Notes on How to Teach 5 Semesters of Game Design in 1 Class
education
game-dev
notes
My notes from Jason Wiser’s talk on how he teaches a class that covers 5 semesters worth of game design in a single semester.
These notes are part of the following collections:
- Introduction
- Wiser’s Background and Teaching Philosophy Evolution
- The Genesis of the “Crazy Pants” Course
- Course Design Strategies for Success
- A Student’s Journey Through the Course: The Case of Samantha
- Course Influences and Foundations
- Game Success Rubric and Grading
- Student Expectations and Course Management
- Course Outcomes and Reflections
- Conclusion
Source Material:
Introduction
- Jason Wiser describes his “crazy pants” game design course at Tufts University, which compresses 5 semesters of traditional game design education into a single semester.
- The course covers a wide range of topics:
- Tabletop game design
- Alternate reality game design
- Game testing
- Unity game engine and C# programming
- 3D and 2D art and animation
- Audio for games
- Paper prototyping
- Level design
- VR tools
- Team building and communication
- Digital game prototyping
- Pipeline development
- Team management
- Marketing
- Industry networking
- The course’s success challenges the conventional wisdom in game education of focusing on one skill at a time.
- Ian Schreiber (Education Summit board member) expressed skepticism about the course’s feasibility.
- Wiser’s presentation aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Wiser’s Background and Teaching Philosophy Evolution
Early Career: Maximalist Approach
- Wiser’s early teaching career was characterized by a maximalist approach to curriculum design.
- Teach for America experience: Taught a diverse range of subjects (international dance, art, creative writing, literature) to students who wanted as much knowledge as possible.
- Art Institutes experience: Students were dedicated to games and animation, and Wiser aimed to maximize portfolio output in even introductory courses (e.g., 10-week intro to 3D modeling included full room interiors and two high-detailed characters).
- Pixar workshop (2005): Intensive course where participants enthusiastically consumed all content.
- This approach led to high student workload and potential burnout.
Shift to Concept Mastery and Confidence Building
- Wiser’s priorities changed around 2011 when teaching at colleges where students had broader interests.
- Goals shifted from maximizing portfolio content to concept mastery and confidence building.
- Minimum viable product (MVP) approach: Intro to 3D course focused on one hard surface and one organic object.
- Emphasis on empowering students to explore concepts further outside the course.
The Genesis of the “Crazy Pants” Course
- Wiser pitched a game design curriculum to the Tufts Computer Science department.
- Initially proposed a typical multi-course model:
- Tabletop game design
- Level design
- Game environment art
- Programming and prototyping
- Capstone team production
- Department requested a single course with a focus on programming.
- Wiser decided to combine all five core areas into one course.
- The course was considered an experiment and needed to be successful to be repeated.
- Wiser aimed for student fulfillment and engagement without burnout.
Course Design Strategies for Success
Teamwork Emphasis
- All assignments built around teamwork:
- Supports student motivation and creativity.
- Provides a support network for students.
- Includes lessons on improving teamwork skills.
Robust Course Website
- Provides clear expectations and resources:
- Detailed weekly schedule and homework reminders.
- Lecture notes.
- Assignment rubrics.
- Tutorial videos for tool review.
- Examples from past students.
- Sources for further learning.
- Website address: Game Design - Tufts
Stacking Theory
- Stacking theory: Students learn one thing well at a time, but exposure to other concepts without deadline pressure can spark curiosity and absorption.
- Implementation in the course:
- Each 3-hour class focuses on one critical topic for that week’s homework (indicated by stars in the course schedule).
- Introduces 2-3 other ideas or toolsets that will be important later.
- Example: Basic 3D modeling and texturing are introduced a month before they are required for homework.
- Benefits:
- Confidence building through repeated exposure.
- Reduced stress and frustration.
- By the time of final game production, students have experience with most necessary tools.
A Student’s Journey Through the Course: The Case of Samantha
Weeks 1-6: Tabletop Games and Foundational Skills
- Week 1:
- Distinguishing between game mechanics and story.
- Samantha forms a team to design a tabletop game inspired by weird boards and toys.
- Reading: Jesse Schell’s Art of Game Design.
- Week 2:
- Playtesting and radical revision.
- Example: Tree of Life game board reinterpreted as asymmetrical combat between antivirus and AI.
- Week 3:
- New team formation.
- Disrupting existing games (e.g., Sand Wizard of Catan).
- Unity 3D and 2D tutorials (scripting, physics, feedback).
- Week 4:
- Reading: Jane McGonigal’s Reality is Broken.
- Brainstorming and presenting an alternate reality game to solve a “misery”.
- Unity Rollerball tutorial (homework).
- TA-led code labs begin.
- Week 5:
- New team formation.
- Tabletop game based on workplace routines (e.g., window washers, airline traffic controllers, baristas).
- Introduction to 3D Maya to Unity pipeline.
- Week 6:
- Unity builds and VR tools.
- One-week challenge to turn workplace game digital (zero expectation of success, focus on experimentation and learning from mistakes).
Week 7: Transition to Digital Game Production
- Showcase of first original digital games.
- Review of all design topics covered.
- Encouragement to explore new movement, interaction, visuals, and premises.
- Brainstorming and Pitching:
- 30-minute brainstorming session.
- Students write final ideas on note cards.
- Students choose colored sticky notes representing their desired production role (code, art, audio, project management).
- 45-second pitches to the class.
- Voting with sticky notes to choose final projects (MIT Game Lab method).
- Team formation based on votes (instructor rebalances roles if needed).
Weeks 8-14: Final Game Development
- Week 8: Design document and paper prototyping for user stories.
- Week 9: Get as much of the game working in Unity as possible.
- Weeks 10-11: Complete a working prototype.
- Weeks 12-14: Build out a fuller game (multiple levels, polished art and audio).
- Weekly playtesting and adjustments to game plan.
- Lessons in:
- Basic Photoshop and user interface design.
- Audio composition.
- Level design (encounter building, rational game design).
Weeks 15-16: Marketing and Final Presentations
- Weeks 15-16:
- Discussion of game marketing.
- Teams prepare trailers and websites.
- Final Week:
- Showcase of games to guests.
- Presentation of trailers, websites, and team experiences.
Course Influences and Foundations
- MIT Game Lab & Firehose Games: Game testing methodology, team selection system.
- Paul Schuytema: Playful mechanics lesson with toys and boards.
- Jenna Hofstein: Aspirational theory of game marketing.
- Forrest Dowling (The Molasses Flood): Encounter building lesson.
- Alexis Jolie de Sautel: Rational Game Design (difficulty curves and tutorialization).
- Boston University Executive MBA Program: Peer evaluation system.
- Jesse Schell’s Art of Game Design: Mechanics and prototyping.
- Jane McGonigal’s Reality is Broken:
- Alternate reality games.
- Definition of games: “Voluntary engagement in unnecessary obstacles.”
- Definition of fun: Flow (feeling of constant progress) and Fiero (frequent accomplishment and excitement).
Game Success Rubric and Grading
- Game Success Rubric:
- Clarity: Do players know what to do?
- Innovation: What new gameplay mechanics stimulate interest?
- Immersion: Is the setting, art, and music compelling and story-implied?
- Flow: Does the player feel constantly productive?
- Fiero: Are there multiple victory moments?
- Grading:
- Rubric evaluates game strength.
- Grades also consider collaboration, experimentation, and risk-taking in design.
- Tabletop games (before midterms) are pass/fail to reduce pressure and encourage fun.
Student Expectations and Course Management
Student Expectations
- Meet with teams outside of class weekly.
- Deliver a play-testable game each week.
- Learn a large amount of content in multiple disciplines.
- Strive for their own definition of excellence.
Accountability Measures
- Weekly playtesting: Verbal and written feedback based on the rubric.
- Weekly task division posts: Demonstrates intention for equal workload distribution.
- Weekly personal progress reports (after midterms): Screenshots, tasks completed, help given and received, tutorial links.
- Peer evaluations (3 times per semester): Assessment of teammates’ contributions to productivity and morale, uneven point distribution.
- Only the final peer evaluation affects grades (20%).
Industry Connections
- Students attend an off-campus networking event and write about it.
- List of Boston area game industry events maintained on madwomb.com.
- Video lectures by prominent game designers (diverse perspectives).
Course Outcomes and Reflections
- Taught nine times at Tufts and Harvard.
- Positive outcomes:
- Increased student confidence and creative ability.
- Strong teamwork skills development.
- High engagement and minimal burnout.
- Games are consistently playable, often aesthetically pleasing, and frequently unique.
- Displaced: Example of a successful game that initially seemed unpromising (platformer about self-doubt and isolation).
Example: Displaced
- Displaced:
- Created in the first semester of the course.
- Initially seemed like a bad idea: Players get worse at the game as they play.
- Became a successful platformer exploring self-doubt, isolation, and empathy.
- Mechanic: Blob absorbs junk, growing in size and becoming slower and less agile.
- Strong connection between mechanic and theme.
- Excellent level design.
- Illustrates the importance of trusting the iterative design process.
Conclusion
- Course consistently receives positive student feedback.
- Students appreciate the teamwork and opportunities for growth.
- Course provides high levels of flow and fiero.
- Captures the excitement and challenges of game development.
- Wiser expresses joy in teaching the course.
About Me:
- I’m Christian Mills, a deep learning consultant specializing in computer vision and practical AI implementations.
- I help clients leverage cutting-edge AI technologies to solve real-world problems.
- Learn more about me or reach out via email at [email protected] to discuss your project.