Welcome to 11.126x!
About This Course
We have all played and enjoyed games, but how do people actually design them? How do you describe a game? What are the basic elements? How do designers create an experience for the player? What about prototyping and iterating?
This course explores these questions and others through six content units over seven weeks. Participants will be introduced to game design and game design concepts, emphasizing the basic tools of game design: paper and digital prototyping, design iteration, and user testing. The audience for this course includes current and aspiring game designers and those interested in delving deeply into the game creation process.
Week 0: Welcome - launches April 27th, 2016 at 0:00 UTC
Week 1: What Is a Game? - launches May 5th at 0:00 UTC
Week 2: Prototyping - launches May 12th at 0:00 UTC
Week 3: Creating a Coherent Game - launches May 19th at 0:00 UTC
Week 4: Digital Prototyping - launches May 26th at 0:00 UTC
Week 5: Making Usable Games - launches June 2nd at 0:00 UTC
Week 6: Business In Games - launches June 9th at 0:00 UTC
Course concludes June 15, 2016, Certificates generated around June 22, 2016
What You'll Learn
- How to unpack the term "game," incorporating different concepts and multiple perspectives.
- How to analyze the mechanics of paper and digital games, considering how these mechanics affect gameplay and player experiences.
- How to design, develop, and test games using an iterative design process and considering user feedback.
Course Project
Participants will create a paper-based game, but there will be opportunities to experiment with digital prototyping.
Guidelines
Course Calendar
The calendar below includes the content release schedule and suggested due dates. If you choose to import it, make sure you are viewing the events in the correct timezone (UTC/GMT). If you have questions, look at the Course Overview in Week 0.