy with graphic arts you can ADD drawings if you please.

Reading:
MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research
Marc LeBlanc - Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics
MUD - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MUDs (Richard Bartle: players who suit Muds)
Interview-importance-of-play-Stuart-Brown
Stuart_play_as_organizing_principle
Prisoners Dilemma
Week 4: September 30 - October 04

In- class: "Us vs. It"
Heroʼs Journey
Diagetic/ Non-Diagetic

Reading:
GDW CH 3: Working with formal elements
GDW CH 4: Working with dramatic elements
Week 5: October 07 - October 11

Prototyping
Pillars, Papo & Yo
Mid-Term Exam

Reading:
GDW CH 11: Fun and Accessibility
Week 6: October 14 - October 18

Game design documentation: Treasure map; game design log
Playtesting 101
Shooter prototyping
Guest(s)?

Reading:
GDW CH 10: Functionality, Completeness and Balance
GDW CH14: The Game Design Document

Start on Final Assignment:
Treasure Map Board Game, Characters, Cards
(Groups 1-4 people allowed)
Week 7: October 21 - October 25

Work on Final Assignment in class
Write up core play and procedures; create game flowchart
Submit treasure map draft for feedback
Week 8: October 28 - November 1

Bring first playable prototype to class
Submit initial final project progress report
Week 9: November 4 - November 8

Submit 2nd final project progress report
Work on Final Assignment in class
Week 10: November 11 - November 15

Final Assignment Game Showcase:

Game presentation
Game demo
Write and submit peer evaluations

Week 11 (FINALS) November 18 - November 22
plus Monday Nov 25 if necessary

Continue, if necessary:
Final Assignment Game Showcase:

Game presentation
Game demo
Write and submit peer evaluations

Final wrap-up material

School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296