Data-Driven Design & Development (Spring 2023)

Abstract

In this course, students learn how to work in data-driven design and development processes and what changes data analysis brings to the design and maintenance of games.

Description

Data analysis has become one of the driving forces of game design and development. This course teaches data analysis methods, and how they affect design and development. Students learn how user data is gathered, and how data analysis can be used in order to support the design and development of games and other interactive systems. They also learn how to develop, use, and analyse different game industry related metrics (e.g. customer metrics, community metrics, performance metrics, gameplay metrics) and how to use those to balance and optimise different aspects of games, informing the design process.

NB: This course is not available to students enrolling in the course Critical Data Analysis.

Formal prerequisites

The students need to have attended an introduction to programming course.

This course is not available to students enrolling in the course Critical Data Analysis.

Intended learning outcomes

After the course, the student should be able to:

• Formulate an appropriate research question to effectively address and evaluate a design, development or business idea.
• Design research studies and evaluate their results in relation to a given research question.
• Compare, evaluate and apply appropriate operationalisation of a given construct
• Outline and apply relevant statistical measures for testing, evaluation and communication of data.
• List possible data sources to evaluate the user experience in a given context
• Identify relevant key performance indicators and metrics relevant in each of the design and development stages.
• Identify and apply appropriate visualisations of collected data metrics that can inform the appropriate stakeholder.
• Describe the technical, ethical and legal challenges connected to the collection and analysis of user data.

Learning activities

Students are responsible for attending weekly lectures, participating in the group activities and engaging with the teaching staff for supervision and feedback.

Mandatory activities

There will be no mandatory activity during the course. The students will be provided with weekly workshop and they will work on a project throughout the course. A report on the project will be handed in at the end of the course as exam project. Alongside the oral examination, the report will contribute to the final grade.

The student will receive the grade NA (not approved) at the ordinary exam, if the mandatory activities are not approved and the student will use an exam attempt.

Course literature

Game Research Methods - Petri Lankoski, Staffan Björk [https://press.etc.cmu.edu/index.php/product/game-research-methods/]

The remaining material will be provided for each lecture in the form of links and articles

Student Activity Budget

Estimated distribution of learning activities for the typical student

• Preparation for lectures and exercises: 20%
• Lectures: 15%
• Exercises: 10%
• Assignments: 10%
• Project work, supervision included: 20%
• Exam with preparation: 25%

Ordinary exam

Exam type:
D: Submission of written work with following oral, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
D2G: Submission for groups with following oral exam supplemented by the submission. Shared responsibility for the report.

reexam

Exam type:
D: Submission of written work with following oral, External (7-point scale)
Exam variation:
D22: Submission with following oral exam supplemented by the submission.

Time and date