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.
Author

Christian Mills

Published

December 29, 2021

Modified

September 12, 2024

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Source Material:

Video: How to Teach 5 Semesters of Game Design in 1 Class

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 practical AI implementations. I help clients leverage cutting-edge AI technologies to solve real-world problems.

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