In this introductory course on game studies, you will learn the basics of how to analyze, design, and develop games. Class discussions and activities will be grounded in a variety of digital and non-digital games as well as contemporary articles that will equip you with the vocabulary to meaningfully critique and design games. You will apply this understanding to develop a total of two games throughout the semester (one non-digital, one digital) and analyze one game of your choice using the concepts learned. No programming background is assumed. You will learn to code in C# and develop games on the Unity game engine, which is the standard for independent game development. Classes on Monday will be dedicated to game design theory, and those on Wednesday to programming and game development.

In this course, we will aim to answer the following question: "How can games be designed to produce meaningful experiences?” What is considered meaningful, of course, is a much larger philosophical problem – one that can have many different answers. In this light, you will learn how to analyze and design games taking into account multiple interrelated perspectives, such as the structures of games, their connection to the player’s experience, and their relationship with culture. A wide variety of games will be discussed, touching on issues ranging from rules and mechanics, to politics and our social identities. These discussions will be rooted in contemporary articles related to game design and culture. Using this knowledge, you will create a series of short game prototypes based on different design prompts throughout the semester, and a final, more refined digital game beta towards the end.