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Kursusbeskrivelse
Kursusnavn (dansk):Eksperimentel gameplay 
Kursusnavn (engelsk):Experimental Gameplay 
Semester:Efterår 2009 
Udbydes under:cand.it., medieteknologi og spil (mtg) 
Omfang i ECTS:7,50 
Kursussprog:Engelsk 
Kursushjemmeside:https://learnit.itu.dk 
Min. antal deltagere:0 
Forventet antal deltagere:15 
Maks. antal deltagere:40 
Formelle forudsætninger:Having successfully completed the mandatory courses on the IT University M.Sc. programme Game Design and/or Game Development, and/or extensive knowledge of any of the following skills: programming, graphic design, game sound design, level design, iterative game design and prototyping, computer game QA, computer game theory and criticism. 
Læringsmål:Upon successful completion of this course, the students will have:
- Designed and rapidly prototyped a number of experimental games in a playable state.
- Understood the production principles of experimental game design, iterative design tied to strict deadlines, and small team dynamics.
- Produced an online portfolio of games produced, and/or Developed theoretical and critical analysis of experimental games.
This course also intends to produce games that could be submitted to different exhibitions and competitions, like the Indie Games Festival (http://www.igf.com/).
Finally, this course wants to give the students the opportunity of adding to their personal portfolio/resume a number of games.

 
Fagligt indhold:Experimental Game Play will present the students with a number of challenges: to develop experimental prototypes of games within predetermined constraints within strict three week deadlines.

The students will be presented with each game design challenge every third Friday. The following Monday, students will pitch their ideas to the class. Then the students will choose projects and form teams, and a 3 week deadline will be established. The prototypes have to be functional by the end of that period. All challenges do not necessarily aim for implementation of full games, but for prototyping innovative game mechanics.

The role structure of teams is open, with a size constraint of 3-5 team members. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the prototype design and implementation with their skills; and go beyond their comfort zones - there are only 'slash' roles, such as programmer/artist, artist/game designer, sound designer/team manager, and so on. Designer and artists are encouraged to participate in prototyping game mechanics with the help of accessible programming languages, such as Processing.

There are no inherent technological constraints, unless the challenge specifically says so. The course is technologically non-partisan: all development platforms are allowed--student teams can choose the tools to use on each project based upon what they have access to and are familiar with. All prototypes must use computers in some way.

Students will be encouraged to adapt the development process methods that were the backbone of the game development course, as well as the design methodologies that were taught in introduction to game design.

The challenges presented to the students are broad, and should interest not only those students interested in game design or programming, but also those interested in HCI or QA.

Students can also choose to produce a theoretical report, within the keywords of this course: experimental gameplay, alternative controllers, iterative design, rapid development. The students that chose to produce a purely theoretical work are nevertheless encouraged to contribute to the game productions, for example as playtesters. The theoretical report must be between 20 and 25 pages long.

In this course there are few formal lectures: mostly the class will meet on Fridays for receiving the game design challenge, and showcasing their games, and every third Monday to pitch the game. There will be available supervision by appointment with the course manager for answering questions or giving feedback on game designs. Furthermore, those students who have chosen to write a theoretical report will have dedicated individual supervision hours.

A fundamental part of this course is to encourage students to create innovative gameplay and to experiment with the expressive possibilities of the medium. Thus, originality and experimentation are part of the evaluation and will be taken into consideration.

The goal of this course is to produce games that can be successfully presented at different game competitions, credited as a student work.
 
Læringsaktiviteter:

Students will be evaluated on their (individual) contribution to each game. There will be an oral exam based on a report.

This report is a text in which students describe their work in each of the games with a critical perspective, relating it to the challenges the games were designed after, and the overall goal of the course: to introduce students to the practice of experimental gameplay design and development. There will also be a number of readings (as handouts) that the students will be expected to reflect upon on their report. The report, on which the oral exam will be based, will have to be significantly unique and individual - i.e. every student has to write their own report of 5 to 6 pages.

As mentioned before, originality and experimentation will be a part of the evaluation, and students must be able to identify and present these characteristics for the games they have produced.

Se hvordan undervisningen er tilrettelagt her:
link til skemaoplysninger
Skemaoplysningerne for efterårssemesteret vil være tilgængelig fra august måned.

See the schedule here:
link to the time table
The schedule for the fall term will be available in August.
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Information om studiestruktur / Information about study structure
Dette kursus er en del af MTG's backbone, som du kan finde beskrevet her:
MTG studiestruktur
For at blive cand.it. i MTG skal du bestå MTG's backbonekurser, og desuden gennemføre en 22,5 ECTS specialisering samt to 7,5 ECTS valgfag.

This course is part of the MTG backbone - find it described here:
MTG study structure
In order to graduate as a MSc in MTG, you need to pass the MTG backbone courses, and also take a 22,5 ECTS specialization and two 7,5 ECTS electives. 

Eksamensform og -beskrivelse:X. experimental examination form (7-scale; external exam), 7-trins-skala, Ekstern censur

 

Litteratur udover forskningsartikler:Shiffman, Daniel (2008):
Learning Processing: A Beginner's Guide to Programming, Images, Animation, and Interaction. Morgan Kaufman Publishers.
 
 
Afholdelse (tid og sted)
Kurset afholdes på følgende tid og sted:
UgedagTidspunktForelæsning/ØvelserStedLokale
Mandag 10.00-12.00 Øvelser ITU Game-/multimedielab
Fredag 10.00-12.00 Øvelser ITU Game-/multimedielab

Eksamen afholdes på følgende tid og sted:
EksamensdatoTidspunktEksamenstypeStedLokale
2009-12-16 No later than 3 PM Skriftlige arbejder ITU Examination Office
2010-01-05 Please check with the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU Aud 3
2010-01-06 Please check with the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU Aud 3
2010-01-07 Please check with the course manager Mundtlig eksamen ITU Aud 3