Applied Game Design

Teacher:

• Prof. Fabrizio Fornari

ESSE3 Link

• Applied Game Design - AY 2024/25

Degrees:

• MSc in Computer Science (LM-18)

Scheduling of Lectures:

• Scheduling is available at the following link

Exams:

• 20/06/2025 09:00
• 04/07/2025 09:00
• 18/07/2025 09:00
• 25/07/2025 09:00
• 19/09/2025 09:00
• 26/09/2025 09:00
• 06/02/2026 09:00
• 20/02/2026 09:00

Lectures Mode

• Lectures will be delivered in different modalities: frontal lectures, seminars from experts of game design, and practical exercises

Materials:

• Students are requested to bring their laptop to each lecture

Course Slides

• 00 - AGD - Course introduction - 07-03-2025
• 01 - AGD - Game Definition, Game Design, Game Designer, Introspection, Game Report, Essential Experience, 4 Basic Elements - 14-03-2025
• 02 - AGD - Example of The 4 Basic Elements - 21-03-2025
• 03 - AGD - Example of The 4 Basic Elements, The Theme in a Game, Gameful Design, Gamification, Applied Games, Example of Applied Games, Chocolate-Broccoli - 28-03-2025
• 04 - AGD - Game Design Process, Game Concept Document, Game Design Document - 11-04-2025
• 05 - AGD - Recap Previous Lectures and Game Related Tools
• 06 - AGD - Practice with Applied Games and the Venue

Recordings

• 00 - AGD - Course introduction - 07-03-2025
• 01 - AGD - Game Definition, Game Design, Game Designer, Introspection, Game Report, Essential Experience, 4 Basic Elements - 14-03-2025
• 02 - Ambra Ferrari's Seminar - 02 - AGD - Example of The 4 Basic Elements - 21-03-2025
• Luigi Caputo's Seminar - Niccolò Vacca's Thesis Presentation - 03 - AGD - Example of The 4 Basic Elements, The Theme in a Game, Gameful Design, Gamification, Applied Games, Example of Applied Games, Chocolate-Broccoli -28-03-2025
• 04 - AGD - Game Design Process, Game Concept Document, Game Design Document - 11-04-2025
• 05 - AGD - Recap Previous Lectures and Game Related Tools Simone Granata's Seminar05 - AGD - Game Related Tools
• Doris Rusch's Seminar06 - AGD - Practice with Applied Games and the Venue

Additional Material:

• Students Background Questionnaire
• Game Design Guiding Questions

In-Class Quests

• 07-03-2025 In Class Quest 1: White Paper Esports and Gaming in Italy
  1. Scroll the White Paper (you find it here)
  2. Select one of the messages reported there (the one that captured your attention) and write your name and the page of the message here
  3. Read it carefully
  4. Describe it to the class!
• 23-03-2025 In Class Quest 2: The First that Comes to Mind!
  1. Open a Spreadsheet
  2. Write in a left cell the Game Aspect mentioned
  3. Write in the right cell the first game that comes to your mind that has that aspect
  4. At the end upload the Spreadsheet on this GDrive folder
• 11-04-2025 In Class Quest 3: A game that made history
  1. Read the Diablo Game Concept Document
  2. Try Diablo
  3. Analyse the experience and report for any differences:
  4. Hear from David Brevik
• 11-04-2025 In Class Quest 4: The GDD Reverse Writing Game..!
  1. Choose your favourite game and try to gather enough information to write a GDD about it!
  2. Rule of the game:
     1. 1 hour of time
     2. Answer all the Game Design Guiding Questions avilable on GDrive
     3. The document should resamble a real GDD (you have access to many examples already)
     4. You cannot choose a game which GDD is already available
     5. The GDDs will have to be uploaded on GDrive before the time runs out!
• 16-05-2025 In Class Quest 5: Time to Play the Game!
  1. Access the following Google Sheet
  2. Create your internal Sheet with Name + Surname
  3. Try the listed Applied Games and report on them

Side-Quests

• 21-03-2025 Side-Quest 1: Don't be shy challenge!
  • The student/s that will engage the most during the AGD's seminars will be rewarded
• 28-03-2025 Side-Quest 2: No Chocolate-Broccoli!
  1. Scout all the kingdom (Internet) in search for No Chocolate-Broccoli Applied Games (the more the better)
  2. Upload a list on this Gdrive folder. The longest list with the highest quality will grant the author a point!
  3. Choose one of the Game and report it in front of the class (in the most convincing way)
  4. If the class + the Prof. will declare it a No Chocolate-Broccoli Applied Game you will earn a point
  5. The presentation will take place during the last AGD lecture
• 11-04-2025 Side-Quest 3: Contest Evaluation
  • Help the members of the evaluation commission in evaluating the projects
    1. Come in presence
    2. 17th April starting at 10:00 am
    3. Further instructions will be provided

The examination will consist in the evaluation of the following activities that students are requested to carry out.

• Writing of a game report with information about games you have played so far (those that have been most important to you let's say or those that you can recall) described based on the characteristics that we will introduce during the lectures (check the slides).
• Writing of a Game Design Document, reporting your idea and design of an Applied Game
• Demonstration of a tool for game development that you practiced with
• Deliver a Pitch