Raph’s Website » Game Design Concepts: free online class!

Game Design Concepts: free online class!

June 23rd, 2009 (Visited 1911 times) Tags: game design, game studies, theory of fun

Earlier today I noticed that Theory of Fun was listed as “frequently bought with” Understanding Comics on Amazon. And also with Challenges for Game Designers, by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber. I thought it was neat, I tweeted it, the end. Then I get replies piling in saying that it is because of Game Design Concepts, a cool thing that Ian is doing this summer: a free class in game design, conducted over the web by blog.

This blog is a course in game design (specifically, non-digital systems design).

Tuition: none. This class is open to all.

Prerequisites: none. It is my intention to make this course accessible to all levels of experience, while providing useful additional resources for those who are advanced.

Schedule: Monday 6/29/2009 through Sunday 9/6/2009. Posts will be made twice per week. You can read them at your own pace. The course lasts ten weeks.

Audience: anyone with an interest in game design. This includes students who are interested in game design; faculty who teach courses in game design and would like to compare course material; game developers with an interest in design or a desire to see an example of what students are being taught these days; or relatives of game designers who are curious about what these people do all day.

Course Description:

This course provides students with a theoretical and conceptual understanding of the field of game design, along with practical exposure to the process of creating a game. Topics covered include iteration, rapid prototyping, mechanics, dynamics, flow theory, the nature of fun, game balance, and user interface design. Primary focus is on non-digital games.

I am guessing this may be of interest to some who read this blog. Not sure how I missed it before!

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Richard Boehme said on June 24th, 2009 at 4:36 am:

Thanks! I’ve signed up and (unusually for me) rushed the book shipping.

AnjelusX said on June 24th, 2009 at 5:15 am:

I actually heard about this a couple months ago Raph and signed up for it, partly out of curiosity and partly because one should never stop learning. I expect it will be quite interesting indeed.

Sebastian said on June 24th, 2009 at 7:27 am:

Ah, neat! Thanks for the gentle shunting in the right direction

I have the book somewhere! I think it’s hiding under Bartle’s tongue-in-cheek masterpiece… now where did I put that…

LSK said on June 24th, 2009 at 9:34 am:

Can I get college credit for this?

Cridia said on June 24th, 2009 at 2:47 pm:

Well, it is a damn awesome book. In fact, I think you might want to know that at our school, it is a pretty recommended read during our ludology and gamedesign classes.

Raph said on June 24th, 2009 at 3:08 pm:

What school is that, Cridia?

Raph said on June 24th, 2009 at 3:09 pm:

LSK, I believe the answer to that is on the website for the class.

Seamus said on June 25th, 2009 at 3:18 pm:

I was one of those that signed up to the course and got all three books. I have finished yours, Understanding Comics and am about half way through Brenda and Ian’s book. Great books and I am so glad to have added them to my collection. We never used them in college (yet!) but I will be making sure to point some of my lecturers in their direction.