General information


Subject type: Mandatory

Coordinator: Adso Fernández Baena

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 6

Teaching staff: 

Alfredo Gonzalez-Barros Camba

Skills


Basic skills
  • B1_That students have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that is based on general secondary education, and is accustomed to finding at a level that, although with the support of advanced textbooks, also include some aspects that involve knowledge from the forefront of your field of study

     

  • B2_That students know how to apply their knowledge to their job or vocation in a professional way and have the skills they demonstrate by developing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of ​​study

     

  • B3_Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of ​​study), to make judgments that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues

     

  • B4_That students can convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences

     

Specific skills
  • V2. Design the mechanics, rules, structure and narrative of video games following the criteria of gameplay and balance to provide the best possible gaming experience.

  • V3. Identify the type of player and design the game experience according to its psychological characteristics.

  • V5. Write the specifications of a game and communicate them effectively to the team of artists and developers and other members involved in the creation and development of the game.

Transversal competences
  • T2_That students have the ability to work as members of an interdisciplinary team either as one more member, or performing management tasks in order to contribute to developing projects with pragmatism and a sense of responsibility, making commitments taking into account the available resources

     

Description


The subject of Game Design II is the latest approach to playful creation that is carried out within the framework of the subject of Game Design and Creation. It works from the perspective of gender theory and, more specifically, from the design of mechanics. The course consists of theoretical sessions, design sessions based on cases and oral defense sessions. In order to obtain the knowledge of the subject, the creation of the design documentation in specific cases and its oral defense is evaluated, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the theoretical knowledge individually.

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

 

Learning outcomes


At the end of the course students must be able to:

E2.2. Design levels including strategies, definition of the puzzle or the mission to complete, so that the objectives set by the script are achieved.

E3.2. Describe the psychological characteristics of the player.

E5.1. Write and maintain the set of documents that is fully known as the "Game design document (GDD)."

Working methodology


The subject uses the following work methodologies:

Master class, Presentations, Debates and forums, Case studies, Collaborative learning, Problem solving..

Contents


Topic 1. Systems design

1.1. Roles and tasks of a video game designer

1.2. The designer in the video game industry

1.3. Design tools and methods

 

Item 2. Mechanics of 3D games by genre (I): The role

2.1. Historical evolution of the genre from the perspective of design

2.2. Central mechanics of the genre

2.3. Case study

 

Item 2. Mechanics of 3D games by genre (II): The shooter

3.1. Historical evolution of the genre from the perspective of design

3.2. Central mechanics of the genre

3.3. Case study

 

Item 3. Mechanics of 3D games by genre (III): sports games

4.1. Historical evolution of the genre from the perspective of design

4.2. Central mechanics of the genre

4.3. Case study

 

Item 4. Mechanics of 3D games by genre (IV): strategy

5.1. Historical evolution of the genre from the perspective of design

5.2. Central mechanics of the genre

5.3. Case study

Learning activities


With the aim of collecting evidence of the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, the following activities of an evaluative nature will be carried out (related to all the common competences):

A1. Laboratory practices: Mechanics definition workshops (Evidence of learning outcomes E5.1) 

Group realization of the design and documentation of specific cases proposed by the teacher.

A2. Exercises to be carried out in class: Oral defense of design proposals (Evidence of learning outcome E2.2 and E3.2) 

Argued defense of the work done in A1 in front of the rest of the students and the teacher from the perspective of gender theory and game design.

A3. Final exam (Evidence of all learning outcomes) 


General criteria of the activities:
- The teacher will present a statement for each activity and the evaluation and / or rubric criteria.
- The teacher will inform of the dates and format of the delivery of the activity.

Evaluation system


The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

  • A1. Laboratory practices: Mechanics definition workshops 40%
  • A2. Exercises to be carried out in class: Oral defense of design proposals 20%
  • A3. Final exam 40%

Final grade = A1 0,4 + A2 0,2 + A3 0,4 

Considerations:
- It is necessary to obtain a mark superior to 5 in the final exam to pass the asignatura.
- An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a 0.
- It is the responsibility of the student to avoid plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting a plagiarism, regardless of its scope, in some activity it will correspond to have a note of 0. In addition, the professor will communicate to the Head of Studies the situation so that measures applicable in matter of sanctioning regime are taken. .

Recovery:

-It is necessary to obtain a grade higher than 5 in the resit exam to pass the subject.

-The recovery will use the same system that the ordinary announcement: A1 0,4 + A2 0,2 ​​+ A3 0,4, being A3 the note of the examination of recovery. In this case, the internships cannot be retaken and it is also necessary to obtain a grade higher than 5 in the retake exam to pass the subject.

REFERENCES


Basic

Anna Anthropy & Naome Clark (2014), A Game Design vocabulary. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

Ernest Adams & Joris Dormans (2012), Game Mechanics, Advanced game design. Berkeley: New Riders Games.

Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman (2004), Rules of Play, Game Design Fundamentals. Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Katie Salen (2005), The Game Design Reader. A Rules of Play Anthology. Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Wesley Addison (2006), Level Design for Games: Creating Compelling Experience. Berkeley: New Riders Games.

Jesse Schell (2011), The Art of game design: a book of lenses. Amsterdam: Elsevier / Morgan Kaufmann.

Scott Rogers (2014), Level Up !: The Guide to Great Video Game Design. Wiley 2 edition

Tracy Fullerton (2014), Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, Third Edition, AK Peters / CRC Press