Game
Design Workshop
Instructors: Tracy Fullerton and Chris Swain
Contact Info:
|
Tracy Fullerton |
Chris Swain |
Course Description:
Games are one of the oldest forms of human interaction; every culture over the ages has designed and played games that reflect the aspirations, fears, interests and challenges of its people. Today’s complex digital games are just the latest iterations of this ancient art, however the popularity of digital games and the growth of the industry for developing these games are creating tremendous new opportunities for creative game designers and developers.
This course is a hands-on workshop in the fundamentals of game design. Students will learn an iterative process of ideation, prototyping and playtesting game systems using curriculum developed at the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at the USC School of Cinema-Television. This process, which stresses physical prototyping and integration of player feedback throughout the design cycle, requires no background in programming or electronic game production. The focus of the workshop is on learning to create innovative, balanced play mechanics and to understand the role of the game designer in the development process.
Students will:
·
Be exposed to the history and development of
seminal games in both traditional and electronic
forms.
·
Analyze the formal,
dramatic and dynamic elements of classic game systems.
·
Design and prototype
their own games.
·
Playtest and critique
fellow students’ games.
·
Gain the foundation of
knowledge necessary to become a professional game designer.
Meeting Information:
Week 1: Tuesday May 24, Thursday May 26
Week 2: Tuesday May 31, Thursday June 2
Week 3: Tuesday June 7, Thursday June 9
Week 4: Tuesday June 14, Thursday June 16
Week 5: Tuesday June 21, Thursday June 23
Pre-requisites: N/A
Evaluation of student performance:
a. Assignments and Quizzes (see
full descriptions below):
1. In-class Design Exercises (7)
2. Design Projects (2)
3. In-class Quizzes (2)
b.
Criteria
for grading:
|
Participation |
10 |
|
In-Class Design Exercises |
25 |
|
Quizzes (2) |
30 |
|
Design Project 1 |
15 |
|
Design Project 2 |
20 |
|
Total: |
100 |
Course content
(summarized by class meeting)
Lecture (RTF): Overview of the course. Role of the game designer. What is a game? Formal and dramatic structures of games.
“Game Design Workshop”, by
· Chapters 1-2
Meeting 1 Lab: Re-design a simple game system (in class exercise 1)
Lecture (RTF): Discussion of elements that make up the formal structures of game systems. Analysis of game rules from classic games. Conceptualizing and brainstorming game ideas.
“Game Design Workshop”, by
· Chapters 3 and 6
Meeting 2 Lab: Ideation (in class exercise 2)
Lecture (RTF): Applying traditional tools of drama to game design. Analysis of character, plot, story and metaphor in well-known games. Prototyping game systems.
“Game Design Workshop”, by
· Chapters 4 and 7
Meeting 3 Lab: Prototype a game concept (in class exercise 3)
Game Design Exercise 1 Assigned: Game variant prototype
Lecture (RTF): Complexity Theory, Conway's Game of Life, Gearheads, SimCity, RollerCoaster Tycoon. Testing your game for functionality, completeness and balance.
Game Design Workshop
· Chapters 5, 8 and 9
Meeting 4 Lab: Playtesting and iterative design (in class exercise 4)
Quiz #1
Lecture: Game theory, Minimax theory, strategy games. Tic-tac-toe, Connect Four, Chess, Warcraft II.
Game Design Workshop
· Chapters 10
Meeting 5 Lab: Designing better choices (in class exercise 5)
Lecture: Types of resources, information structures, game economies. Magic: The Gathering, Settlers of Catan, Pit
Meeting 6 Lab: Play and analyze Settlers of Catan (in class exercise 6)
Lecture: Development of interactive drama. Interfilm, Kino-Automat, Eliza, Catz. Social roles and player interaction. Killer, Pictionary, You Don’t Know Jack, Acrophobia, NetWits.
Game Design Exercise 2 Assigned: Original game prototype
Lecture: Dungeons & Dragons, Hack, Diablo, Ultima Online. M.U.L.E., Habitat, Battle.net, Sony Station.
Meeting 8 Lab: In class work on original game prototypes
Lecture: Set, Tetris, Smart Games, MetaSquares, Incredible Machine, Myst.
Game Design Workshop
· Chapters 11
Meeting 9 Lab: Level design for a puzzle game (in class exercise 7)
Quiz #2
Lecture: Discussion of teams, process and documentation. Design and planning documents from actual products will be distributed. Game market statistics, publisher/developer relationships, royalties & deal structures.
Game Design Workshop
· Chapters 12-16
Meeting 10 Lab: Playtest Game Design Exercise 2
In-Class Design
Exercises:
The In-Class Design exercises will consist of short, focused assignments that can be completed and playtested during the lab time. These exercises will give students hands-on experience with core concepts in game design, including breaking and balancing systems, changing game variables and system scope, designing for meaningful choice, brainstorming, conceptualization, and responding to player feedback.
Game Design
Assignments:
The class includes two design assignments that will be worked on outside of class. Students will present their work during lab time for critique by the instructors and their peers. During in class play tests students must clearly explain their game system to the play testers and lead them through a 20-minute play session. After the group has played the game, the designers will lead a critique of their own game, eliciting as much feedback as possible from their play testers. At the end of the session, the designers must submit a) a copy of the game description and rules, and b) a critique document from the comments of the play testers. Both of these documents will be evaluated as part of the assignment grade.
Reading Requirements:
The course for the class is “Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping and Playtesting Games.”
Additional Suggested
Bibliography and Game List:
Rules of Play, by Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen
Game Over, by David Sheff
Hackers, by Stephen Levy
Computers as Theater, by Brenda Laurel
Hamlet on the Holodeck, by Janet Murray
Inside Electronic Game Design, by Arnie Katz and Laurie Yates
The Art of Computer Game Design, by Chris Crawford
Playing the Future, by Douglas Rushkoff
Seafarers of Catan, by Klaus Teuber
Scotland Yard, by Ravensburger
El Grande, by Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich
Modern Art, by Reiner Knizia
Illuminati, by Steve Jackson
Acquire, by Sid Sackson
Cosmic Encounter, by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, and Bill Norton
Digital Games
Sissyfight 2000 – web game
Oasis – web game
Animal Crossing – Gamecube
Zelda: The Wind Waker - Gamecube
MarioKart DoubleDash – Gamecube
WarioWare, Inc. – Gameboy Advance
The Sims – PC
Battlefield 1942 – PC
Knights of the
Prince of
EyeToy – Playstation 2
Amplitude – Playstation 2
The instructors are
In addition to their work as
educators, Tracy and Chris are working game designers with over a decade of
professional experience. Their recent
freelance clients are Disney Imagineering, Acclaim Entertainment, Bandalong,
and F/X Network. They were founders of
game developer, Spiderdance, Inc.
Spiderdance’s mass audience interactive television games included NBC’s Weakest Link, MTV’s webRIOT, The WB’s No
Boundaries, History Channel’s History
IQ, and Game Show Network’s Inquizition
among others.
Before starting Spiderdance, Tracy and Chris were
founding members of the
Their work has received numerous industry honors including best Family/Board Game from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, ID Magazine’s Interactive Design Review, Communication Arts Interactive Design Annual, multiple gold Invision awards, iMix Best of Show, The Digital Coast Innovation award, IBC’s Nombre D’Or, and Time Magazine’s Best of the Web.