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

[Simon Etienne Rozner]

For some basic game mehanics and dynamics and to introduce basic balancing I use the game liars dice as well as spoons and hearts in class. Materials are cheap and require students to have some dice and cards as well that help them later on in designing games too. We do modifications of each game to learn about mechanics and changing dynamics and also make new games using only dice at the start, going to cards and going to a mix of both. Games like catan, zombies, carcasonne and munchkin are good as well to teach some basic rpg elements, ecomomy and tile based games.

That covers mainly analog games but we ranch out to digital games as well but mainly by making our own games.

Cheers
Simon

On 12 Mar, 2012, at 9:47, "Dan Carreker" <danc at narrativedesigns.com> wrote:


> 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 <skudge at gmail.com>

> To: IGDA Game Education Listserv <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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> -- 

> steve graham

> associate professor

> computer game design

> dakota state university

> skg at dsu.edu

> 605-480-6603

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