MA Digital Games Theory & Design

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Mervin Doyle
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1 Pre-arrival Pack MA Digital Games Theory & Design

2 Games Design Chris Cox Games Design is about creating the experience of a game through the rules and structure of that game. As an example in Overwatch (Blizzard, 2016) someone had to decide how much damage Hanzo s arrows did or how far Tracer can blink. That same person might also have to write the quest dialogue and map out the level plans and make sure the team you re working with understand those things. To be able to design games it s important that we have a broad range of experience and not just our game. We imagine that you ve played lots of games but here are some that we d like you to play some of. The games we ve chosen here are all Free to Play ones as we don t want you to have to pay out for anything where we can avoid it. Remember we re not asking you to like all of these games but just to experience them. The$Elder$Scrolls$Legends$(Betheseda,$2017)$ The_Elder_Scrolls_Legends/ Why:ElderScrollsLegendsisthelatestintheonlineCCGstomakeanimpact,andit sagoodexampleofhowtothink aboutstatsandabilitiesinaslightlyabstractway Grow$(EyeMaze,$2002)$ Why:Growisanexcellent experimentalpuzzle wheretheplayercanlearnastheyplayinaningeniousway Fallout$Shelter$(Betheseda,$2015)$ Why:FalloutShelterisagoodfreebasebuildingexperiencethatgivestheplayerssomechoicesandhasafun gameplayexperiencebuiltaroundit. OtherFreegameswe drecommendifyouhavemoretime: League$of$Legends$/$DOTA$/$Team$Fortress$$ Clash$of$Clans$ Candy$Crush$ When you play any game from now onwards (possibly for the rest of your life) you should start to think about what the game is doing. How is it making you feel and how has the designer achieved that? What rules are in place that are making up the game? We d also like you to read the following article, it s by no means everything but it starts to give you an overview and a some good ways to think about things: gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/tutorials/from-zero-to-pitcha-walkthrough-for-game- designers--gamedev-6121 Finally if you get a chance go to a board game cafe (with a couple of friends) and ask them to teach you a board game, preferably a complex one, you can find some Board Game cafe s here: Why: Board games are an excellent way to look at rules and to start to understand them.

3 Games Studies Dr. Ivan Girina & Dr. Andra Ivanescu FM5508 Critical Approaches Critical Approaches will provide an introduction to major theories on video games and the critical debates that have characterised the development of game studies as a field. What are video games and what are their functions? What is their relationship to games and other media forms? What kind of pleasures do we experience when playing video games and how do we engage with them? What is play? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this module FM5509 Socio-cultural Contexts In Socio-Cultural Studies we will be looking at how games fit into a broader context. Well will be looking at issues of demographics and representation as well as other socio-cultural topics such as gaming communities, violence and nostalgia. The following recommended activities are recommended as preparation for both theory modules: To Play This is a selection of relevant games, most of which will be available in the games labs when you arrive if you do not have access to any of them at the moment: Mass Effect Dragon Age: Origins Gone Home Fable Anniversary Dishonoured Life Is Strange Metal Gear Solid V Hotline Miami This War of Mine Resident Evil 4 Grand Theft Auto IV Papers Please The Stanley Parable Alien Isolation

4 Undertale Portal 2 If you do not have access to these games, please select another game from your own collection for the activity below (the To Do section). To Read Suggested Readings: Frans Mäyrä, (2008) An Introduction to Game Studies: Games and Culture (Chapters 1-3), London: SAGE. Clara Fernández-Vara, (2014). In Introduction to Game Analysis (Ch. 1-2), London: Routledge. The two books provide a useful introduction to the field of game studies and to game analysis. This will help you prepare for both theory modules and the assessments you will have to write in the future. Further Readings: On game design: Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. On video game theory: Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2013). Chapter 4: Video Game Aesthetics (pp ). Understanding video games: The essential introduction. London: Routledge. Mark JP Wolf & Bernard Perron (Eds.) (2003). The video game theory reader. London: Routledge. Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron (eds.) (2014). The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies. New York: Routledge. Jason Rutter and Jo Bryce (Eds.) (2016). Understanding Digital Games. London: Sage Publications. On socio-cultural issues: Kafai, Richard and Tynes, (2016). Diversifying Barbie and Mortal Kombat: Intersectional Perspectives and Inclusive Designs in Gaming, ETC Press. Available at (as well as the previous volumes in the series) Wysocki M. and, Lauteria, E.W. (Eds.) (2015) Rated M for Mature: Sex and Sexuality in Video Games. New Yokr: Bloomsbury.

5 To Do Please write a small essay (1500 words) linking one of the topics in Introduction to Game Studies to one of the recommended games (or another game of your choice). Please use Fernández-Vara s book to guide your analysis of the topic. Structure this as a normal academic essay and using Harvard referencing (see If you need any help with writing an academic essay, see the available Brunel resources at: There are also many other websites which provide advice on academic writing. Please send the completed essays to us at andra.ivanescu@brunel.ac.uk and ivan.girina@brunel.ac.uk prior to the start of the semester. Looking forward to meeting you in September The Games Design Team

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