MIT3663-

MIT3663-
CS3334b, #11
2010
Bringing everything together

Course objectives
 To be able to identify, describe, and distinguish
 core concepts, issues, principles, conceptualizations, and
frameworks
involved in the design of digital games
 To learn
 the fundamentals of thinking and motivation
 To understand
 how digital games are related to and engage human thought
processes and motivation
 To be able to
 design digital games that promote higher-order thinking

Cannot cover everything in game design, because it is a very broad field.

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Key concepts and words

Action verbs for you

 identify, describe, distinguish, learn fundamentals,
understand how, and design

What the verbs apply to

 core concepts, issues, principles, conceptualizations,
frameworks, fundamentals of thinking and
motivation, relationship between games and thinking
and motivation, and design of epistemic games

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What we said at the beginning of the course

This course is about game design

It is about design of meaningful play with a focus on
the human mind

It looks at games from the cognitive design
perspective

It is a theoretical course

It is an applied, practical course

It is NOT about Second Life, latest fancy games,
and currently popular video games

It is MOSTLY about puzzle-like game activities that
people have enjoyed for thousands of years
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A concept map of the course

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Main branches

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Topics: covered and not covered

We focused on design, but also learned a tool to

be able to apply our knowledge

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Core concepts

We did all the core concepts

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Frameworks

Used a conceptual framework to study, analyze,

and create digital games + prescriptive steps

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Games as systems

Studied games as hierarchically embedded

systems

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Sub--systems
Sub

Studied the 2 main sub-systems of games

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Conceptual framework

Primary and secondary schemas

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Primary schemas

Rules

Play

Culture

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Primary schemas: rules

Studied how we can use rules to design new

games

Also the relationship between rules and
epistemic patterns and utility of games

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Primary schemas: play

Studied play and how to create interactive experiences that
lead to flow and models of motivation

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Secondary schemas

Studied how games can be seen as different

systems of rules and different types of play

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Design

Viewed design as two main aspects

 Usability design  epistemic utility
 Experience design  gameplay experience

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Epistemic utility: thinking

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Epistemic utility: epistemic patterns

Briefly discussed how patterns arise in the

context of different cognitive toys and how many
games can be based on these patterns

Also their relationship to each other, rules,
thinking, and epistemic games

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Experience design

Studied the core mechanisms, factors, and

elements of experience design

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All in all

You have been exposed to a wide array of

concepts, ideas, and techniques that give you a
solid foundational understanding of how to design
digital games that provide enjoyable gameplay
experiences as well as have value for the mind

But you need to continue your studies in this area
 This is just a beginning

Digital games are extremely complex design
spaces and you need a solid multidisciplinary
background to become good designers
 But if you follow the framework of this course, you will be
able to design very innovative, useful games
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The end game

Final exam
 April 17, 7pm (Double-check this)

Covers everything from beginning to end

You are allowed to bring a cheat sheet

Peer evaluation will be done at that time

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Cheat sheet

To support your understanding

Specifications
 One 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper
 Font size 12+ point
 Must be typed
 Cannot be written in small, microscopic handwriting

Not to just copy ideas from it without
understanding
 Students who understand the material usually do not
need their cheat sheets

Cheat sheets will be submitted with your final
exam booklet with your name on it
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How to study for the final

Do not just memorize

Knowing terms is important, but not to just
repeat memorized definitions

You need to understand the concepts and relate
them together in a framework

This is an applied course
 You need to understand theory and know how to
apply to design of tools
 Simple memorization is of no benefit
 Concepts need to be linked together
 You need to take time and THINK deeply about the
concepts
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How to study for the final

Ask a lot of questions from the material

 What is this?
 How is this related to the other concept?
 How should this be applied? When?
 What is the implication of this concept or principle?
 Why is this discussed in the course? Why is it
important?

Readings repeat some concepts several times
 Those are the fundamental concepts, not the
examples used

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The final report

Title page
 Project title
 Course number
 Date
 List of group members alphabetically (names)

Introduction
 Executive summary of the project
 This should probably be no more than a page
 Hit the high points

You have two goals in the report
 document & explain what you have designed
 demonstrate that you have applied the concepts in the course

The report should be no more than 8 pages (see outline for
details)

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Deliverable on a CD

5 deliverables
 proposal,
 activity design
 digital game
 Executable + project files of GameMaker
 final report
 final PowerPoint presentation

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