Readings

Some of these files are also available on iTunes®.

WEEK # TOPICS READINGS
1 (Brief) Trip Through Time Buy at Amazon Jenkins, Henry. "Games, the New Lively Art." In Handbook of Computer Game Studies. Edited by Joost Raessens and Jeffrey Goldstein. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262182409.

Buy at Amazon Crawford, Chris. Chapters 1-4 in Chris Crawford on Game Design. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders, 2003, pp. 6-53. ISBN: 9780131460997.

Reference: The Dot Eaters: Video Game History 101.
2 Game Basics Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "Concepts/Principles of Game Design." Chapters 1-2 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 4-46. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon ———. "Storytelling." Chapter 4 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 76-102. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon Murray, Janet. "A New Medium for Storytelling." Part I in Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998, pp. 13-65. ISBN: 9780262631877.

Aarseth, Espen. "Genre Trouble." First Person, 2004.

Buy at Amazon Wolf, Mark J. P. "Genre and the Video Game." Chapter 6 in The Medium of the Video Game. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780292791503.

Demo: Videos of Game Genres.
3 Game Basics (cont.) Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "Getting to Yes." Chapter 1 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 1-20. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon ———. "Project Lifecycle." Chapter 10 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 206-218. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon Crawford, Chris. Chapters 6-8 in Chris Crawford on Game Design . Indianapolis, IN: New Riders, 2003, pp. 71-106. ISBN: 9780131460997.
4 Designing Games Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "Game Design Issues." Chapter 3 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 48-74. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon ———. "Managing Development." Chapter 11 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 48-74 and 220-238. ISBN: 9780761531654.
5 Class Workshop: Teams and Projects Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "Level Design." Chapter 5 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 90-122. ISBN: 9780761531654.
6 "Storytelling and Narrative"

Buy at Amazon Rollings, Andrew, and Ernest Adams. Chapter 4 in Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design . New York, NY: New Riders Games, 2003, pp. 89-119. ISBN: 9781592730018.

Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "Managing Development." Chapter 11 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 48-74 and 220-238 [reread]. ISBN: 9780761531654.
 

Guest Lecture: Steve Meretzky, one of the most respected writers and designers in the industry, Steve Meretzky has written Infocom™ games, including The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and is currently working with Paul Neurath on mobile games. For further reference, read his interviews with the BBC and Gamasutra.com.

Hear his lecture about interactive storytelling: (MP3 - 24.4MB). The following portions of audio were removed due to copyright restrictions:

Buy at Amazon Sheldon, Lee. "Prelude in a Fire-Lit Cave." In Character Development and Storytelling for Games (Game Development Series). Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology, 2004, p. 1. ISBN: 9781592003532.

Buy at Amazon Campbell, Joseph. Prologue, paragraph 3, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972. ISBN: 9780691017846.

Buy at Amazon Card, Orson Scott. Excerpt p. 258, middle of paragraph 3 to end of paragraph 5 in "The Originist." In Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, 2004, pp. 214-262. ISBN: 9780765308405.
7 Team Building Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "The Development Team." Chapter 8 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 143-180. ISBN: 9780761531654. [Or Buy at Amazon 2nd ed. 2004, pp. 151-182. ISBN: 9781592004935.]
8 "Using Outside Resources" Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "The Development Team." Chapter 19 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 182-202. ISBN: 9780761531654.

Buy at Amazon Stone, Allucquère Rosanne. "Cyberdammerung at the Atari Lab." Chapter 6 in The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996, pp. 122-155. ISBN: 9780262691895.

Buy at Amazon Also review the following article: Jassin, Lloyd J. "Working with Freelancers: What Every Publisher Should Know About the 'Work for Hire' Doctrine." CopyLaw.com, 2000. Adapted from Jassin, Lloyd J., and Steven C. Schechter. Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers. New York, NY: Wiley, 1998. ISBN: 9780471146544.
9 Play Balance and Online Games Buy at Amazon Rollings, Andrew, and Ernest Adams. "Internal Economy of Games." Chapter 8 in Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design. New York, NY: New Riders Games, 2003, pp. 239-288. ISBN: 9781592730018.

Buy at Amazon ———. "Online Games." Chapter 17 in Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design. New York, NY: New Riders Games, 2003, pp. 499-532. ISBN: 9781592730018.
10 "Introduction to Marketing and Intellectual Property" Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "The Development Team." Chapter 12 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 237-253. ISBN: 9780761531654.
11 Selling your Game Buy at Amazon Bates, Bob. "The Development Team." Chapter 13 in Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games. Prima Tech's Game Development Series, ed. André LaMothe. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2001, pp. 248-260. ISBN: 9780761531654.
12 Workshop: Polishing the Presentation and Business Plan Buy at Amazon Salisbury, Ashley. "Pitch Materials." Chapter 3 in Game Development Business and Legal Guide. Boston, MA: Premier Press, 2003, pp. 87-91. ISBN: 9781592000425.
13 Team Presentations Buy at Amazon Crawford, Chris. "Themes and Lessons." Chapter 27 in Chris Crawford on Game Design. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Games, 2003, pp. 424-454. ISBN: 9780131460997.