DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
DIGITAL PRODUCTION AND GAME DESIGN (DPGD)
COURSENUMBER:DIG6788C
SEMESTER/YEAR:SPRING2017
Instructor:ASSOC.PROF.DR.MARKOSUVAJDZIC
OFFICELOCATION/HOURS:TBA
CREDITHOURS:3.0
CLASSLOCATION:CSEE413
CLASSMEETINGTIME(S):MON:5-6;WED:6
COURSEWEBSITE:http://lss.at.ufl.edu
COURSEDESCRIPTION:
Fundamentalsandcorepracticesoftraditionalgamedesign.Courseincludestheoriesandorganizing
frameworksofgamedesignandthehowtoofthetechnicalandorganizationalprocessofcreatinga
game.Studentsbuildtechnicalskillsinconceptualization,visualization,prototypingandusertesting.
While game design is the primary focus, skills and knowledge acquired will apply to other designcentricactivitiesandconstructsinthedigitalartsandsciences.Topicscoveredincludeiteration,rapid
prototyping, mechanics, dynamics, flow theory, the nature of fun, game balance, story telling, and
userinterfacedesign.Thisclassalsocontainsaresearchcomponentthatwillculminateinthewritten
paperattheendofthesemester.Studentswillexplorethefieldofgametheory,aswellashonetheir
researcherskillsthroughaseriesofpeerreviews.
PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGEANDSKILLS:None
SUGGESTEDTEXTS:
1. Book:“ChallengesforGameDesigner”,BrendaBrathwaite,IanSchreiber
2. “LevelUp!:TheGuidetoGreatVideoGameDesign”,ScottRogers
(http://www.amazon.com/Level-Up-Guide-GreatDesign/dp/047068867X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376864810&sr=82&keywords=level+up)
ADDITIONALRESOURCES:
• Lakevilleboardgame(providedbytheprofessor)
PURPOSEOFCOURSE:Tointroducestudentstothecreativepracticesinappliedcreativityandvideo
games design and production. This course extends the students’ understanding of video game
productioncycle,andpromotesgroupbasedparticipationandactivities.
COURSEGOALSAND/OROBJECTIVES:Bytheendofthiscourse,studentswillbeableto:
1. Describeandarticulatemajortrendsandtrajectoriesinthefieldofvideogames
production.
2. Usedifferentperspectivestoanalyzeandinvestigateevents,communitiesand
productioncyclesinvideogamesproductionprocess.
3. Presentfindingsfromyourownresearchintosomeparticularaspectofvideogames
culture.
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DigitalProductionandGameDesignSyllabusV1,MS,Spring2017
DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
COURSESCHEDULE:
THEREISNOFINALEXAMINTHISCLASS.INSTEAD,THEREWILLBEAFINALPROJECTIN
LIEUOFTHEFINALEXAM.
Week
ClassLecturesandProjects
Projects,ResearchPapers
1
Introductiontotheclass
Reviewofprojects
Lecture:CareersinVideoGameIndustry
Assign1:FiveConferencesrelevanttothe
topicofourstudy
Inclassexercise:PlayingLakevilleboardgame
Inclassexercise:BrainstormingGameConceptProposals
Inclassexercise:BrainstormingGameConceptProposals
Chapterdiscussed:1
WatchTEDtalk“Gamingcanmakeabetterworld”
Inclassexercise:Conceptart,UserInterface,Platformand
Gamelayout
Lecture:Themakingofagame:PhilosopherStone
Lecture:WritingtheGameDesignDocument
Inclassexercise:Buildingagamedemo
Chaptersdiscussed:2
Chaptersdiscussed:3
Inclassexercise:Buildingagamedemo
Lecture:Videogamesandstorytelling
Chaptersdiscussed:5,6
Inclassexercise:Buildingagamedemo
Chaptersdiscussed:7
Chaptersdiscussed:8
Inclassexercise:Testingthegamedemo
Chaptersdiscussed:9
Chaptersdiscussed:10,11
Inclassexercise:Gamedemolaunched.Brainstorming
upgradesforthefullgame.
Historyofvideogamegraphicsvideos:1,2
Workingonthefinalproject
Springbreak
Assign2:Videogameconceptproposal
Assign3:Videogamereviewof3similar
games
Assign4:Conferencepaper
Assign5:GroupProject–VideoGame
Assign1isdue
Assign2isdue
Assign3isdue
Assign5due:FinalprojectCP
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Assign5due:GDD
Assign4due:Abstract
Assign5due:Demo
Assign5due:Trailer
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DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
11
12
13
14
15
Inclassexercise:Buildingagamedemo
InclassDiscussion:GametestingandQ&A
Chapterdiscussed:13
Historyofvideogamegraphicsvideos:3,4
Workingonthefinalproject
Inclassexercise:Buildingagame
Lecture:JosephCampbell-Hero’sjourney
Lecture:Music&Soundinvideogames
Historyofvideogamegraphicsvideos:5
Inclassexercise:Gametesting
Lecture:SeriousGames
Inclassexercise:Gametesting
Lecture:Gamificationofeducation
Reviewofthefinalproject
Assign5due:FinalProject
Assign4finalisdue
EVALUATIONOFGRADES
Assignment
Assignment1:FiveConferencesrelevanttothetopicofour
study
Assignment2:VideoGameConceptProposal(page)
Assignment3:Videogamereview
Assignment4:ResearchPaper(conferencepaper)
Assignment5:
GroupProject–VideoGame
o (10%)GDD
o (15%)Demo
o (10%)Trailerpromo
o (10%)Finalproject
PeerReviews
Participation–Studentsareexpectedtoactivelyparticipate
inclassdiscussionsandgroupprojects,bothinclassaswell
asinonlineforumaftereachclassmeeting.
PercentageofGrade
5%
5%
10%
15%
45%
10%
10%
GRADINGSCALE:
Letter Grade
% Equivalency
A
94–100%
A-
90–93%
GPA Equivalency
4.0
3.67
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DigitalProductionandGameDesignSyllabusV1,MS,Spring2017
DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
E,I,NG,SU,WF
87–89%
84–86%
80–83%
77–79%
74–76%
70–73%
67–69%
64–66%
60–63%
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.33
1.00
.67
0.00
MATERIALSANDSUPPLIESFEES:
Materialandsupplyfeesareassessedforcertaincoursestooffsetthecostofmaterials
orsupplyitemsconsumedinthecourseofinstruction.Alistofapprovedcoursesand
feesispublishedintheScheduleofCourseseachsemester.(UF-3.0374Regulationsof
theUniversityofFlorida)
Materialandsupplyandequipmentusefeeinformationisavailablefromtheacademic
departmentsorfromthescheduleofcourses(FloridaStatutes1009.24).ThetotalM&S
forthisclassis:$38
COURSEPOLICIES:
ATTENDANCEPOLICY:
a.Atthesolediscretionoftheinstructor,documentedEmergenciesormedical
situationsmaybetheonlyacceptablereasonsforanexcusedabsence.Attheveryleast,
studentsmustcontacttheInstructor24hoursbeforeclasstimeiftheywishtobe
consideredforanexcusedabsence.
b.Unexcusedabsenceswillaccruetothedetrimentoftheportionofthefinalgrade
givenforclassparticipation.
MAKE-UPPOLICY:
a.Atthesolediscretionoftheinstructor,Examsmayormaynotbetakenlate.
DocumentedEmergenciesormedicalsituationsmaybetheonlyacceptedreasonsfor
anexcusedabsenceonthedayofanexam.
b.Anyassignmentturnedinpasttheduedatemayloseupto10%ofthetotalpoint
valueoftheassignmentforeachclassdayitislate.
Requirementsforclassattendanceandmake-upexams,assignments,andotherworkin
thiscourseareconsistentwithuniversitypoliciesthatcanbefoundat:
https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx
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DigitalProductionandGameDesignSyllabusV1,MS,Spring2017
DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
ASSIGNMENTPOLICY:
a.Atthesolediscretionoftheinstructor,lateworkmaybepenalizedaccordingtothe
latepolicy.
b.Anyassignmentturnedinpasttheduedatemayloseupto10%ofthetotalpoint
valueoftheassignmentforeachclassdayitislate.
COURSETECHNOLOGY:Thestudentswillberequiredtohaveaccess,andusea
personalcomputerwiththeaccesstotheInternet.Wordeditingsoftwarewillbe
requiredforwrittenassignments.
UFPOLICIES:
UNIVERSITYPOLICYONACCOMMODATINGSTUDENTSWITHDISABILITIES:Students
requestingaccommodationfordisabilitiesmustfirstregisterwiththeDeanofStudents
Office(http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/).TheDeanofStudentsOfficewillprovide
documentationtothestudentwhomustthenprovidethisdocumentationtothe
instructorwhenrequestingaccommodation.Youmustsubmitthisdocumentationprior
tosubmittingassignmentsortakingthequizzesorexams.Accommodationsarenot
retroactive,therefore,studentsshouldcontacttheofficeassoonaspossibleintheterm
forwhichtheyareseekingaccommodations.
UNIVERSITYPOLICYONACADEMICMISCONDUCT:Academichonestyandintegrityare
fundamentalvaluesoftheUniversitycommunity.Studentsshouldbesurethatthey
understandtheUFStudentHonorCodeathttp://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.
NETIQUETTE:COMMUNICATIONCOURTESY:Allmembersoftheclassareexpectedto
followrulesofcommoncourtesyinallemailmessages,threadeddiscussionsandchats,
moreinformationcanbefoundat:
http://teach.ufl.edu/docs/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf
ONLINECOURSEEVALUATIONS:Studentsareexpectedtoprovidefeedbackonthe
qualityofinstructioninthiscoursebasedontencriteria.Theseevaluationsare
conductedonlineathttps://evaluations.ufl.edu.Evaluationsaretypicallyopenduring
thelasttwoorthreeweeksofthesemester,butstudentswillbegivenspecifictimes
whentheyareopen.Summaryresultsoftheseassessmentsareavailabletostudentsat
http://evaluaations.ufl.edu.
GETTINGHELP
ForissueswithtechnicaldifficultiesforE-learninginSakai,pleasecontacttheUFHelp
Deskat:[email protected],(352)392-HELP-selectoption2,
https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml.
Anyrequestsformake-upsduetotechnicalissuesMUSTbeaccompaniedbytheticket
numberreceivedfromLSSwhentheproblemwasreportedtothem.Theticketnumber
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DigitalProductionandGameDesignSyllabusV1,MS,Spring2017
DIG6788c–DigitalProductionandGameDesign
willdocumentthetimeanddateoftheproblem.YouMUSTe-mailyourinstructor
within24hoursofthetechnicaldifficultyifyouwishtorequestamake-up.
Otherresourcesareavailableathttp://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-helpfor:
• CounselingandWellnessresources
• Disabilityresources
• Resourcesforhandlingstudentconcernsandcomplaints
• LibraryHelpDesksupport
Disclaimer:Thissyllabusrepresentstheinstructor’scurrentplansandobjectives.Aswego
throughthesemester,thoseplansmayneedtochangetoenhancetheclasslearning
opportunity.Suchchanges,communicatedclearly,arenotunusualandshouldbeexpected.
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DigitalProductionandGameDesignSyllabusV1,MS,Spring2017