GAME CENTER | MAJOR STUDIO FALL

GAMES-UT 601 • FALL 2023 SYLLABUS

370 Jay St., Room 626 / 2:00 PM - 4:45 PM W, 11:00 AM - 1:45 PM F

Instructors:​ Josh DeBonis • [email protected]​ Liam Cribbs • [email protected]

Class Description
Major Studio Fall is the first of two Major Studio classes taken by all 3rd-year Game Design BFA
students. These classes are designed to prepare students for their Capstone projects by giving them
time to work independently producing games, first alone on small prototype projects, and then in larger
groups, on projects of larger scope. The primary aims of Major Studio are to give students more
experience in concepting and prototyping games, and to build up a set of work which could be used in
a portfolio or developed into a Capstone project.

The fall class is divided into two phases. In the first phase, students primarily work alone to create a
series of rapid one-week prototypes, in response to prompts or constraints given by the instructor. In
the second phase, students form into small groups to work on two multi-week projects, starting with
someone else’s successful prototype from the first phase. These longer projects should culminate in
playable ‘proofs of concept’, which could later be developed into a full game. These projects are
designed to mimic the early stages of concepting and prototyping games in a modern game studio,
where rapid-prototyping is increasingly used for deciding on long-term projects.

Course Objectives
●​ Learn to develop playable prototypes on short deadlines that explore or test creative
ideas in a practical, hands-on way.
●​ Develop additional speed and efficiency to their regular practice as game creators when
making finished, non-prototype games.
●​ Practice collaborating with other students in developing promising prototypes into
a clear proof-of-concept version of a game.
●​ Explore creative ideas and develop a personal artistic voice as a game designer.

Prerequisites
GAMES-UT 121 Intermediate Game Development
GAMES-UT 151 Intermediate Game Design
GAMES-UT 180 Intro to Programming for Games
GAMES-UT 201 Intro to Visual Communication
Course Format
Note that this course plan may be subject to change, depending on a resurgence of Covid or other
circumstances. We will make all attempts to communicate changes to the syllabus and class meetings
in advance and we thank you for your patience as we make any necessary adjustments.
Major Studio includes a weekly class session, which focuses on critique and discussion, and a lab
session, which is focused on production. Students are required to attend all classes and all labs in
person.
Classes. In the first phase of the course, each class begins with rapid presentations of each prototype,
followed by a play session and in-person critique with the instructor and other students. Class sessions
in the second phase of the course are focused on design and production problem solving through
structured playtesting. During most classes, there will also be a “Culture Club” discussion based on a
work of culture assigned by another student.
Labs. Labs are reserved for dedicated work time. During the first part of class, when you are working
solo, you do not need to attend the entire lab every week - you are only required to check in with the TA
at some point during the class meeting. In the second part of the class, you will be working in groups
and will be required to attend for the entire lab session.

Assignments
Cover Game. As a warmup assignment, students will clone a simple existing game but with a new
theme, look and soundtrack. Students must take on a production role with which they are least familiar.
Rapid Prototypes. For the next phase of the class, students work alone to create a series of five rapid,
one-week prototypes. Every week, in the class session, a new theme will be revealed, along with
unique creative constraints designed to push the students to innovate and broaden their skillset. In the
following week’s class, each prototype will be presented in class and discussed. In order to ensure that
each prototype takes a week to complete and no more, the prompts will be kept secret until the
beginning of each assignment.
The first of these prototypes is a paired paper prototype, but the rest are solo projects that must take
the form of a playable digital game. It may be useful to think of each prototype as the expression of a
single idea; a way of testing whether or not that idea could be developed into an interesting game. They
are sketches and experiments, rather than polished experiences or fully-featured games.
Group Proof-of-concepts. In the last phase of the class, students form into small groups to work on
two four-week projects, starting with one of the prototypes from the first phase as the group’s
inspiration. Each of these projects should result in a playable ‘proof of concept’ which shows to a higher
degree of certainty whether a game could be developed into a successful finished project. To
emphasize collaboration and flexible design thinking, no student can work on their own prototype - they
must elaborate an idea from one of the other students’ prototypes. After the first four-week project, new
groups will form. You must work with a different set of collaborators in the second group.
Culture Club discussions. For most class sessions, one student will assign a work of culture (album,
comic book, videogame, etc) for everyone else to experience. The student that assigned the work of
culture will lead a discussion about it in class. Culture club selections must be approved by the
instructor.

Turning in Assignments

Design assignments (rapid prototypes and proofs-of-concept) are due before midnight the day before
they will be discussed in class. ​

Each week’s assignment will have its own folder in the class Drive. In that drive you will turn in a folder
called YourFirstName_YourLastName that contains:​

●​ A design statement that outlines in a paragraph or two what you were trying to do with the
game. You might talk about how you responded to the constraints and what you think is
successful or not successful about your project. The design statement should help someone
appreciate what you did and the ideas behind it--but it should not feel like a justification or
defense of your work.
●​ Self-evaluation:
○​ For solo projects, a document in your folder assessing your work on the project, as
well as if and how your work on this project is helping to accomplish your goals for
the semester
○​ For group projects, there will be a google form to use for self-evaluation.
●​ A folder that contains the build of the game, or relevant documentation for non-digital games.
The filename should be YourName_GameTitle_PlatformName.zip. If it’s a web link, simply
include a text file with the link in it. The Platform can be anything (Mac, Windows, Web, etc.), it
just lets us know how best to play it. If you need to include a text file with any special notes for
playing, please do so.
●​ A 30-60 second video demonstrating as much of the prototype as possible within the allotted
time. The filename should be YOURNAME_GAMETITLE.mp4. The video should NOT be an
edited trailer - it is simply a way for you to let us know how your game works. You don’t need
to narrate it, you’ll be able to talk over it when you show it in class.
●​ A single square “hero” image from your game in as high resolution as possible, with the
filename YOURNAME_GAMETITLE. (Please make this a gameplay screenshot and not a logo
image). The image you choose should be a good reminder of the game you designed.

In addition, you will be sharing your prototype in class, so bring in a laptop with a copy of the game
ready to run and share in class. If your game requires any hardware (like a joypad), please bring one to
class as well.

The longer Proof-of-Concept games will have more involved deliverables, organized as weekly
milestones. These deliverables will be detailed later in the semester when the projects are assigned,
but will mainly take the form of production plans and task lists.

Late policy: Because of the high number of projects in the class, all projects must be submitted on
time. Any projects turned in after the due date will be graded ZERO unless permission to submit late is
sought from the professor before the project is assigned. It is very unlikely that this permission will be
granted!

What is a good project for this class? The point of this class is not to create polished games, or “fun”
games, or even “good” games. The purpose of Major Studio fall is to explore ideas through making.
Because this is an exploratory process, you never really know exactly what you will get. Some
experiments are “successes” and some are “failures” - but the most important thing is what you can
learn about yourself and about game design as you create projects. ​

The only thing we ask is that you put in effort and time each week to try and work through the design
problems you are given. Since this is a 4-credit class, you are expected to work at a minimum on
projects approximately 4-8 hours each week, including time spent actively working in lab.
DETAILED SCHEDULE
_________________________________________________________________________________

COVER GAMES: Out of your comfort zone

Week 0
Wed Sept 6 - Class session: Class introduction. Mini culture club. Set personal goals for the semester.
Games to be covered revealed and teams formed.

Fri Sept 8 - Lab

_________________________________________________________________________________

RAPID PROTOTYPES: Experimentation and sketches

Week 1

Tues Sept 12 - Submit Cover Game online

Wed Sept 13 - Class: Presentation and critique of covers. Introduction of rapid prototyping methods,
exploration of the history of prototypes from well-known released games. Discuss paper prototyping
techniques. First secret prompt revealed. Culture Club discussion: music albums.

Fri Sept 15 - Lab

Week 2

Tues Sept 19 - Submit Paper Prototype online

Wed Sept 20 - Class: Presentation and critique of first prototypes. Students share their paper
prototyping methods with each other. Discuss digital prototyping. Next prompt revealed. Culture Club
discussion: fine art.

Fri Sept 22 - Lab

Week 3

Tues Sept 26- Submit Digital Prototype 1 online

Wed Sept 27 - Class: Class session: Presentation and critique of prototypes. Students share their
digital prototyping methods with each other. Next prompt revealed. Culture Club discussion: feature
films.

Fri Sept 29 - Lab

Week 4

Tues Oct 3 - Submit Digital Prototype 2 online

Wed Oct 4 - Class: Presentation and critique of prototypes. Final prompt revealed. Next prompt
revealed. Culture Club discussion: literary fiction.

Fri Oct 6 - Lab: work lab

Week 5

Tue Oct 10 - Submit Digital Prototype 3 online

Wed Oct 11 Class: Presentation and critique of prototypes. TA lecture on Git. Final prompt revealed.
Culture Club discussion: architecture

Fri Oct 13 - Lab

______________________________________________________________________________

PROOF OF CONCEPT 1
Week 6

Tue Oct 17 - Submit Digital Prototype 4 online​

Wed Oct 18 - Class: Presentation and critique of prototypes. Postmortem of prototyping phase,
students share methods and tools they have developed. Form into groups for Proof of Concept 1
project. Overview of collaboration methods and tools for proof-of-concept phase development. Culture
Culture Club topic: something else.

Fri Oct 20 - Lab

Week 7

Wed Oct 25 - Class: Milestone 1 due. Initial playtest of group projects. Discussion of production
process and methods. Culture Club topic: comics.

Fri Oct 27 - Lab

Week 8

Wed Nov 1 - Class: Milestone 2 due. Critique and feedback. Culture Club topic: tabletop games.

Fri Nov 3 - Lab

Week 9

Tue Nov 7 - Submit Proof-of-Concept 1 online

Wed Nov 8 - Class: Presentation and postmortem of first proof of concept project. Form into new
groups for the final project and select new prototypes to work from.
Fri Nov 10 - Lab

_________________________________________________________________________________

PROOF OF CONCEPT 2

Week 10

Wed Nov 15 - Class: Milestone 1 due. Culture Club topic: literary nonfiction.

Fri Nov 17 - Lab

**** THANKSGIVING BREAK ****

Week 11

Wed Nov 29 - Class: Milestone 2 due. Initial playtest of group projects. Culture Club: obscure games.

Fri Dec 1- Lab

Week 12

Wed Dec 6 - Class: Milestone 3 due. Critique and feedback. Culture Club topic: sports media.

Fri Dec 8 - Lab

Week 13

Tue Dec 12 - Submit Proof-of-Concept 2 online

Wed Dec 13 - Class: Presentation and critique of final projects. Class postmortem and discussion of
future directions for projects.
Grading
There is a paradox in grading design projects. On the one hand, the purpose of the class is to
encourage creative experimentation, where often “failure” will happen as unusual ideas are explored. At
the same time, the class is about practicing design rigorously, where focusing on refined and polished
final design is part of the learning process and helps simulate design in the real world. The approach to
grading that the class takes is our attempt to recognize and balance both sides of this paradox and their
importance in learning game design.

Pass/Fail and graded projects. The projects in this class fall into two categories:
· Pass/Fail projects are all or nothing. If you put in effort, you will get full credit.
· Graded projects are evaluated along several criteria, as described below.

Culture club participation​ 1 point per week (self-reported)​

Cover game​ 5 points (pass/fail)

Paper Prototype​ 5 points (pass/fail)​
Digital Prototype 1 ​ 5 points (pass/fail)
Digital Prototype 2 ​ 5 points (pass/fail)
Digital Prototype 3 ​ 5 points (pass/fail)
Digital Prototype 4​ 5 points (pass/fail)

Proof-of-Concept 1 ​ 25 points (self-evaluated)

Proof-of-Concept 2 ​ 25 points (self-evaluated)

These converted to a percentage and grades will be assigned based on the following scale:

A​ 93-100​
A-​ 90-92​
B+​ 87-89​
B​ 83-86​
B-​ 80-82​
etc.

Attendance: Attendance and arriving on time to all class sessions is required and expected. Three
unexcused absences lower your final grade by a letter. Each subsequent unexcused absence will lower
another letter grade. Two tardies will count as one absence. Arriving more than 15 minutes late will also
count as an absence. Failing to check in for a lab session will be considered an unexcused absence.

Project Grading Criteria​

Below are the criteria we will use to evaluate each project you complete for the class. Note there is no
penalty for submitting and demonstrating a “bad” prototype or “failed” experiment. The grading
scheme is designed to enshrine the value of learning from failure, and from the failure of others.

The GAME COVER is a pass/fail project that will be self-evaluated based on the following criteria:​
 ●​ Functionality. Has the group made a playable game that runs with no obvious
bugs or game-breaking flaws?
●​ Accuracy. Does the cloned game contain all elements of the original?
●​ Creativity. Does the project show innovation and uniqueness?

The RAPID PROTOTYPES are pass/fail projects that will be self-evaluated based on the following
criteria:

●​ Creativity. Does the project show innovation and uniqueness? Does it ask a creative question
or pose a design hypothesis that does not have an obvious or well-trodden answer?
●​ Exploration. Prototypes are not expected to be remotely polished or bug-free, but they should
be developed far enough so that a player can judge whether or not the idea shows promise.
Does the prototype tell us whether or not the underlying idea might succeed as a full game?

The PROOF-OF-CONCEPT GROUP PROJECTS will be evaluated with slightly different criteria
based on the fact that the starting point will be a promising prototype from the first part of the
semester. A “proof of concept” is still very far from being a finished game, and it need not have
more than one level or scenario, or more than one character, so long as it explores the ideas of the
original prototype more thoroughly.

●​ Playability & functionality. Does the game provide an experience for the player that is
focused and playable, without major bugs or hindrances? Did the students scope and
design the project appropriately?
●​ Creativity & innovation. Beyond just the core functionality of the project, does the project
evince innovation and uniqueness? Does it show a creative imagination that does not solve
the given design problem in an ordinary way? Has it taken creative risks?
●​ Investigation. Was the prototype focused on a particular aspect of the original project’s
design? Did it take the ideas of the original prototype further, adding new ideas or depth to
the overall concept? As a proof of concept, does it answer the question as to whether the
original prototype has promise for a future game?​

Statement Of Academic Integrity:

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically,
plagiarism is to present as your own: A sequence of words quoted without quotation marks from
another writer or a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work or facts, ideas or images
composed by someone else.

For the prototyping section of the class, ‘your work’ consists of the ideas for the prototype and the
specific design implementation of those ideas. There will be no penalty for reusing snippets of
code, technical implementations, or audiovisual assets from other sources, since these prototypes
are not intended to be shown outside of class.

Accessibility:
Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the
Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980 for further information.

Wellness:
Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues
during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYU Wellness
Exchange 212-443-9999. Also, all students who may require an academic accommodation due to a
qualified disability, physical or mental, please register with the Moses Center 212-998-4980. Please let
your instructor know if you need help connecting to these resources.

Title IX:
Tisch School of the Arts is dedicated to providing its students with a learning environment that is
rigorous, respectful, supportive and nurturing so that they can engage in the free exchange of ideas
and commit themselves fully to the study of their discipline. To that end Tisch is committed to enforcing
University policies prohibiting all forms of sexual misconduct as well as discrimination on the basis of
sex and gender. Detailed information regarding these policies and the resources that are available to
students through the Title IX office can be found by using this link:
https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/equal-opportunity/title9.html