Homework: Week 4. This link takes you to the homework assignment due at the beginning of the next class session.
About This Week's Lesson:
In this lesson we'll start to lay the foundations of your education on game design.
Of course, first principles begin by defining what a game actually is, and then exploring the differences between a game, a simulation, a puzzle, a toy, and a story (all of which have something in common with games). We'll look at the recipe with all of the basic ingredients for making a game (which is not unlike making chocolate chip cookies), and consider when games are judged. (Hint: There are two times that every game is ultimately judged).
Naturally, we must consider what makes a game 'good' or 'bad' when reviewed. More importantly, we must probe what makes a game commercially successful and the problem of why not all good games succeed and not all successful games are good.
Then we'll get into the nitty-gritty of defining games in a Concept Document, starting with a game's High Concept. To help you define a game's High Concept, you'll learn about The "Real" Game Cube of Media, Genre, and Epoch that define it, and then we'll go on to discover the essence of a game's soul (dubbed it's Hook). This continues into next week's lesson as you learn how to articulate the essence of a game idea so that yours can be properly presented and considered (some day) for publication.
If you want the Review Sheet with all of the lecture notes from this week's class session, it is available on the course syllabus page (click on the appropriate Lecture link). Note that each Review Sheet is password protected and that the passwords are sent to you each week via email in the class newsletter. If you're enrolled in this class and are not receiving the class newsletter, click here to send me the email address you want me to use. I will then add you to the class email list and you'll receive it regularly from then on. Each week's class newsletter includes a link to the course syllabus page plus the password you'll need to open the file.
These links feature the supplemental material that you are responsible for knowing before the first exam (that takes place at the beginning of Week 4). Be sure to click on every link in this section!
Article: What is a Game? by Wolfgang Kramer
German game philosopher Wolfgang Kramer breaks down the essential elements of a game as we did in class, but with added elements of chance (or myriad options) and competition.
Article: Why We Play Games by Brad Kane
This is a very short but insightful article on emotion in gaming from a research-oriented perspective. Specifically, it is focused on gameplay-driven emotional experiences, and delineated four types of emotion that players derive from their games.
These supplemental links are worth pursuing only if you wish to really learn the subject matter of game design in the broadest possible sense. This material will not be directly included in the exams, but if you're serious about being a game designer and delving deeply into the subject of game design art, craft, and science, here's some more lessons from others who have also "been there."
Article: Improving Player Choices by Tracy Fullerton, Christopher Swain, and Steven Hoffman
Game are about making "cool decisions." One of the most important aspects of choice is consequence. For a game to engage a player's mind, each choice must alter the course of the game. This means the decision has to have both an upside and a downside; the upside being that it advances the player one step closer to victory; and the downside being that it hurts the player's chances of winning. This concept seems simple, but you'd be surprised at how many games force the players to make choices that have no impact upon whether they win or lose.
Article: Fourteen Forms of Fun [in Games] by Pierre-Alexandre Garneau
Thrills, danger... here are fourteen ways that fun is injected into games.
Article: Putting More Emotion into Play by Christopher Woodard
This GDC tutorial featured XEO Design's Nicole Lazzaro and Katherine Isbister PhD of the Rensselaer Games Research Laboratory dissecting the process of creating emotion in games, defining types of fun, and how to exert authorial control over player choices.
Article: Defining the Abstract (Game) by J. Mark Thompson
This article on abstract games and their true place in the pantheon of our hobby and our very existence as humans.
Article: Tom Sloper's Lessons on Game Design
This is Sloperama Productions' "School-A-Rama." Here's you'll find a ton of useful miscellaneous information organized for you. You may want to plan to spend several minutes of quality time here...
Article: Talk Like a Gamer by Greg Costikyan
For those of you in my class who are not gamers, this article will help you "talk the talk." This can be extremely useful if you're planning a career around working with gamers.
Lab Game Examined This Week:This is the game that we played and analyzed in class this week. If you want more information about it or wish to purchase a copy, see the link below:
SET is a game of puzzle solving. Easy to learn and quick to play, SET is appropriate for all ages; it is the visual perception game for everyone. This game has won more awards than you can shake a stick at and, after playing it, you'll know why.
