Syllabus (subject to change)

IAT 842 Theory and Design of Games

Course Outline

Instructor

Chris Shaw, Ph.D.

Aims

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the theory and design of games meant for play.

Topics

• Case studies in the design of electronic and non-electronic games.
• Games as formal rule sets.
• Games and play.
• Games as cultural phenomena.
• Games and Narrative.
• Game authoring technologies.

Objectives

• Locate, read, and analyze academic and industrial writings and works related to game design.
• Produce critical analyses of games from different a variety of different perspectives.
• Design non-electronic games.
• Design an electronic game.

Reading Lists (Partial)

• Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, 2003 MIT Press
• The Art of Computer Game Design, by Chris Crawford, http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html

[also online at http://www.costik.com/nowords.html] -line at http://www.costik.com/gamnstry.html

• Various articles selected from http://www.gamasutra.com.
• Paper Protoyping, by Tyler Sigman http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050913/sigman_pfv.htm
• Game Taxonomies: A High Level Framework for Game Analysis and Design,

by Craig Lindley http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20031003/lindley_pfv.htm

• Fourteen Forms of Fun, by Pierre-Alexandre Garneau http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20011012/garneau_pfv.htm
• The Norrathian Scrolls: A Study of EverQuest, by Nick Yee http://www.nickyee.com/eqt/download.html
• Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier, by Edward Castranova

http://ideas.repec.org/p/bep/grleeb/2-1-1008.html

Course Requirements

30%	2 to 3 critical essays on games and game design
20%	design of a non-electronic game
10%	presentation of ½ hour lecture (plus slides) on game topics
40%	final project (design of an electronic game)

Course Syllabus (tentative)

Week 1

• Introduction.
• Overview of suggested implementation technologies and systems for final electronic game project.

Week 2

• Theories of games and play.

Week 3

• Non-electronic games: board games, card games, and traditional games.

Week 4

• Presentations and demos of your non-electronic games.

Week 5

• Games and narrative.

Week 6

• Games and culture.

Week 7

• Video games.

Week 8

• Multiplayer on-line games.

Week 9

• Student topic Lectures 1.

Week 10

• Student topic Lectures 2.

Week 11

• Mathematical Game Theory, game tree search.

Week 12

• Multiplayer on-line games.

Week 13

• Final electronic game demos.