Students

COMP2150 – Game Design

2020 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor/Lecturer
Michael Hitchens
Contact via michael.hitchens@mq.edu.au
Lecturer
Malcolm Ryan
Tutor
Mitchell McEwan
Tutor
Sammy Madafiglio
Tutor
Oliver Smith
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(COMP1000 or COMP115) and ((COMP1150 or COMP111) or (MMCC1011 or MAS111))
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit covers the theory and practice of designing games, using an iterative, player-centric approach. Students will be introduced to different aspects of game design and will develop their game design skills through hands-on creation and evaluation of their own games.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply the process of iterative, player-centric game design to produce intermediate-level games.
  • ULO2: Analyse and critique existing games according to the principles of game design.
  • ULO3: Prototype novel level-design implementations within an existing game engine.
  • ULO4: Communicate design goals and reasoning through appropriate documentation.
  • ULO5: Evaluate game prototypes by playtesting, and use the results to refine the design.

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Assessment Information

Late Submission

No extensions will be granted without an approved application for Special Consideration. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. For example, 25 hours late in submission for an assignment worth 10 marks – 20% penalty or 2 marks deducted from the total.  No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

 

Delivery and Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.

Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

CLASSES

Each week COMP2150 has three hours of lectures and a two-hour tutorial. Please see the Timetable at http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au. for details

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Prescribed Textbooks

The textbook for this unit is:

  • Schell, J., 2019, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, 3rd edition, Morgan Kaufmann, ISBN-10: 1138632058 | ISBN-13: 978-1138632059

Additional References

  • Adams, E., 2010: Fundamentals of Game Design, 2nd. ed.,  New Rdiers, ISBN-10: 0321643372 | ISBN-13: 978-0321643377
  • Totten, C.W. 2014, An Architectural Approach to Level Design, A K Peters/CRC Press ISBN-10: 1466585412 | ISBN-13: 978-1466585416
  • Adams, E., Dormans, J., 2012 Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, New Riders; ISBN-10: 0321820274 | ISBN-13: 978-0321820273
  • Novak, J., Castillo, T. 2008 Game Development Essentials: Game Level Design, Cengage Learning, ISBN-10: 1401878644 | ISBN-13: 978-1401878641
  • Swink, S. 2008, Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation, Morgan Kaufmann, ISBN-13 978-0-12-374328-2

These recommended texts are not compulsory for the subject, however, they do provide reliable and relevant resources to support the course material. These texts may be useful for later subjects that you will study as part of your degree. You are also encouraged to check for other sources, including alternative books and on-line material.

Other Readings

Other reading(s) for this subject will be provided via on-line material on the Web. You should be familiar with accessing through links to on-line sources of information. It is important to realise that there will be additional costs to you which may not be present in traditional presentation of education materials. Such costs include connection, time charges and access to specific information on the Web. Your Internet provider can supply you with more details.

UNIT WEBPAGE AND TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Online Resources

The official location (URL) of unit information once you have loaded your WWW browser is: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Once you have enrolled in the unit, you must gain access to comp2150 website. We will be using the University’s Online Learning at MQ website (iLearn). Students should check this site for regular updates.

Technology Used and Required

Unity 3D. The free version of this can be downloaded at http://unity3d.com/get-unity

Various commercial games will be referred to as examples in class.

Unit Schedule

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

Week Lecture Topic Assessments
1

Unit Introduction

Revision of MDA/Kinds of fun. Player-centric design.

 
2

Iterative Design. Prototyping and playtesting

Design Documents

 
3 Challenge and Drama  
4 Level design - Laying out challenges in space/time. Teaching the player, Difficulty  
5 Level design - Architectural design, white-boxing, molecule diagrams  
6

Games as systems.

Toys, resource economies. Interesting choices.
Assignment 1 due
7 Multiplayer Dynamics  
8

Playtesting

World Building

 
9 Story and Characters  
10 Aesthetics and Game Feel  
11

Puzzles/Challenges/Rewards

Immersion/presence/player experience/motivations (intrinsic vs extrinsic)
Assignment 2 due
12

Self Expression

Serious Games

 
13 Guest Lecture  
14    
15   Assignment 3 due

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

This is the first offering of this unit.  It inherits some material from COMP260

Changes since First Published

Date Description
20/02/2020 Amendment for SGTA participation hurdle