Studying at York
Game Design - COM00160M
Module summary
This module enables students to understand, critique, and create engaging entertainment and applied game designs as part of their research. It is organised into two components, Game Design Principles and Applied Game Design Research, each assessed separately. Game Design Principles uses rapid experimental making and critiquing of analogue games to introduce key concepts, components, and methods of game design and train creative skills. Applied Game Design Research combines lectures, discussion, and an applied game design sprint to engage students in critical reflection on how games affect change in desired and undesired ways, and introduces them to the use of applied game design frameworks to develop an applied game for a societal issue. This module is only run on the Intelligent Games & Games Intelligence (IGGI) routes.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2023-24 |
Module aims
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To develop a grounded understanding of when, why, and how games research can usefully inform practice by becoming literate in key concepts, aspects, and methods of entertainment and applied game design and gaining a first-hand appreciation for the complexity, diversity, and reality of game design
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To enable students to make games as part of conducting or communicating their research
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To develop and practise creative and critical skills in game-making
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To learn to independently and collaboratively produce entertainment and applied game prototypes and deliverables communicating design decisions
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To foster a critical awareness of how game design impacts individuals and society, enabling students to conduct responsible innovation in games
Module learning outcomes
Subject Content
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Apply key game design concepts in discussing game designs
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Apply key frameworks and theories to reason about potential individual and societal effects of a given game design
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Develop, select, and revise fitting game design ideas for a target briefing
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Create concise, useful, usable game design documentation
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Independently choose and perform key game design methods such as play testing to advance a game concept
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Independently create and iterate playable game prototypes
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Critically assess the utility of a given knowledge formalisation or tool against personal game design practice
Academic and Graduate Skills
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Effectively collaborate with diverse team members in a design process
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Communicate and justify design ideas and decisions to specialist and non-specialist audiences
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Critique designs and how different design aspects contribute to their overall experience
Assessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Prototype, doc, presentation : Group game prototype, design document and presentation |
N/A | 50 |
| Essay/coursework Prototype, rationale, pres : Group applied game prototype, design rationale and presentation |
N/A | 50 |
Special assessment rules
None
Reassessment
| Task | Length | % of module mark |
|---|---|---|
| Essay/coursework Prototype & Rationale : Individual game prototype and design rationale |
N/A | 100 |
Module feedback
Students should receive feedback within twenty working days. Working days exclude University closure days (‘customary leave’ days between Christmas and New Year and public holidays/statutory holidays.’)
Indicative reading
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Schell, J. (2019). The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses. 3rd ed. AK Peters/CRC Press.
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Fullerton, T. (2018). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. 4th ed. CRC Press.
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Culyba, S. H. (2018). The Transformational Framework. A Process Tool for the Development of Transformational Games. ETC Press.