ah teaches game design and development (Is fun? lecture)

Is fun?

Lecture outline

An introduction to game design and thinking critically about games. Lecture slides will be made available on the day of the lecture.

Welcome to IAT-165!

Your teaching team

(of one)

Meet your neighbours

We are going to take a moment to meet your neighbours. Find someone sitting next to you that you have not met before and:

1. Introduce yourself (Hello, my name is INSERT_NAME_HERE!)
2. Describe any previous experience with game design and/or development (I built a board game about cats...)
3. Explain why you are interested in this course (I am in this course because I really want to learn about octopods...)
4. What was the last game you played and how did you feel about it (I played ET on Atari, and well...)

Be prepared to introduce your neighbour. You have 4 minutes.

Programming proficiency

If I talk about the following things, how many of you understand what they refer to?

• Variables
• Iteration
• Arrays
• Objects

Contacting your instructor

A friendly how-to

Andrew is available via:

• Email at ac.ufs@h_werdna
• During office hours (Mondays from 8-9pm on Zoom)
• At pre-arranged times (in-person or on Zoom)

Email rules

Announcements

There will be semi-regular announcements posted to Canvas. These will serve as a 'what is coming up' notification.

Illness policy

If you are ill, stay home. Follow-up with Andrew to arrange an alternative time for critique.

If you will be ill for a prolonged period of time (more than a week) please email Andrew to arrange accommodations.

If Andrew is ill, I will notify you via Canvas and course chat before 8:30am on the day of the lecture.

Lectures

What to expect

Our lecture will involve a fair bit of talking, but not always by your instructor. These will include:

• Explanation of theory and practice
• Code tutorials
• Critical gameplay sessions

Course schedule

Do you want March break off?

Workload

A reminder that this course expects about 3-6 hours of work per week outside of class. You will be able to complete some of this work during lecture.

If you ever have concerns with workload please email Andrew.

Canvas

Our main course-site

Andrew opens up Canvas and briefly introduces it here.

Projects

1. Pitching — 10% (Individual)
2. A Tiny Game — 20% (Group)
3. Playtesting — 10% (Group)
4. A Mini Game — 30% (Individual)

70% of your grade.

Readings

Fee-free!

Readings are available entirely digitally.

Critical play

There are two critical play reflections done over the term. One is due on February 4, and the following on March 11. When you choose to work on them is up to you but it is strongly recommended you work on them piece by piece before the due date.

20% of your final grade.

Coding exercises

Coding exercises are to help further explore your projects and practice your coding.

10% of your final grade.

Plagiarism

This course has a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism on projects. If you are found presenting work that is not your own or resubmitting old work without notice, you will receive a failing grade on that project. No exceptions.

Late or problematic submissions

Late submissions receive 10% per day late.

Concerns with grades

Please notify Andrew of any grading concerns within 10 days of the grades being released. This can include just getting some further feedback and/or wanting to have something regraded.

Course overview questions?

If you have any questions that linger about the course overview, please feel free to email Andrew or ask during our lecture time.

What is fun?

When it comes to games, what is 'fun'?

Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics

(Hunicke et al, 2013)

A framing that looks at games as the behaviour of the game, not just the media/content it conveys to the player.

• Mechanics — Components of the game.
• Dynamics — Behaviours of the mechanics in relation to the player.
• Aesthetics — Desired responses of the player when interacting with the game.

Fun, according to MDA

Different ways that we can engage in the aesthetics — or 'fun' — of a game:

• Sensation
• Fantasy
• Narrative
• Challenge
• Fellowship
• Discovery
• Expression
• Submission

Submission

Games as a pastime

Are there games that you play regularly with friends?

Games are much more

There is more to games than just the 'fun':

• Rules
• Interaction
• Interface
• Visual aesthetic
• Character design
• Narrative
• Audio
• Aesthetic
• Playing
• ... and more

p5.js

We will be working in p5.js to build our games this term. It is a JavaScript library that allows us to more quickly and easily build interactive things using code that is pre-built into the library.

JavaScript

An interpreted programming language — a language that is not compiled to 'native' machine code — that runs in web browsers and on servers. This means JavaScript is easily ported to different devices and platforms as well as see the results of your code quickly.

Working with JavaScript allows us to take many of the concepts and materials we are covering to develop further into online development.

Code tutorial time

Please head to the computers (or your laptop) for this week's code tutorial.

What is critical play?

Looking at the core parts of a game to understand its social, ethical and design biases.

Why critical play?

This offers us an opportunity to reflect on and explore game design approaches, biases and ethics.

Today's critical play

We will be playing 'Thomas Is Alone' and pulling it apart in three 'phases':

1. Describe the aesthetics (the player experience)
2. Describe the dynamics (the play behaviour)
3. Describe the mechanics (components and rules)

Aesthetics

Critical play (Part 1)

Questions to respond to:

• What does the game make you feel?
• How would you define the 'fun' of this game?
• Is there anything cultural that might influence how we perceive the aesthetics?

Dynamics

Critical play (Part 2)

Questions to respond to:

• What are patterns of actions/responses are in the game?
• How does the player's decisions influence the state of the game over time?
• What kind of feedback does the game provide to create tension or reward?

Mechanics

Critical play (Part 3)

Questions to respond to:

• What are the core rules that define the game?
• What inputs map to which actions in the game?
• What constraints exist on AI or non-player characters?