Game Design as a Writing Course in the Liberal Arts Amber Settle DePaul University joint work with Robin Burke and Lucia Dettori International Conference on Frontiers in Education: Computer Science and Computer Engineering (FECS) June 26, 2007

Student writing  A conflict Writing is important for all students  Employers desire good communication skills  Writing is crucial for graduate work Many students, particularly those in technical areas, do not enjoy writing  Particular challenge in technical courses Abstract and quantitative material Writing is poorly integrated with other assessments and/or course material  E.g. Introductory programming

Institution  DePaul is a liberal arts university Liberal Studies Program (general education) courses account for up to 45% of student requirements Particular focus on writing  Center for Writing-Based Learning created in 2006  School of CTI Technical school founded in bachelor’s degree programs, including  Computer science, telecommunications, information assurance and security engineering  Information systems, e-commerce technology  Computer games development, computer graphics and motion technology  Digital cinema, interactive media

Game design as a writing course  GAM 224: Introduction to Game Design Course context  Required for the B.S. in Computer Games Development  Carries credit in the Liberal Studies Program under Arts and Literature No prerequisites and no coding Students study principles of game design to:  Analyze existing games  Develop original game ideas  Writing is a primary part of the course

The Liberal Studies Program  General education courses required of (nearly) all DePaul undergraduates  Two types of requirements Common core (required of all)  Composition and rhetoric, math and technology literacy, First-Year Program courses, sophomore seminar, experiential learning, capstone Domain courses (some student choice)  Arts and Literature; Philosophical Inquiry; Religious Dimensions; Scientific Inquiry; Self, Society, and the Modern World; Understanding the Past  Almost half of undergraduate requirements

Arts and Literature domain  Expand knowledge of arts While developing critical and reflective abilities  Interpret and analyze creative works Investigate relationship between form and meaning  Focus on works of art or literature May include social and cultural issues  Courses include animation, art, English, digital cinema, modern languages, music, theater  Writing requirements: 5-7 pages per quarter

GAM 224 text and topics  Rules of Play by Salen and Zimmerman  Game design from three angles Formal aspects (rules) Experiential aspects (play) Cultural aspects (culture) Roughly 3 weeks per section  17 “schemas”, not all of which are covered E.g. Rules: Emergence, Uncertainty, Information Theory, Systems of Information, Cybernetic Systems, Game Theory, Conflict, Breaking the Rules

GAM 224 requirements  Reading requirements 600+ page textbook Weekly articles in The EscapistThe Escapist  Online gaming magazine written by (many) game designers  Assessments Papers of several types Design projects  When possible, full development, e.g. card games  Deliverables include written documentation Quizzes  Overall knowledge of schemas  Short answer questions In-class activities  E.g. Alteration of existing game and play testing

GAM 224 writing requirements  Minimum of 20 pages per quarter  Reaction papers 1-2 pages Games chosen from a common syllabus Relate games to schemas  Analysis project One game played throughout the quarter Two or three 5-page papers Argue a point about the game using the schemas  Different from writing in other CTI courses Interpretative writing A variety of writing (papers, design projects, quizzes) Strongly integrated into the course structure  A challenging class for students

Enrollments Quarter# Sections# StudentsCTI %Non-CTI % Spring ‘ Winter ‘ Spring ‘ Fall ‘ Winter ‘ Spring ‘ Fall ‘ Winter ‘ Spring ‘

Attracting non-majors  Original purpose of course Teach basic game design to majors Hone writing skills for gaming students  Growth in sections/students Partially due to growth in game development major  133 students in Spring 2007 Large percentage of non-majors  Games are appealing Reading Shakespeare or playing Legend of Zelda?  Workload is mentioned by students on evaluations Relatively low withdrawal rate Games may provide sufficient incentive New purpose: Attracting students to CTI?

Future work  New assessments in course Collaborative writing  Quarter-long group writing assignment facilitated by a wiki  Assessment of preparation for majors Are students doing better in more advanced gaming courses  Anecdotal evidence that they create better design documents  Impact of course on majors/minors Are more students minoring/majoring in computer game development as a result of the class?  Anecdotal support