IT-Universitetet i København
 
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Kursusnavn (dansk):Digitalt spildesign 
Kursusnavn (engelsk):Designing Digital Play 
Semester:Efterår 2014 
Udbydes under:Bachelor i digitale medier og design (bdmd) 
Omfang i ECTS:7,50 
Kursussprog:Engelsk 
Kursushjemmeside:https://learnit.itu.dk 
Min. antal deltagere:12 
Forventet antal deltagere:35 
Maks. antal deltagere:70 
Formelle forudsætninger:This course is an interaction design track module on the bachelor in Digital Media and Design.
Moreover the student must always meet the admission requirements of the IT University. Students are also expected to have some basic programming knowledge (i.e. students should be able to write a basic interactive piece of software that imports libraries and makes use of object oriented programming techniques). While the course is largely language agnostic, the examples will be given in Python and Processing. Students are free to program their projects in any language they wish to. 
Læringsmål:This course is designed to expand the intellectual and professional scope of interaction design students. Students who successfully finish the course should be able to:
• Discuss the cultural and social importance of the concept of play.
• Describe how play is used in the development of interactive services and games.
• Explore and account for how play can be evoked from design practices and principles.
• Design and implement play experiences on digital environments
• Test the success of a particular play approach to an interactive concept. 
Fagligt indhold:Prospective students should notice that this is not a game design course. The purpose of this course is to explore play as an expressive form and creative framework outside of the domain of games. As such, the learning goals and activities are not oriented towards game design. Play is at the core of many interactive experiences, from digital and non-digital games to online services, social networks, and even electronic appliances. However, we don’t often stop and think about the nature of play, and how it is actually designed, implemented, and tested.
This course will focus on drawing into the digital design domain inspiration and practices from play and computer games. It will not be, however, a game development course. Students will be encouraged to create playful objects and/or interactions, but the course is not centered on game design theory. Rather, this course is focused on play theory and design research.
In the first part of the course, students will be introduced to the classic theories of play, asking them to explore how playfulness and games provide powerful emotional, social and cognitive experiences. This first part of the course will be highly theoretical, focused on reading and discussing two essential texts in play studies.
The second half of the course will center on exploring play from an interaction and game design perspective. Students will become familiar with some basic design principles in traditional fields, and how they can be leveraged into digital play. Students will also begin to experiment with creating play dynamics in real-world domains. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide Digital Interaction Design students the opportunity to explore how play might be fruitfully used in a range of design contexts. 
Læringsaktiviteter:12 forelæsninger + lejlighedsvis øvelser i forbindelse med undervisningen

The course is divided in two conceptual blocks. The first block comprises a theoretical and practical understanding of play and its role in culture. This block will be focused on reading classic play theory texts, as well as more modern literature on the topic. Students will get acquainted with different definitions of play, and how those can be implemented in design practice. This first block will be structured around a 6-weeks project in which students will have to conceptualise, prototype, develop, test and evaluate a playful service (f.ex. a website, a home appliance, an interface). The second block comprises an exploration of cultural and societal topics and how they can be seen through the prism of play. From aesthetics to ethics, the second block comprises expanded readings on play, as well as a new 6-week project in which students will have to conceptualise, prototype, develop, test and evaluate a playful viral use of social media (f.ex. twitter bots, fake social networks, playful facebook campaings). Each project must have a hand-in containing:
• The prototype
• Documentation on test setup
• Results from the test
• A 5000 word (minumum) (not including references) written report that explores the process of creating the project, as well as a reflection on how it explores different concepts of play explored in class. 

Obligatoriske aktivititer:2 hand-ins, the last one containing all the previous ones. 
Eksamensform og -beskrivelse:X. experimental examination form (7-scale; external exam), 7-trins-skala, Ekstern prøve

Written exam, group evaluation. Each hand-in accounts for 50% of the grade  

Litteratur udover forskningsartikler:Expected selection of readings from:
Sutton-Smith, Brian, The Ambiguity of Play. Huizinga, Johann, Homo Ludens. Salen, Katie. and Zimmerman, Eric, Rules of Play. Schön, Donald, The Reflective Practitioner .