LEVEL 1: OVERVIEW / WHAT IS A GAME?

Most fields of study have been around for thousands of years. Game design has been studied for not much more than ten. We do not have a vast body of work to draw upon, compared to those in most other arts and sciences.

On the other hand, we are lucky. Within the past few years, we have finally reached what I see as a critical mass of conceptual writing, formal analysis, and theoretical and practical understanding to be able to fill a college curriculum… or at least, in this case, a free online course.

Okay, that isn’t entirely fair. There is actually a huge body of material in the field of game design, and many books (with more being released at an alarming rate). But the vast majority of it is either useless, or it is such dense reading that no one in the field bothers to read it. The readings we’ll have in this course are those that have, for whatever reason, pervaded the industry; many professional designers are already familiar with them.

This level, we will discuss the concept (and definition) of 'game'.

Readings

Don’t Be a Vidiot, by Greg Costikyan
If you want to be a video game designer, this article provides both an incentive to study board games, and also a starting point for the kinds of games that are out there beyond Monopoly and RISK.

The Essence of Euro-style Games, by Lewis Pulsipher
Many of the games you will be introduced are Eurogames. Pulisher attempts to define Eurogames.

Pulling the Plug: In Defense of Non-Digital Teaching and Learning, by Lewis Pulsipher
Pulsipher explains why we should make tabletop games to learn video game design.
Tabletop: Analog Game Design, How Settlers of Catan Created An American Boardgame Revolution, p93, Ian Schreiber
Schreiber analyzes Settler of Catan, a eurogame that opened the floodgates of modern board game goodness.

Extra Credits S1 E16 So You Want To Be a Game Designer

Extra Credits (check bottom of linked page) answers the question of skills needed for a game designer.

Additional Resources

For additional readings on these topics, click HERE. It is a list of resources that is student generated and regularly updated.