VA 306 - Intro to Game Design (Spring 2012)

Couple of Goodies

deserthat — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:22:14 +0000

First off is a pretty cool video of a Battlefield 3 simulator. It is a VR environment, and they send an actual British Special Forces soldier through it. Embedding was disabled, but you can watch it here.

The second is a great analysis of the level design to Super Metroid, one of my favorite games, and an excellent model for study. This blog article by Hugo Bille does an excellent job of illustrating the pacing and level design structure of Super Metroid. If you’ve never played this game before, you are doing yourself a HUGE disservice. If you have a Wii, you can buy the game for the Virtual Console for a few bucks, but you can also grab a used copy (plus Super Nintendo) for considerably more.

Finally, Indie Royale is featuring a Serious Sam bundle of the full set of Serious Sam games. Serious Sam is an oddball FPS with a hero who has the ego and masculinity of Duke Nukem, but the self-awareness that it’s a ripoff – and often does a far better job than the source material. Currently going for around $4.50 for four games.

Updating your blogs

deserthat — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:23:51 +0000

Blogs are due Saturday at midnight!

Did you remember to…

Post your game rules?
Record the design process?
Write your player observations?
Write one response (2000) or two responses (3000) of player feedback?
Record a design rule you learned this week?

Readings for Monday, March 30

deserthat — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:46:01 +0000

Over the weekend, there are several other readings that will help you with your game design modifications. There are some sections of Challenges for Game Designers, as well as an article.

The article by David Sirlin is from Game Developer magazine, which if you aren’t in class to pick up a handout, you can access through the UCCS Kraemer Library. If you have trouble accessing the databases, please contact IT, who will help walk you through. (It’s easier to access on campus because off-campus, you must use the VPN client). Sirlin’s article is from the March 2009 issue.

Game Design Challenge 2: Modify a Board Game

deserthat — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:24:27 +0000

Working alone or in a group, take one of the board games that was brought in today and modify it.

You should have a firm understanding of that game’s core dynamic(s) so you can decide how to modify it.

Use the remainder of class time to brainstorm ideas and begin modifications.

Optional Challenge: Global Game Jam

You may also choose to participate in the Global Game Jam. In this case, you will have 48 hours to design and build your game. The challenge for the Global Game Jam will be announced on Friday at 5:00 PM, and the Jam will be over at 5:00 PM on Sunday. I will send an e-mail to the group once the challenge is announced.

Assignment and Readings for Wednesday, January 25

deserthat — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:59:14 +0000

For Wednesday, you have readings and an assignment:

Choose your favorite board or card game! Bring it in to class (along with the board game for the first game design challenge).

You also have readings from the book Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schrieber. If you haven’t gotten a copy of your book yet, the book store has some on-hand, Amazon probably has them for cheaper, and the library has a digital copy for your use (you just have to remember what your password is and use the client – contact IT if you have any trouble!).

Also, there is a PDF containing Chris Crawford’s article from the IDMAa Journal. IDMAa has taken down their old journals off their site, but thankfully, you can read it in perpetuity on Archive.org:

Crawford, Chris. (Spring 2005). “The Two Faces of Reality.” iDMAA Journal 2.1. (8-10).

Game Design Challenge 1: Create a Simple Board Game

deserthat — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:49:01 +0000

Your first game design challenge for this class is to create a simple board game using your game design kit you are creating. The board game should be playable start to finish in roughly 15 minutes. Other than that, the sky is the limit! Anything goes!

Remember to bring in your board games on Monday, January 23 for playtesting.

If you need more tips on creating your game design kit, remember to look at Tyler Sigman’s “The Siren Song of the Paper Cutter”.

Welcome to Intro to Game Design, Spring 2012!

deserthat — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:25:56 +0000

Hello again, and welcome to Intro to Game Design, Spring 2012! I was glad to meet everyone and am looking forward to another great semester for game studies!

In case you lose your copy or require a digital one, Intro to Game Design Syllabus.

Just remember:

Design or revise a game each week.

Finish your blogs by midnight each Saturday.

Have fun!

And finally: Finish the game (courtesy of Derek Yu).

Spring 2010 Course Information

deserthat — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:25:43 +0000

VA306 – Intro to Game Design will be offered again in Spring 2010. The class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:40 – 4:20 PM in COB 209, the main computer lab. We will be working with rapid prototyping to create and revise multiple board games, allowing experimentation and immediate feedback into game designs. You can view past work by accessing student blogs on the sidebar.

If you would like to order your books for the course early, we will be using one textbook, Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber (ISBN-158450580X). The book runs about $14 through Amazon. Other course readings will be available as PDFs or handouts.

End of Semester Congratulations!

deserthat — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:22:52 +0000

I’d like to thank everyone in the class for a really great semester! You produced a lot of great games in the class and I hope everyone had a great time. I hope some of you will continue your game design efforts over the summer. You are welcome to keep me updated!

If you are looking for additional reading over the summer, I have to recommend this article on Subtractive Design by David Sirlin in the March 2009 issue of Game Developer Magazine. It applies the concept of subtractive design used in every other design field to videogames, using examples from Team Fortress 2, Portal, Ico, and Braid. It’s a great read. Game Developer is a great resource, so I’m glad the library has it available digitally.

Have a great summer!

Blogs Due Wednesday at Midnight

deserthat — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:19:09 +0000

This is just a reminder: your blogs are due on Wednesday at midnight, so you will have the evening after finals to finish up. After that, I’m filling in the grades, so anything you get done after will be late work and not accepted.

Again, finals are THIS Wednesday, May 13 from 1:40 – 4:20 (same time as the class normally meets). Bring your portfolios and your business card.