[game_edu] An Introduction and UK BTEC National Diploma

[Scott Price]

Hello, Darren --

I'm the Product Manager (who does a lot of design and curriculum-building)
for Gamestar Mechanic, a game that aims to teach game design and systems
thinking through a game.  It seems relevant to your interests. ;)

http://www.gamestarmechanic.com

More specifically, it was designed with some of what Ian is advising in mind
-- it focuses very specifically on game design as DISTINCT from
programming.  It's almost certainly young for your students, since it is
aimed at 8-14 year-olds and has an anime- and steampunk-inspired visual
style.  However, during the research that led to Gamestar's release, we saw
it used in undergraduate classes.  The classes just tend to focus on it for
a shorter period of time before moving on.

Its model of breaking down the field of game design could also be an
interesting counterpoint to the other books that Ian and others have
mentioned.  Gamestar's model was informed by the other works.

It's my project, so I've got an interest in promoting it, but the separation
that Ian mentioned between game design and programming, between systems
thinking and computational thinking, is one I would second and which I think
Gamestar Mechanic can speak to.

--Scott Price

On Tue, Sep 6, 2011 at 12:59 PM, Ian Schreiber <ai864 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> I don't teach in the UK, but for game design, I like the books you

> mentioned (yeah, no bias there ;-) and also Koster's "Theory of Fun",

> Schell's "Art of Game Design: a Book of Lenses", and McCloud's

> "Understanding Comics". If you're looking at things from less of a "how to

> make games" perspective and more of "how to analyze/study games" then

> Salen&Zimmerman's "Rules of Play" is still my one go-to book for that area.

>

> For game programming, I hate all books I've seen with a passion. They all

> read like identical clones of each other, and seem to all fall into one of

> three categories:

> 1) Beginner-level books that use "games" as a selling point but never

> really teach the parts of programming that are game-specific (graphics,

> realtime input/output, game loops and the game state) and instead just have

> the reader doing text-based stuff like Tic-Tac-Toe and Battleship.

> 2) Paint-by-numbers type books that walk the reader through creating

> specific games by following step-by-step instructions. The problem here is

> that most students just follow the instructions without really thinking

> about what they're doing, so they end up unable to apply the knowledge to

> make original games of their own.

> 3) Expert-level books that give specific hints on how to optimize. Great

> stuff, just not suitable for an entry-level class.

>

> In fairness, writing a programming text is really hard, because really what

> you want the student to learn is a complex form of computational thinking,

> and the only way I've ever seen anyone "get it" is through lots of

> frustrating practice of writing their own code and then debugging it, and

> eventually building enough experience to start making original stuff. So the

> learning process requires either a lot of dedication and perseverance on the

> part of the student (most students that have that, come to you knowing how

> to program already :), or a lot of coaching from a human instructor who

> knows what they're doing (so the text you use doesn't really matter anyway).

> On the bright side, if you're teaching games programming, it'll be really

> hard to outsource your position to a textbook ;-)

>

> My advice for game programming (and game design) has always been this:

> learning how to program games is hard. Learning how to design games is also

> hard. Trying to do both at the same time is a recipe for failure; do one at

> a time, then when you master both, start combining them. This means:

> * When learning game design, do not include programming as much as is

> practical. (This is why I love having students design board games. No

> compile errors there :)

> * When learning game programming, do not require students to design. Have

> them make clones of existing games that they already know how to play, so

> they can concentrate on the programming part. (I do like to include a small

> amount of design, but it takes the form of something like "...now add one

> feature, and you get bonus points if the feature has a high bang-to-buck

> ratio -- in other words, if it adds a lot to the gameplay AND was EASY to

> program!")

> * Add a capstone or other project-based class later where the students are

> programming games of their own design. But they should be comfortable with

> both design and programming before being allowed to take this class.

>

> Of course, that's all just my opinion, and I know others have differing

> opinions :)

>

> - Ian

>

> ------------------------------

> *From:* Darren Christie <darren at bagend.org.uk>

>

> *To:* game_edu at igda.org

> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 6, 2011 2:24 AM

>

> *Subject:* [game_edu] An Introduction and UK BTEC National Diploma

>

> Hi,

> Relatively new to the list, just wanted to ask are there any others on here

> teaching the BTEC National Diploma in the UK, and in particular the

> following units:

> Games Programming

> Games Design

> Mathematics for IT Practitioners

> Event Programming

> and OOP

>

> If so which language are you using? What text books?

> First time I'm teaching the units above, and I'm trying to give them all a

> gaming bias. We are using C# and XNA 4.

> For the game design I'm using the Game Design Workshop, Level Up! and

> Challenges for Game Designers.

> For the games programming the main book I am using is Learning XNA 4

> And for the Event and OOP using C# for Students.

> I have some others I am using for ideas for just certain chapters which if

> folks are interested I will list. But so far the above are my main go to

> books.

>

> I would really love to swap ideas with those teaching these units, or

> similar ones on what they have found works well in the classroom.

>

> One of the ideas I had for the Games Programming for the game they have to

> produce was to give the students a theme to base their game round, abit like

> a game jam. Thought this would get round the "I don't know what to do a game

> about, and hopefully avoid a lot of zombie based games".

>

> Well thats a lot for an opening email to the list. Hope to hear from you

>

> Darren Christie

>

>

>

>

>

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