FLYING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS: DON’T

Jose P. ZagalEntertainment Arts & EngineeringUniversity of Utah

Experiences Experimenting with Games Education

WHO AM I? (GAMES ED CV “HIGHLIGHTS”)2000 – 2003

Taught “Videogame Design and Development” at Universidad Catolica (Chile)Context: College of Engineering, Computer Science Department

2008-2015 Faculty at DePaul University Context: Bona Fide Game Program, College of Computing and Digital Media

2013- Present Faculty at University of Utah’s EAE Program Context: Bona Fide Game Program, Highly Ranked by Princeton Review

OUTLINE / AGENDA How do game programs / courses of study change or evolve over the years?

What role do we, as faculty, play in that evolution?

Today’s perspective: Exploring those questions via course/module design

GAME PROGRAMS AS SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

The Development Lifecycle of a Game Program

GENESIS OF A GAME PROGRAM (APOCRYPHAL)

Waterfall Model

THE TRUE LIFECYCLE OF A PROGRAM

The “real” model…

MaintenanceWhat does this mean?What does this look like?

(NOT SCIENTIFIC) SURVEY Which of these happens more often?

You create a new degree OR An existing degree is eliminated You create a new track/specialization OR An existing track/specialization is eliminated

A new course is added/created OR A course is eliminated from your catalog

Game faculty are hired OR Game faculty are “let go” / contract not renewed

(NOT SCIENTIFIC) SURVEY Raise your hand if you have seen the following happen (maybe even been responsible)

Created an “advanced” class for an existing course already offered Created a “new” course that’s a variant/offshoot of an existing class Created an “updated” version of an old class that’s still on the books Taught a section of an existing class in a totally new way, but the other sections stayed the same

Lock = Module/Course

Game ProgramYears 1-3 (or so)

Game ProgramAfter a few years

Still pretty neat and organized!

Game ProgramYears: Forever After(?)

WAIT, THIS IS A GOOD THING!

“Core Classes”“Electives” – Usually gets longer over the years…

Curricular Offerings (Courses/Classes/Modules)

Over the years:The long tail grows…Are you aware of your tail?How does your tail grow?Are you grooming your tail appropriately?Courses/Mo

LESSON #0 (WHY YOUR TAIL MATTERS)The tail is where you innovate and experiment

Maintenance

MAINTENANCE IS EXPERIMENTINGMAINTENANCE IS INNOVATING

In our context, games education….

AVOIDING THIS:

While…

LESSONS FROM MY TRENCH YMMV

LESSON #1

Find experiential gaps in your program

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH’S EAE MASTERS PROGRAM 2-year Masters Program

Cohort-based Admissions are once a year

Yearly enrollment +/- 60 Students 4 tracks - Arts, Technical Arts, Production, Engineering

EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF STUDY

Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring

Design DesignElective Elective Elective

Track I Track II Track III Track IV orElective

RapidPrototypi

ngProject I Project II Project III

OptionalInternship

Academic Classes

EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF STUDY

Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring

Design DesignElective Elective Elective

Track I Track II Track III Track IV orElective

RapidPrototypi

ngProject I Project II Project III

OptionalInternship

Industry Experience

Taught by Industry ProfessionalsSpecialization (in track)Socialization (learn to walk/talk like a pro)Alternate grading scheme

(promote, retain, probate)

EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF STUDY

Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring

Design DesignElective Elective Elective

Track I Track II Track III Track IV orElective

RapidPrototypi

ngProject I Project II Project III

OptionalInternship

Project-Driven

Faux-Studio ModelSoft SkillsCoached not “Taught”“Large” Team – 10+ students

GAP IN THE PROGRAM? EAE emphasizes teamwork/collaboration Lacking opportunities to design and develop games solo

We need a course that provides this opportunity….

LESSON #2

Draw from what motivates and inspires you

INSPIRATIONS Running (almost) continuously since 2002 @ GDC….

WOULDN’T IT BE COOL IF MY STUDENTS… …made cool stuff like what they show at GDC? …got really excited about weird/wacky zany games?

…blew my mind more often? …whined less about how other people (e.g. teammates) got in the way of them making really cool games?

INSPIRATION 2005 – ETC at Carnegie Mellon University

“The Experimental Gameplay Project began as a student pitched project at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. The project started in Spring 2005 with the goal of discovering and rapidly prototyping as many new forms of gameplay as possible.”

“A team of four grad students, we locked ourselves in a room for a semester with three rules:”

http://experimentalgameplay.com/blog/about/

RULES1. Each game must be made in less than seven days,2. Each game must be made by exactly one person,3. Each game must be based around a common theme

http://experimentalgameplay.com/blog/about/

SPRING SEMESTER 2016 – EXPERIMENTAL GAMES “In this course students will explore, examine, and discover new forms of gameplay by rapidly developing small experimental games. Students will be expected to individually design and develop games in under 7 days and will develop 8 games over the course of the semester. Each game will be based on a predetermined theme and restrictions discussed in class. Class sessions will alternate between discussions, playtest sessions (of student games as well as other currently available ones), and presentations.”

LESSON #2 (COROLLARY)Draw from what motivates and inspires you

If you’re not that motivated/inspired find someone else who is (and help them out as much as possible)

LESSON #2 (COROLLARY TO THE COROLLARY) If you’re not that motivated/inspired find someone else who is (and help them out as much as possible)Find someone who’s better than you to teach that course

COURSES I HELPED CREATE, BUT NEVER TAUGHT… GAM 201 – History of Videogames Person who taught it had been editor of Computer Gaming World for several years…

GAM 231 – History and Design of Role Playing Games Person who taught it was a co-founder of Paizo publishing and had played D&D with Gygax

GAM 312 – Playtesting Person who taught it had worked at Microsoft Games User Research!

EXPERIMENTAL GAMES, AVOIDING THIS:

While…

LESSON #3

Articulate course goals and align them with student goals

GOALS – 1ST DAY OF CLASS

Their goals, not mine! Discussed as a group Refined a little

LESSON #4

Align assessment with student expectations

WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO (IN THIS CLASS)?

1. Form Hypothesis2. Test It3. Analyze4. Conclusion + Share/Report

Deliverables?

Formal AssessmentSuccess: Pick apart your “failure”Failure: Didn’t do it / Doesn’t run/workMediocre: Lack of effort, Didn’t Reflect/Learn

Stuff I didn’t explicitly discuss: What happens when stuff is late?

LESSON # 5

Ending the course is just as important as the beginning

IN-CLASS POST-MORTEM REVIEW / REMINDER1. Revisited everything we talked about on day 1.1. What were the learning goals?

2. Had a class discussion about what went well, what could be improved

1. By them 2. By me

3. Distributed self-assessment “forms”1. Half-sheet of paper with two questions:

1. What grade do you deserve 2. Why do you deserve that grade

LESSON #6

Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone

If you don’t feel a bit scared/worried/excited, you’re probably not experimenting enough.

THEMES Pointillism Wetness Roll and Move Envy Social Connections Platformer with a Twist Sanctity

2 Hour Time LimitIn-ClassI Also Made a Game

LESSON #7

Don’t ask your students to do things you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself

LESSON #8

You don’t have to cater to everyone.

After the first day of class, half the students dropped out. I survived to tell this tale.

LESSON #8 (COROLLARY)

You don’t have to cater to everyoneEveryone should be catered to (see Lesson #1)

RESULTS? Students blew my mind. (every other week)

Students blew each other’s minds. (every other week)

LESSON #9

Treat your students like junior colleagues rather than just junior

Their help will guide you along the way. Trust them!

CONCLUSIONS Lesson #1 – Find Experiential Gaps in your Program Lesson #2 – Draw from What Motivates and Inspires You Corollary a - …or find someone else who is Corollary b - …or find someone else who is better than you

Lesson #3 – Articulate Course Goals and Align them with Student Goals Lesson #4 - Align Assessment with Student Expectations Lesson #5 – Ending the Course is Just as Important as the Beginning Lesson #6 – Don’t be Afraid to Leave your Comfort Zone Lesson #7 - Don’t ask your students to do things you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself

Lesson #8 – You Don’t Have to Cater to Everyone Corollary a – Everyone should be catered to (see Lesson #1)

Lesson #9 – Treat your Students like Junior Colleagues rather than just Junior

LESSON #10

It doesn’t have to be pretty, polished, slick, or elegant. Rough around the edges is probably better.

CONCLUSIONS

Neither does anybody else. So, listen to others, learn from them, adapt, and adopt what works for you and your program.

THANK YOU! Jose P. Zagal jose.zagal@utah.eduhttp://www.eae.utah.edu/faculty/jzagal

Special thanks to my students and colleagues over the years. Anything smart or insightful I said is thanks to them.

Images used in this presentation are the property of their respective owners. Their use here qualifies as fair use under US copyright law for educational purposes and critical commentary.

@JoseZagal