MI 230
Game Design
Spring 2021 – 3 Credits

Meeting Times

Class is Offered Hybrid Synchronous and Asynchronous via D2L

Synchronous Meeting Times: Tuesdays 10:20AM-12:10PM [Eastern]

Synchronous Recitation / Office Hour Times: Thursdays 10:20AM-12:10PM [Eastern]

NOTE: Recitation / Office Hours are by appointment.

Zoom Information

https://msu.zoom.us/j/91375774386

Meeting ID: 913 7577 4386

Passcode: BoardGames

Useful Information

Dr. Casey O'Donnell – [email protected] – Email is typically handled once or twice a day except weekends, but students should not expect faster than 36-48 hour turnaround on email. A note on email: If you are emailing me and have not been coming to the synchronous class meetings, it is entirely possible (and likely) that your question has already been answered.

Phone: 517-884-4538 – Note: number is not forwarded to my personal phone and email is encouraged as primary means of contacting Dr. O’Donnell

Pronouns: He/Him/His [Why is this important? Because respecting someone’s pronouns is respecting a person’s basic humanity.]

Office Location: CAS 415 – Due to COVID-19 physical office hours are unavailable.

Prerequisite

Completion of CAS 117.

Disclaimer

The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

This class starts from the assumption that games are cultural, social, technological, historical, economic and political objects. If that assumption is totally unacceptable to you on a fundamental level, then this class is probably not for you. The material in this class will challenge you and if being challenged is not your cup of tea, then this class is probably not for you.

Description

Official: Analyze, critique, and design non-digital and digital games. Overview of game industry.

Expanded: This class is about learning to design games, with a focus on non-digital games. Upon completion of this course, you will better understand the foundations of game design and development. You will have an improved understanding of the game design process. You will explore and push your understanding of game design and critical game studies. You will develop an appreciation for the complexity of "the industry," game technologies, and game design. It is going to be a lot of work, but it is going to be a lot of fun too.

Overview and Instructional Objectives

The course is broken into fourteen modules, each week I will be lecturing and answering questions during the 10:20AM to 12:10PM time slot. I will then post these videos to D2L. All readings and supplemental material will also be posted to D2L. I want everyone to learn how to make games. I will be talking about lots of different kinds of non-digital games and aspects that make them interesting, challenging or otherwise interesting to make. I want everyone to make three different games throughout the semester. Of course, the class is predominantly online, so we have to figure out ways to play one another’s game or at least look at them, analyze them and discuss them given that limitation.

Assignments

Everyone will be making three games throughout the semester. That means that if you skip even one assignment you are going to have a difficult time. If you turn in an assignment “late,” you will not get feedback from peer evaluations. Because we will be looking at one another’s work and offering feedback, if you turn an assignment in after the deadline it means you are excluded from the peer evaluation, which is a disservice to you and your peers. If you are running behind, it is better to turn in something not quite finished for feedback than turning nothing in at all. There are 50 people in this class and I cannot reasonably give feedback on (potentially) 50 games in a timely manner. Even 20 games is a lot for me to look at in a reasonable time frame. I will look at all of them and take into account peer evaluations, but I am the person grading them. Your qualitative feedback will come from your peers.

All assignments must be turned in digitally. Yes, non-digital games can be distributed digitally. We are going to be talking about this. Come to class or watch the videos. You can work with up to TWO other people on any given project. However, each person must turn in the game so that they can get peer feedback. I will talk about the best way to do this via EliReview during the first class meeting. I recommend attending or at least watching the video for this.

Assignment Description	Final Grade Percentage
Game Design Project #1	25%
Game Design Project #2	25%
Game Design Project #3	25%
Peer Evaluations (3)	25%

Extensions

I cannot provide extensions. It makes running the class IMPOSSIBLE because of D2L and EliReview. The effects of extensions cascade onto everyone. What you can do is turn an assignment in late and miss out on the Peer Evaluation component. If you wait until end of term to turn in three games then by definition you will have missed out on all the Peer Evaluation points.

Required Texts, Recommended Texts and Other Readings

You will be reading: “A Game Design Vocabulary: Exploring the Foundational Principles Behind Good Game Design,” by Anna Anthropy and Naomi Clark. The book is published by Addison-Wesley and was published in 2014. PDF and eBook versions of the text are provided via D2L.

Schedule

Course opens: 01/11/2021

First Zoom Synchronous Meeting Date: 01/19/2021

Game Project #1 Due: 02/16/2021

Peer Evaluation #1 Due: 02/23/2021

Game Project #2 Due: 03/23/2021

Peer Evaluation #2 Due: 03/30/2021

Game Project #3 Due: 04/20/2021

Last Zoom Synchronous Meeting Date: 04/20/2021

Peer Evaluation #3 Due: 04/26/2021

Course closes: 04/30/2021

Course Modules

Module Number	Module Description
#1	Introduction and Studying Games
#2	Thinking about Platforms and Kinds of Games
#3	Card Games
#4	Board Games
#5	Role Playing Games (RPGs)
#6	Print to Play and Print on Demand
#7	Live Action Role Playing Games (LARPs)
#8	Puzzle Games and Escape Rooms
#9	Alternate Reality Games (ARGs)
#10	Sports and Physical Games
#11	Rethinking Success in Game Development
#12	Ethics and Non-Digital Games
#13	The Non-Digital Game Industry
#14	Conclusions and Endings

Grading Policy

Grade	Final Grade %
4.0	90%-100%
3.5	85%-89.95%
3.0	80%-84.95%
2.5	75%-79.95%
2.0	70%-74.95%
1.5	60%-69.95%
1.0	50%-59.95%

Attendance

Class is Offered PREDOMINANTLY Online Asynchronously via D2L. Completion of the assignments and assessment of the online materials is adequate for completion of the course. However, you will not succeed in this class if you are not attending class and/or watching the videos of class.

Those students able to attend synchronous Zoom recitation/office-hours are enthusiastically encouraged to do so. I want to get to know you! Those students that attend these sessions, I ask that they engage via Zoom’s text chat or through sharing audio/video. While not required it makes the interactions more engaging/fun/interesting for everyone else. Those that simply want to observe it might make more sense to simply watch the recordings of these sessions, which will be posted on D2L.

Zoom Guidelines

For those of you that want to participate in the weekly Zoom recitation/office-hours... Hurray! Here are some guidelines to help facilitate the process:

· Do NOT feel obligated to share audio/video. I will, but that does not obligate you.

· If you do want to share audio/video, please stay muted until it is your turn.

· If you would like a chance to say something via audio/video, simply write “stack” into the chat window. I will ask you to unmute yourself when it is your turn and you can then share.

· Feel free to question/comment informally in the Zoom chat. I will follow along and repeat/read-aloud/synthesize these comments and respond to them as best as I can.

o NOTE: Remember that when I record a session that all chats (including “private” chats between individuals) will be saved as text files. So, FYI, that means if you are saying nasty things about me, it is possible that I could see them. I do not intend to examine these files and will not post raw text logs to D2L.

o CAVEAT: If there are reports of bullying, hate speech or harassment via Zoom chat, that would be cause for me to examine chat files.

· If you have a formal question that you would like to ask via Zoom chat, proceed that question with “stack – ...“ so that I understand it as a formal question and not simply running commentary.

o If you have a follow up question to the current question being discussed, proceed that question with “? – ...” so that I understand it as a follow up question to the current discussion.

o If you have an additive comment on the current question or discussion, please proceed that comment with “& – ...” so that I understand it as a comment on the current conversation.

o If you have a gentle correction (ie. “Term X used could be problematic...” or “You used this person’s incorrect pronoun...”) those comments can be prefaced with “~ – ...” so that I understand it as a gentle correction.

o If you have an objection/criticism/challenge, please preface those comments with, “! – ...” Please remember to word these in a way that speaks to MSU’s Civil and Tolerant community guidelines linked below.

· In some ways this allows you to discuss the material with one another while we all have a conversation! In some ways it can be better than a formal classroom. Even a comment, “Gosh he’s excited!” may result in me then saying, “Yeah! And here is why!”

Further Course Policies

· This course expects that students adhere to the Spartan Code of Honor.

· This course expects that students adhere to MSU’s Academic Integrity expectations.

o NOTE: I will make it clear what assignments are collaborative or individual. I have no interest in policing your academic work.

· This course expects that everyone involved strive to maintain a Civil and Tolerant community.

o NOTE: Bullying, hate speech or harassment will not be tolerated, as those are neither civil nor tolerant.

· This course adheres to MSU’s Religious Observance Policy.

· This course adheres to MSU’s Faculty Relationship with Student Athletes.

· This course is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD or on the web at rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation (“VISA”) form. Please present this form to me at the start of the term and/or two weeks prior to the accommodation date (test, project, etc). Requests received after this date will be honored whenever possible.

· Mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Services are available to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus via the Counseling & Psychiatric Services (CAPS) website at www.caps.msu.edu.

· Students seeking a grief absence are directed to the Grief Absence Request Form found on the RO home page under 'Student Services - Grief Absence Request Form' OR through StuInfo under 'Academics - Enrollment Information and Services - Grief Absence Request Form.' Per policy, graduate students should also see their major professor and notify course instructors.

· All course materials presented to students are the copyrighted property of the course instructor and are subject to the following conditions of use:

o Students may not record lectures or any other classroom activities.

o Students may not share un-authorized recordings of lectures or any other classroom activities.

o Students may share notes. Students may not sell notes.

o Commercialization of lecture notes and university-provided course materials is not permitted in this course.