Game design & prototyping

Summary

This course aims to present and discuss various game design methodologies that can be used to analyze and create projects based on interactivity and player engagement. It gives students the opportunity of engaging with the medium of (video) games - its limits and potentials - to widen their toolset.

Content

Keywords

game design, prototyping, ideation, game studies, platform studies, game art, interaction design, player engagement, serious games, citizen science, digital humanities

Learning Prerequisites

Recommended courses

Design research for digital innovation (DH-411)

Jeu video et Gamification (HUM-380)

Interaction design (CS-486)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Make an oral presentation based on a game design document
• Design a functioning and balanced game linked to the DH domain: history, sustainability, media, archives, social networks, etc.
• Plan & lead playtesting sessions: observe and interview players, gather feedbacks
• Structure a scientific or technical report based on the playtesting sessions and the design process

Transversal skills

• Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
• Use a work methodology appropriate to the task.
• Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
• Identify the different roles that are involved in well-functioning teams and assume different roles, including leadership roles.
• Take responsibility for health and safety of self and others in a working context.
• Demonstrate a capacity for creativity.
• Take feedback (critique) and respond in an appropriate manner.
• Write a scientific or technical report.

Teaching methods

Lectures, flipped classroom lectures, hands-on practice, case studies

Expected student activities

Attend lectures, read the assigned articles, participate actively in class discussions, design and conduct a project

Assessment methods

1. Project (80%): an oral presentation (30%) and one final report (50%)

2. Class discussion (20%): students' individual engagement in group activities such as ideation, prototyping, peer evaluation, playtesting, etc., will also be evaluated to determine individual performance

Resources

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/DH-414