ISTINYE UNIVERSITY BİLGİ PAKETİ / DERS KATALOĞU
| Digital Game Design (English) | |||||
| Bachelor | TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 | QF-EHEA: First Cycle | EQF-LLL: Level 6 | ||
Course Introduction and Application Information
| Course Code: | DGD306 | ||||
| Course Name: | Game Design Studio 3 | ||||
| Semester: | Spring | ||||
| Course Credits: |
|
||||
| Language of instruction: | English | ||||
| Course Condition: |
DGD212 - Game Design Studio 2 |
||||
| Does the Course Require Work Experience?: | No | ||||
| Type of course: | Compulsory Courses | ||||
| Course Level: |
|
||||
| Mode of Delivery: | Face to face | ||||
| Course Coordinator: | Öğr. Gör. MEMDUH CAN TANYELİ | ||||
| Course Lecturer(s): | Memduh Can Tanyeli | ||||
| Course Assistants: |
Course Objective and Content
| Course Objectives: | Game Design Studio 3 is the third 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 3, students will design and create a working, side-scrolling videogame with a popular, commercialized, easily digestible theme. Per the limitations and theme of the project, students will work with a template and develop their own assets from the buttons on the main menu down to the smallest patch of pixels in the game’s background visuals. Students will create stories, lore, environments, characters, levels, and in-game objects, interactive menus, and design these elements with high fidelity and bring together all these components using clean and coherent coding techniques. The projects will be judged and graded by a group of instructors and industry professionals. |
Learning Outcomes
|
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. |
Course Flow Plan
| Week | Subject | Related Preparation |
| 1) | Introduction to the project. Discussion, meeting, topics, rules, requirements. | Form project teams. Prepare for the project. Install Ren'Py. |
| 2) | Pre-production. Workload, production schedule, and planning. | Create a production schedule and assign your roles. |
| 3) | Fundementals. Flowcharts. Limitations of the project. | Start outlining the project and work on your preliminary game design documents. |
| 4) | Unitary system and asset design. | Work on your unitary system and in-game assets. |
| 5) | Unitary system and asset design. | Work on your unitary system and in-game assets. |
| 6) | Production. Visual style and working with references. | Research visual styles. Start creating concept art. |
| 7) | Production. | Start designing your characters and backgrounds. |
| 8) | Mid-terms. | Mid-term submissions and jury day. |
| 9) | Production. | Work on your production designs. |
| 10) | Post-production. Putting the game together. | Start putting your assets into the game engine. |
| 11) | Voice-overs, sound effects and music. | Work on building your games. |
| 12) | Menu and interface design. | Work on building your games. |
| 13) | Logotype and poster. | Create an engaging and exciting poster for your games. |
| 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. |
Sources
| 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. Drawing Basics and Video Game Art: Classic to Cutting-Edge Art Techniques for Winning Video Game Design, Solarski C., Watson-Guptill Publications, 2012. Making Videogames: The Art of Creating Digital Worlds, Harris, D., Wiltshre, A., Thames & Hudson, 2022. Preproduction Blueprint: How to Plan Game Environments and Level Designs, Galuzin, A., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. Achievement Relocked: Loss Aversion and Game Design, Engelstein, G., The MIT Press, 2020. |
Course - Program Learning Outcome Relationship
| Course Learning Outcomes | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||
Course - Learning Outcome Relationship
| 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. | 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. | 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 |
Assessment & Grading
| 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 | |
Workload and ECTS Credit Calculation
| Activities | Number of Activities | Workload |
| Course Hours | 14 | 56 |
| Project | 12 | 96 |
| Final | 2 | 50 |
| Total Workload | 202 | |