CS365 : Advanced Projects in Playable Media

Spring 2024
Instructor: Jordan Tynes

jtynes@wellesley.edu

Welcome to CS 365!

You are here to embark on a great adventure of working with your peers to create a digital game of your own design! Within the scope of a single semester, you will envision, plan, and produce a short game that demonstrates your deepening understanding of and appreciation for the playable medium!

  • Class Arch:
    We will meet in person once per week throughout the semester. These sessions will be long and require you to prepare by reading all assigned articles, organize your thoughts for discussions, and continually make progress on your game project. The syllabus below will fill out as we get started identifying your personal interests and goals for this semester. Get ready! One semester... one game! You will also be responsible for sharing readings and leading a discussion for one of our class sessions.
  • General Requirements:

    You are expected to have confort with game development workflows using the Unity Game Engine. Whether it was via coursework or some other enterprise, you should already have a personal investment in games as a creative medium. In this course, you will continue to develop this personal interest alongside collaborators and other colleagues. You will be responsible for coming to each session prepared to share your work, give and recieve feedback, as well as engage in meaningful discussions about the meaning of play!

  • Optional Activities:

    I plan to organize several activities throughout the semester that will be optional, but strongly encouraged. These could include game nights, Twitch streams, panels, etc. These will be announced both in-class and via email. Stay tuned!

    Twitch Streams:

    Wednesdays @ 8pm!

Schedule:

The weekly content of this course will be largely influenced by your interests in Playable Media and desires to explore new technical territory. As such, this section of the site will be updated each week. Please check back regularly for the latest information about readings and other tasks you need to accomplish to prepare for in-person class sessions. Note: unless otherwise annouced in class, due dates for assignments will not change.

Week 1:

Wednesday, January 24th
Introducing CS365; Defining our appreciation of games; Tech goals; Arch of the semester = Avoiding crunch
Milestone: NA
Readings & Resources
In the coming weeks, readings from our central textbook by Richard Lemarchand will be assigned here. Read them IN PREPARATION for this session.
Assigned Reading:
Example Article
Other resources provided by discussion leaders will also be posted here, such as links to aspects of the assignments. These will also be required.
Technical Information
This area will contain information about technical materials from each session.
Unity Refresh
Tech Link:

Intro URP


Week 2:

Wednesday, January 31st
Ideation; Group formation; Ethical production timelines; Scope
Milestone: Personal Reflection and Goal Statement
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 4 and 6 
Discussion Leaders: Jordan
Environmental Storytelling
Technical Information
One Sheet and Storymap

Week 3:

Wednesday, February 7th
Physical prototyping; Inventories and "bibles"; Distributing tasks and effective collaboration
Milestone: One Sheet and Story Map
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 7 and 8
Discussion Leaders: Jordan
Colonialism in Games
Technical Information
3D Third Person Platformer
Looking at Vertical Slice of a sidescrolling platformer using URP and 3D assets.
Tech Link:

Example: Game Dev Macros


Week 4:

Wednesday, February 14th
Vertical Slices; Scheduling milestones; Refining Macros
Milestone: Game Design Macro
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 17 and 18
Discussion Leaders: Hailey & Lucas
Soundtracks and Sound Effects in Video Games
Technical Information
"Budgeting" and Scheduling
Game Dev Example
There are soooo many videos on Gameplay Loops

Like this one!


Week 5:

Wednesday, February 21st
Playtesting and feedback; Grayboxing practices; Other prototypes
Milestone: Core Loop Playtest
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 10 and 11
Discussion Leaders:
None this week!
Technical Information
Refining Core Loops
Workshopping your Gameplay Mechanics

Week 6:

Wednesday, February 28th
Concentric Development
Milestone: Vertical Slice Graybox
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 13
Discussion Leaders: Michelle and Rayne
Female Dialogue and Sound Design in Video Games
Technical Information
Greyboxing and Collaborative Edge-Finding

Week 7:

Wednesday, March 6th
Playtesting expanded
Milestone: NA
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 12 and 14
Discussion Leaders: Gab and Kate
Microtransactions in Games
Technical Information
Playtesting

Week 8:

Wednesday, March 13th
Capturing and Reflecting
Milestone: Vertical Slice Playtest
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 19
Discussion Leaders: Jami and Valen
Gamification of Everyday Life
Playtesting!

Week 9:

Wednesday, March 27th
Entering Full Production
Milestone: Reflection
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 22 and 23
Discussion Leaders: Marleigh and Rae
Ownership of Physical Media/Emulation
Technical Information
Alpha Production

Week 10:

Wednesday, April 3rd
Supporting other visions
Milestone: Alpha Presentations
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 24 and 28
Discussion Leaders: Annissa and Joyce
Accessibility in Video Games
Technical Information
Alpha Presentation / Workshop

Week 11:

Wednesday, April 10th
Open labs and prep
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 25 and 31
Discussion: AI and Games
Technical Information
Title of Session
Open Lab

Week 12:

Wednesday, April 17th
Final playtest
Milestone: Beta Playtest
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 32
Discussion Leaders: Ari and Kat
Meaningful Choices in Games
Technical Information
Formal Playtesting

Week 13:

Wednesday, April 24th
Post-Production
Milestone: Final Presentation
Readings & Resources
Lemarchand:
Chapter 35 and 36
Discussion Leaders:
N/A
Technical Information
Beta Feedback

Week 14:

Friday, May 1st
Playable Media Open House Event!
2:30-4pm