| Digital Game Design (English) | |||||
| Bachelor | TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 | QF-EHEA: First Cycle | EQF-LLL: Level 6 | ||
| Course Code: | DGD212 | ||||
| Course Name: | Game Design Studio 2 | ||||
| Semester: | Spring | ||||
| Course Credits: |
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| Language of instruction: | English | ||||
| Course Condition: | |||||
| Does the Course Require Work Experience?: | No | ||||
| Type of course: | Compulsory Courses | ||||
| Course Level: |
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| Mode of Delivery: | Face to face | ||||
| Course Coordinator: | Öğr. Gör. SAKIP EFE ERDOĞAN | ||||
| Course Lecturer(s): | S. Efe Erdoğan | ||||
| Course Assistants: |
| Course Objectives: | Game Design Studio 2 is the second of 5 project-centric courses designed to provide an experience of videogame design processes by having the students utilize various methods and techniques acquired from multiple mandatory courses of the entire Digital Game Design curriculum to create a working, conceptual example of a videogame. Students will learn to work as teams as they approach videogame design from multiple perspectives, such as narrative writing, software programming, visual arts creation, as well as cultural production. |
| Course Content: | In Game Design Studio 2, students will design and create levels, maps, missions, or entire campaigns for existing videogames. Per the limitations and theme of the project, students will analyze and design for a videogame of their choice. Students will understand the rulesets and mechanics of their chosen videogames, imagine new scenarios, new characters, new spaces, and new objects, and design these elements with high fidelity and bring together all of these components using clean and coherent coding techniques. The projects will be judged and graded by a group of instructors and industry professionals. |
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The students who have succeeded in this course;
1) Students will apply methods and techniques acquired from multiple mandatory courses in the curriculum to create a working, conceptual example of a videogame, demonstrating proficiency in narrative writing, software programming, and visual arts creation. 2) Students will demonstrate their ability to design and create videogames by meshing engaging and fun gameplay features with immersive and thought-provoking narrative elements. 3) Students will learn working collaboratively in teams, delegating themselves to certain tasks in realizing different stages of their project. Students will learn to resolve their creative differences and strive to come to amicable agreements in trying to achieve a common goal. 4) Students will showcase their proficiency in designing high-fidelity elements for videogames, employing clean coding techniques to bring together narrative, character design, and environmental elements seamlessly, ensuring consistency and coherence throughout the game experience. 5) Students will cultivate effective time management skills and learn to mitigate scope creep as they navigate the iterative process of game design, understanding the importance of setting realistic timelines and project goals to ensure the successful completion of their projects from inception to finalization. 6) Students will receive feedback and evaluation from a panel of instructors and industry professionals, allowing them to refine their game design skills, identify areas for improvement, and develop a deeper understanding of the iterative nature of the game design process. |
| Week | Subject | Related Preparation |
| 1) | Introduction to the project. Discussion, meeting, topics, rules, requirements. | Form project teams. Prepare for the project. |
| 2) | Pre-production. Workload, production schedule, and planning. | Create a production schedule and assign your roles. |
| 3) | Selection of games. Research and reverse engineering. Limitations of the project. | Decide on your game and project topic. Take notes and find references. |
| 4) | Examples of level design oriented concept art. Sketching ideas and deciding on approaches. | Start sketching out ideas. Story and location. |
| 5) | Visual cues, learned behaviors and social reflexes. Examples of visual elements in service of gameplay. | Work on your level designs. |
| 6) | Style, texture, visual language and reference in videogame architecture. Examples of visual references to other media. | Work on your level designs. |
| 7) | Critiques and comments. | Work on your level designs. |
| 8) | Mid-terms. | Mid-term submissions and jury day. |
| 9) | Flow, pacing and repetition. Spatiality of strategy. | Work on your level designs. |
| 10) | Examples of set extensions and "skybox"es. World outside the world. World-building as a spatial design practice. | Work on your level designs. |
| 11) | Color, atmosphere and post-effects. Examples of game spaces with different visual interpretations. | Work on your level designs. |
| 12) | Critiques and comments. | Work on your level designs. |
| 13) | Critiques and comments. | Work on your level designs. |
| 14) | Preparations for jury day. Presentation methods and final touches. | Finalize your games and presentations. Prepare for jury day and end-of-semester exhibition. |
| 15) | Finals. | Final submissions and jury day. |
| Course Notes / Textbooks: | Dersin belirli notları veya bir kitabı yoktur. The course has no specific notes or a book. |
| References: | Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation, Swink, S., CRC Press, 2008. Games, Design and Play: A Detailed Approach to Iterative Game Design, Macklin, C., Sharp, J., Addison-Wesley Professional, 2016. Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction, VanderMeer, J., Abrams Image, 2013. An Architectural Approach to Level Design: Second Edition, Totten, C. W., CRC Press, 2019. Level Design: Processes and Experiences, Totten, C. W., CRC Press, 2022. Preproduction Blueprint: How to Plan Game Environments and Level Designs, Galuzin, A., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Level Design: Concept, Theory, and Practice, Kremers, R., CRC Press, 2009. How to Draw: Drawing and Sketching Objects and Environments from Your Imagination, Robertson, S., Bertling, T., Design Studio Press, 2013. |
| Course Learning Outcomes | 1 |
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3 |
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6 |
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| Program Outcomes | ||||||||
| 1) Being able to write creatively, imagine, and produce original and inspired fictional scenarios, places, and universes. Being able to produce 2D and 3D visual designs and impressive auditory compositions. Being able to plan all these artistic practices around certain goals and with a focus on design. Being able to design the videogame design process itself. | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2) Being able to think and produce creative content based on mathematical data. Being able to parametrically design. Being able to quantify art and design practices, such as creative writing, graphical, illustrative, spatial, and character design. Being able to ideate qualitatively and subjectively through quantitative and objective approaches. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 3) Being able to work on projects by incorporating various fields of expertise and the content that originates from these fields. Being able to work as part of a team while embracing different ideas and skills. Being able to produce comprehensive and total videogame concepts. Being able to edit, exhibit, present, and defend works in portfolio and presentation formats. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 4) Achieving critical thinking literacy on videogame history and theory. Being able to think through and produce academic texts about the philosophical, anthropological, political, and social manifestations of games. Being vigilant about the contemporary problematics of videogame epistemology. Displaying professionalism in accepting criticism. | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 5) Being informed about the historical accumulation and contemporary productions of the videogame culture and other cultural playgrounds from which videogame culture draws. Being able to tackle, process, and position both aesthetic and technical production and thinking methods as cultural activities. | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 6) Being knowledgeable about the past, aware of the present, and foresighted about the future potentials of the social and economic realities of videogames. Being able to handle professional relations, create correspondence, and manage production plans. Being a generalist, while also specializing in one or more areas of expertise. | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 7) Being able to research, filter data, and synthesize both within and outside videogame epistemology at every stage of production. Being able to conduct interdisciplinary research. Being able to create original ideas by remixing content from various sources. Learning to learn. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 8) Understanding, learning, and using professional content authoring tools and technologies. Being able to design workflows in service of various production requirements. Being able to use technologies within the workflow besides the usual and intended purposes, and researching, discovering, and putting to use technologies for new purposes. | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| No Effect | 1 Lowest | 2 Average | 3 Highest |
| Program Outcomes | Level of Contribution | |
| 1) | Being able to write creatively, imagine, and produce original and inspired fictional scenarios, places, and universes. Being able to produce 2D and 3D visual designs and impressive auditory compositions. Being able to plan all these artistic practices around certain goals and with a focus on design. Being able to design the videogame design process itself. | 3 |
| 2) | Being able to think and produce creative content based on mathematical data. Being able to parametrically design. Being able to quantify art and design practices, such as creative writing, graphical, illustrative, spatial, and character design. Being able to ideate qualitatively and subjectively through quantitative and objective approaches. | 3 |
| 3) | Being able to work on projects by incorporating various fields of expertise and the content that originates from these fields. Being able to work as part of a team while embracing different ideas and skills. Being able to produce comprehensive and total videogame concepts. Being able to edit, exhibit, present, and defend works in portfolio and presentation formats. | 3 |
| 4) | Achieving critical thinking literacy on videogame history and theory. Being able to think through and produce academic texts about the philosophical, anthropological, political, and social manifestations of games. Being vigilant about the contemporary problematics of videogame epistemology. Displaying professionalism in accepting criticism. | 2 |
| 5) | Being informed about the historical accumulation and contemporary productions of the videogame culture and other cultural playgrounds from which videogame culture draws. Being able to tackle, process, and position both aesthetic and technical production and thinking methods as cultural activities. | 2 |
| 6) | Being knowledgeable about the past, aware of the present, and foresighted about the future potentials of the social and economic realities of videogames. Being able to handle professional relations, create correspondence, and manage production plans. Being a generalist, while also specializing in one or more areas of expertise. | 3 |
| 7) | Being able to research, filter data, and synthesize both within and outside videogame epistemology at every stage of production. Being able to conduct interdisciplinary research. Being able to create original ideas by remixing content from various sources. Learning to learn. | 2 |
| 8) | Understanding, learning, and using professional content authoring tools and technologies. Being able to design workflows in service of various production requirements. Being able to use technologies within the workflow besides the usual and intended purposes, and researching, discovering, and putting to use technologies for new purposes. | 1 |
| Semester Requirements | Number of Activities | Level of Contribution |
| Attendance | 1 | % 10 |
| Project | 1 | % 90 |
| total | % 100 | |
| PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK | % 100 | |
| PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK | % | |
| total | % 100 | |
| Activities | Number of Activities | Workload |
| Course Hours | 14 | 56 |
| Project | 12 | 96 |
| Final | 3 | 80 |
| Total Workload | 232 | |