International Game Developers Association

COSC 320.101 Game Concept and Design

Games Education
Course

Contents 1 Teachers 1.1 Instructors 2 Course Background Information 2.1 Location 2.2 Classification 2.3 Time periods 3 Course Structure 3.1 Course description 3.2 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

• Stuart Moulthrop

Course Background Information

Location

The University of Baltimore, School of Information Arts and Technologies

Classification

See: Areas for classifing for your course.

Primary classification: Game Design

Time periods

Meet once a week for 11 weeks.

Course Structure

Course description

This course introduces the critical study of computer games and the professional practice of game design. Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the current market for games and simulations, and of the cultural roots from which that market has emerged. They will learn the conceptual basis of games by producing interactive fictions, games that emphasize the design of a coherent, virtual world. By testing one another's productions, they will learn about the continuum of design and play. Readings in commentary and speculation frame this applied work in a network of issues and ideas.

Week by week topics

October 3

• SZ chaps. 13-14
• IBG chaps. 8-9 Reading quiz in class
• October 10
• SZ chap. 21
• IBG chaps. 10-13
• Reading quiz in class
• Final due date for I.F. Proposal

October 17

• SZ chaps. 24-25
• IBG chaps. 14-17
• Reading quiz in class

October 24

• SZ chap. 26
• Reading quiz in class

October 31

• Class Does Not Meet
• SZ chap. 27
• No work due

November 7

• SZ chaps. 30-32
• Reading quiz in class

November 14

• Everything Bad is Good for You, pp. 1-15
• Reading quiz in class

November 21

• Class Does Not Meet: Happy Thanksgiving
• Final due date for complete I.F. and walk-through

November 28

• Everything Bad is Good for You, pp. 17-62
• Reading quiz in class

December 5

• Everything Bad is Good for You, pp. 62-124; 184-199
• Reading quiz in class

December 19

• Final due date for preliminary game concept

Course Materials & Facilities Used

Books

• K. Salen and E. Zimmerman, Rules of Play. MIT Press, 2003.
• N. Stephenson, The Diamond Age. Bantam, 1994.
• R. Firth and S. Kesserich, The Inform Beginner's Guide. 3rd ed. Self-published, 2004.
• S. Johnson, Everything Bad is Good for You. Riverhead Books, 2005.

Software (engines, tools)

• Inform Interactive Fiction System, available free from www.inform-fiction.org.

Assessment materials

20% Research assignment

20% Proposal for I.F., completed I.F., and walk-through

20% I.F. play test report

20% Game concept documents, preliminary and final

20% Weekly quizzes (10 highest grades of 12)

Analysis of learning methods

What worked

Please discuss what techniques worked well

What didn't work

Please discuss what techniques didn’t work as well as you had hoped

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