[game_edu] Essential Games (was Re: Games in the Library)

[Dan Carreker]

One game I have found essential for teaching design is Riot Game's League of
Legends. There are several advantages to using this game

*         It's free to play, so no cost to students 

*         Every two weeks it's updated and rebalanced. The designer notes
are a good source for discussion

*         It has a custom mode that allows us to create individual teams so
I team up new players with veterans while they are learning the game.

*         It uses lots of different means to balance the game which allows
me to illustrate balancing methods such as attribute, compensative,
temporal, symbiotic, etc.

*         It also opens the door to discuss marketing of games since their
model is different than many others.

 

--Dan Carreker

 

 

  _____  

From: Steve Graham [mailto:skudge at gmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 1:17 PM
To: Ian Schreiber; IGDA Game Education Listserv
Subject: [game_edu] Essential Games (was Re: Games in the Library)

 

Thanks for the feedback, Ian. All good advice and useful for setting up such
a library.

My interest is different, though. I'm trying to gather input on specific
games that people believe are "essential playing" for game
designers/developers. I realize that for different roles one might view
different games as essential -- that's fine, I'll take recommendations for
"essential" with or without qualification! I'll even take categories of
games rather than specific games (for instance, i can imagine someone saying
"poker" is essential, or maybe "an rpg" as opposed to say "texas hold-em" or
"Dungeons & Dragons".)

"Essential" is open to individual interpretation as well, but I'm not
thinking "first", "best", "most popular", or even "most influential".
Instead, I'm after what games people see as having the most value to
aspiring game designers/developers, perhaps because of the accessibility,
importance or clarity of some aspect of game design/development which can be
seen in the game. 

Oh -- and I'm happy with any sort of reply -- a single game is fine (as are
multiple replies) -- anything you happen to think of, when and as
convenient. I don't need someone's list of THE games they consider essential
-- that could be a lot of work! Instead, just whatever games come to mind. 

Many thanks for any and all recommendations! And, again, feel free to email
me (skg at dsu.edu) if you'd like and I can aggregate responses to the list. 

cheers,
skg



On 3/11/2012 2:46 PM, Ian Schreiber wrote: 

Depends on the nature of your program and purpose of the game library.

 

For example, if you have a game design degree that has students dealing with
lots of board games and 2d games, you'll want to have your library stocked
with games of those types. If you've got a 3d art/animation degree, then
current-gen console and PC games may be the primary focus. If you do a lot
of historical game studies, spring for some vintage consoles and games,
maybe even some from other areas of the world that never made it to your
home country. If the goal is just to have a fun space for students to play
(and maybe use that as another bullet point in your brochures to attract new
undergrads) then you might be better off with a smaller number of
critically-acclaimed games and higher-end flashy hardware to play them on.
And so on.

 

At the very least, start with any games that are "required playing" for any
of your courses. Ideally, any game you plan on discussing or examining in
any course in the entire curriculum should be in there.

 

Also note that you should be able to add to the library over time, so I
think instead of trying to come up with a comprehensive list of "must have"
games, better to concentrate on getting the infrastructure set up: ability
to house games, allow checkouts, replace anything that gets
damaged/lost/broken/stolen, and have a mechanism for adding new games later.
Then, if you discover a game that should be in there, you can add it
whenever. (I've even toyed with the idea of charging a "lab fee" for classes
that use the game section of the library, and using that fee to purchase new
games on a regular basis. Science and engineering classes with lab do this
already at many schools. Think of how fast you can build a decent library if
you get $25 per student per course in your game program...)

 

- Ian

 

  _____  

From: Steve Graham  <mailto:skudge at gmail.com> <skudge at gmail.com>
To: IGDA Game Education Listserv  <mailto:game_edu at igda.org>
<game_edu at igda.org> 
Sent: Friday, March 9, 2012 12:41 PM
Subject: Re: [game_edu] Games in the Library


Actually, this raises a question I'd like some (lots!) of feedback on:

What games are *essential* for the library?

Take that however you will, but please let me know what you think! If you
don't want to respond publicly or clutter the list with too many responses,
email me directly (skg at dsu.edu). I'll aggregate and post any responses I get
that don't go directly to the list.

Cheers!
skg


On 3/9/2012 9:05 AM, Jose P. Zagal wrote:

> ...

> 

> 

> Obviously, YMMV w/r to which games you think are good/bad, but it's

definitely a lot more than only FPS games.

> 


-- steve graham
associate professor
computer game design
dakota state university
skg at dsu.edu
605-480-6603

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game_edu mailing list
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-- 
steve graham
associate professor
computer game design
dakota state university
skg at dsu.edu
605-480-6603
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