DescriptionPrerequisitesCourse TextSuppliesOrganization and AssessmentReaction PapersAnalysis ProjectGame Design and Game Play TeamsWeekly SchedulePoliciesDomain DescriptionGAM 224: Strategies in Game Design Professor Robin Burke Fall 2005, Section 401, Rm CS&T 216 M/W 1:30 – 3:00 pm Office: CS&T 453 Office Hours: Mondays 10:30 – 12 noon (Office CS&T 453). Wednesdays 10:30 – 12 noon (Game Lab CS&T 920) Phone: 312-362-5910 Email (preferred): [email protected] 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. Prerequisites None Course Text Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press. 2004. Other readings available on-line. Supplies All students are required to purchase and bring to class • a deck of playing cards and • a pair of ordinary six-sided dice. These will be used for game design and analysis exercises. Bring them to class every day. I will check! Students may also need a memory card or other storage media for their game analysis project. Resources Students in the class will have access to the CTI Computer Game Lab, CS&T 920. Some assignments will require that student use specific games available in this lab. Students performing assignments have priority for the use of the lab hardware and software. See http://defrag.depaul.edu/ for information on lab times. Please remember that the lab is staffed by volunteers – be understanding. You will be required to provide your student ID when checking out game hardware and/or software. Web Site The course web site will be an important resource for all aspects of the course: http://josquin.cti.depaul.edu/~rburke/courses/f05/gam224/ The schedule and other syllabus information may change during the quarter: the web site will contain the most up-to-date information.Organization and Assessment GAM 224 will meet twice a week. Generally, we will alternate our class sessions between lectures on game design topics, analysis of particular games and in-class activities designing and playing games. Students are expected to attend all classes, do the assigned reading and homework before class time. Student progress will be assessed through a combination of regular homework assignments, short reaction papers for selected games, an individual project analyzing a particular game, a group game design project, and participation in the class. • Quizzes – 10% • In-class Activities – 10% • Reaction Papers – 20% • Analysis Project – 30% • Design Project – 20% • Participation – 10% Reaction Papers The nine games listed below constitute the course game syllabus. All students will play these games over the course of the quarter and write a short reaction paper. One of these papers is due to the Course On-Line site on the assigned day every week from weeks 2 through 10. They may not be turned in late or turned in by email. You can choose which game to do during any given week. Of the nine games, six are available at the CTI game labs, two are available on-line and the last is an off-line multi-player game. Defender (http://www.midway.com/page/ClassicGames.html), Centipede, or Tempest (http://www.games.com/playgames/home.jsp) Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Half-Life or Half-Life 2 Katamari Damacy or We Love Katamari Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Minish Cap, Wind Waker Mario Kart Double Dash!! SimCity (any) or The Sims or The Sims 2 Sissyfight 2000 (http://www.sissyfight.com/) An off-line multi-player game distributed in class Analysis Project Each student will perform an in-depth analysis of a single video game title of his or her choice. The following will be required: • Substantial play-time with the title, sufficient to master basic game play and to encounter most of the game's components. (Playing the game all the way through would be ideal but not practical for many titles.) • Researching the game's community presence through FAQ files, walk-throughs, fan sites and other documents. The analysis will follow the rubric of our book: "rules, play and culture", and will consist of three 5-page (1200-1500 word) papers analyzing the selected game through each of these perspectives. These papers will be submitted to the turnitin.com website. Game Design and Game Play Teams Students will work in teams of 3 or 4 for in-class game play activities and for the game design final project. Teams will be formed during the third week of class. Weekly Schedule9/7: Introduction to the course. Discussion of syllabus, grading and requirements. What is a game? Meaningful choice, interactivity and other core concepts in game design. The magic circle and the ludic attitude. Schemas for understanding games: Rules, Play, Culture. Reading: Rules of Play, Ch. 1-5 and Knizia essay. Unit 1: Rules 9/12: Game design activity. Game rules Reading: Rules of Play, Ch. 5-10, Garfield game design 9/14: Rules for games. Rule systems and their properties. Constituitive, operational and implicit rules. Implication for video games. Complexity and emergence in rule-based systems. Reading: Rules of Play, Ch. 11-14. 9/19: Case study: Asteroids 9/21: Probability and information theory. Probability and uncertainty. Information theory and information-theoretic models of games. Reading: Rules of Play, Ch. 15 & 16. 9/26: Group meetings. No class. Use this time to meet with your team and select your game to adapt for your final project. 9/28: Information and cybernetics. Information economies: hiding and revealing information in games. Control theory and concepts