Course calendar (subject to change):
| Opening days | Aug 20 3:30-5:00 Introductions to the class and to Willamette, game stories | Aug 21 4:00-5:30 Perusall assignment Salen and Zimmerman, The Magic Circle due Class topic: Gaming and college communities |
Aug 22 9:30-11:00 Exercise #1 due Class topic: Toolbox of game mechanisms |
| Week 1 | Aug 26: Perusall assignment Zimmerman, The Rules We Break Class topic: Game systems |
Aug 28: No assignments. Class topic: Brainstorming and prototyping |
| Week 2 | Sep 2: Exercise #2 due. Class topic: Brainstorming and prototyping continued |
Sep 4: Perusall assignment Koster, A Theory of Fun for Game Design |
| Week 3 | Sep 9: Perusall assignment Seymour: Hex, A Strategy Guide Class topic: Hex play and strategy Matthew Seymour's Hex puzzles |
Sep 11: Exercise #3 due. Class topic: Riftwalker play and strategy |
| Week 4 | Sep 16: Perusall assignment Pozzi and Zimmerman, Don't Follow These Rules Class topic: Playtesting and feedback |
Sep 18: Game design draft #1 due today! Class topic: Playtesting student designs |
| Week 5 | Sep 23: No assignments. Angie Hickman-Newnham class visit |
Sep 25: Perusall assignment on rules writing Class topic: Rules writing |
| Week 6 | Sep 30: Perusall assignment Holland, Mechanisms as Metaphors Class topic: meaning from games |
Oct 2: Perusall assignment DeKoven, The Well-Played Game |
| Week 7 | Oct 7: Exercise #4 due. Class topic: game revision workshop |
Oct 9: Game design draft #2 due today! Class topic: Playtesting student designs |
| Week 8 | Oct 14: No assignments. Jackson Tegu class visit. |
Oct 16: Perusall assignment Norman, The Design of Everyday Things
Class topic: Usability and universal design principles |
| Week 9 | Oct 21: Perusall assignment Johanson, Inkscape Ultimate Quickstart Class topic: Practice with Inkscape |
Oct 23: Perusall assignment Williams, The Non-Designer's Design Book Class topic: Graphic design principles part 1 |
| Week 10 | Oct 28: Exercise #5 due. Class topic: Graphic design principles part 2 |
Oct 30: Game design draft #3 due today! Class topic: Playtesting student designs |
| Week 11 | Nov 4: Advising day, no class today! | Nov 6: Perusall assignment Narcisse, The Natural Class topic: Representation in games |
| Week 12 | Nov 11: Perusall assignment Anthropy, The Rise of the Videogame Zinesters Class topic: Gaming culture |
Nov 13: No assignments. Printing final game drafts! |
| Week 13 | Nov 18: Game design final draft due. Final game showcase today! |