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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
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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
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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 1996 14 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Enrollments Quarter# Sections# StudentsCTI %Non-CTI % Spring ‘041208515 Winter ‘051358020 Spring ‘052695248 Fall ‘0541606733 Winter ‘06310350 Spring ‘0641234060 Fall ‘0651876535 Winter ‘0741174555 Spring ‘073942773
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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?
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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
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