International Game Developers Association

Full name:

Games Education
Course

Contents 1 Teachers 1.1 Instructors 2 Course Background Information 2.1 Location 2.2 Classification 2.3 Student background needed 2.4 Course prerequisites 2.5 Time periods 3 Course Structure 3.1 Course description 3.2 Course learning objectives 3.3 Week by week topics 4 Course Materials & Facilities Used 5 Analysis of learning methods 5.1 What worked 5.2 What didn't work

Teachers

Instructors

• Robin Burke

Course Background Information

Location

DePaul University

Classification

Primary classification:

Conceptual Game Design

Secondary classification:

Game theory, criticism of mainstream/commercial and experimental media

Student background needed

None

Course prerequisites

None

Time periods

The class is usually taught 1.5 hours a session, 2 meetings a week for 10 weeks = 30 contact hours.

Course Structure

Course description

This course approaches the study of computer games from three angles: first, as examples of media that can be analyzed and critiqued for their thematic elements, formal structure, plot and interactive appreciation; second, as complex software artifacts subject to technological constraints and the product of a labor-intensive design and implementation process; and three as a cultural artifact with behaviors and associations comparable in import to other popular art forms. Student will study the principles of game design and use them both to analyze existing games and to develop their own original game ideas. Students will also learn about the process of game development, starting from the game's narrative concept and moving to consideration of a game's components: the representation of the player, of artifacts, the virtual world that contains them and the interaction between them and the player.

Course learning objectives

Students are expect to develop critical skills and vocabulary for understanding games. By necessity, they also learn basic game design concepts.

Week by week topics

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Rules: Emergence, Information

Week 3: Rules: Feedback, Conflict

Week 4: Play: Core Mechanic

Week 5: Play: Simulation

Week 6: Play: Social Play

Week 7: Quiz, Student Presentations

Week 8: Culture: Gender

Week 9: Culture: The Game Industry

Week 10: Quiz, Student Presentations

Course Materials & Facilities Used

Here you can link to and/or describe books and other materials you used for this course. Feel free to create new pages for each item here if a page for it does not yet exist.

Books

Rules of Play by Salen and Zimmerman

Other materials

Some readings from [[1][The Escapist].

Software (engines, tools)

Our university has game labs (one for PC games, one for console) and a substantial game library. Games from this library were assigned for students to experience.

Syllabus

The course web site contains information about the course schedule and the Powerpoint slides. http://josquin.cs.depaul.edu/~rburke/courses/s06/gam224/

Assessment materials

There were quite a range of assessment instruments used in this class (maybe too many)

• One quiz for each unit (Rules, Play, Culture)
• A few homework assignments
• Two pencil-and-paper group design exercises
• Six one-page reaction papers responding to particular games in the game syllabus
• Three 5-page papers analyzing a game from different perspectives: rules, play, culture

Analysis of learning methods

What worked

I make students bring dice and cards to every class and we do game play exercises as often as I can. This is pretty important in this class.

What didn't work

There are always a few students that don't pull their weight in the group projects. This can be frustrating.

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