Games I: Design and Architecture

Hey class!

This week’s presentations are:

• Matt – Psychological Treatment (Stress Relief, Depression, Anxiety, etc.)
• Nikki – Cultural Awareness
• Garrett – Mental and Physical Training – Cognitive/Reflexive Skills
• Tyler – Gamification

View the full schedule / View Assignment Instructions

If your team came up with anything neat while playing around in Unity, feel free to do a brief demo! Otherwise, the remainder of the class will serve as workshop time.

Also, I know it’s registration time for the spring semester, and many of you are interested in enrolling in Games II, with some encountering PAWS issues. I’ll take the start of class to discuss. But basically, all of you have priority for the spring semester since you’re taking Games I now, so we will get you into the class one way or another.

See you all tomorrow!

Hey class!

This week we’ll continue with out Impact of Games presentations – the speakers and topics (in no particular order) are:

• Connor – Digital Rights Management
• Leanna – Censorship, Moderation, ESRB Ratings
• Taylor – Media/News Coverage
• Ben – Portrayal of Substances in Games

View the full schedule / View Assignment Instructions

We will also discuss design documentation, particularly how it differs from a design log, and also explore some basics in Unity.

Hope you’re all having a good week, and I’ll see you in class tomorrow!

Hey class!

Just a reminder that tomorrow during class, a professional photographer will be stopping by sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 to “capture scenes in a day in IMM” for the School of Arts and Communications.

If you still have your materials from the physical prototype (even just parts of it) it would be great if you could bring those to class just to set up as props for the photos.

In addition, the department advises us to:
– Wear bright clothing
– Don’t wear anything with a logo on it
– Show up “fresh”

After the photos, we’ll have our first four Impact of Games presentations (in no particular order)
– Lindsay – Games as Education
– Mindy – Addictive Behavior and Games
– Dom – Violence in Games
– Theresa – Racism in Games

We will also be discussing game engines, team dynamics, and general digital prototyping stuff for the rest of the class.

Next week (10/23) we will have the first round of presentations on the broader impact of games. For the next few weeks, a portion of class time will be dedicated to presentations and discussions on these topics. Each student will have 20 minutes, and we will cover 4-5 topics each week.

The schedule for Week 09 (10/23) is:

Lindsay – Games as Education
Mindy – Addictive Behavior and Games
Dom – Violence in Games
Theresa – Racism in Games

View the full schedule

View Assignment Instructions

This week, we’ll begin by discussing some standout games from everyone’s Personal Gaming Chronology, then moving on to discussing the reading. We’ll talk about what it means for a game to be fun, when games can be considered art, and point out examples of games that involve self-refreshing puzzles (and those that don’t). Also, we’ll consider elements besides puzzles that can make games fun, and whether “fun” is a necessary quality of a successful game. We’ll also discuss the role of tutorial elements in games – how games by their interactive nature force us to confront the things within them.

We will also be discussing the role of the game designer – what it means to be an advocate for the player, to communicate, collaborate, prototype, iterate, playtest, and become a better player. We’ll prepare to break off into teams at the end of the class by talking about the conceptualization phase – high level thought about player experience goals, core mechanics, and a general idea of what you as a designer want your game to be about (what you want players to do and feel), before even considering the implementation.

Next week, each team will give a brief, informal concept pitch – the purpose of which to get feedback that can be used to refine you idea. When you meet with your team, think about the opportunities games have to provide a meaningful experience for players. Interactivity as a medium can provide an experience unlike any other – this semester is your opportunity to come up with something that may inspire others in the same way you are inspired by your own favorite games.

This blog will be a place for us to share our thoughts on reading assignments and class discussions, provide each other with feedback, ask questions, and store documents.