Game Design Game Design

Game Design Syllabus 2020

Game Design Calendar 2020

Game Design Google Drive Folder 2020

This is a lecture and project-based course that teaches the mechanics and processes of good game design. The principles learned in this class apply equally well to card games, board games, party games, etc. You will learn about and design many types of games. Anyone interested in interactive entertainment or in creating compelling experiences should benefit from this course.

The class is taught by Jesse Schell. The TAs are Kevin Lee, Derrick Pemberton, and Jiajun Tan. You can contact us here.

Main Campus Students:
We recommend taking the CMU PTC shuttle which leaves from the Morewood Gardens Turnaround at 12:45pm and departs from the ETC at 3:15pm / 4:15pm. If you need to drive, be aware that you will have to pay for parking.

Assignments will include:

* Weekly readings
* Weekly writing assignments
* Several brief (one week) design assignments
* Several longer game design and/or development projects (two weeks to one month each)
* Playtesting of your games, and written analysis of the playtesting

The purpose of the course is to help you develop your game design skills and to give you an opportunity to practice them. Some of the games you will analyze and design will be computer games, but no programming skills are required. However, if you are so inclined, you will have the option of implementing a working computer game for one of the longer assignments. Be warned, however, that you will be expected to have the game functioning fully within about two weeks so that there will be plenty of time for user testing and iterating.

This is not an easy course – it is a graduate-level course in game design. Good designs take time, and you will be expected to put in the time and effort necessary for good design.