GAD3026 Tabletop Game DesignBahçeşehir UniversityDegree Programs MATHEMATICSGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy StatementNational QualificationsBologna Commission
MATHEMATICS
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
GAD3026 Tabletop Game Design Spring 2 2 3 5
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Hybrid
Course Coordinator : Dr. Öğr. Üyesi GÜVEN ÇATAK
Course Lecturer(s): Instructor ERTUĞRUL SÜNGÜ
Course Objectives: This course focuses on games played around a table. It essentially aims the students to understand analog game design processes, but also to acquire information on how to integrate game design and create links with all the other aspects of analog game production. It involves the students in various and numerous workshops and group activities.

The course relies on pragmatic reasoning and professional experiences rather than academic informations and ultimately aims to widen prespectives and open a creative mind on the analog game design subject.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
After successful completion of the course, the learned is expected to be able to:
1) Comprehend the scale of use for game mechanics
2) Understanding tabletop game mechanics
3) Using pragmatic reasoning and professional perspective for analog game design
4) Being able to analyze tabletop game making techniques
5) Integrating game design and creativity on all analog projects

Course Content

This course will cover the creation of a game from the very first game idea to the production documents needed by factories, including creating and respecting a policy, brain storming a game, pitching, writing game design documents, writing rules documents, prototyping, playtesting and finalizing documents for production.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Historical approaches to desktop games and design processes
2) Defining the types of games and examining game concepts
3) Game pacing, management of dynamics and mechanics.
4) The formal and dramatic elements of the tabletop games
5) Measuring the tabletop gaming experience and iterative development
6) Concepts of competition, talent and luck in tabletop games
7) Desktop game components: mechanics, narration and dynamics
8) From idea to prototype: playable prototyping
9) Gameplay testing and playability, game analysis
10) Applicable game production and game production stages I
11) Applicable game production and game production stages II
12) Presentation and decision making for projections
13) Final project preperation & revision
14) Final project presentation

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: Oxford History of Board Games, David Parlett, 2009.
The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming: Rules Every Gamer Must Live By, Teri Litorco, 2016
Game Design Workshop – Tracy Fullerton
Fundamentals of Game Design – Ernest Adams & Adam Rolling
Challenges for Game Designers – Brenda Brathwaite & Ian Schreiber
References: "XU, Yan, et al. Chores Are Fun: Understanding Social Play in Board Games for Digital Tabletop Game Design. In: DiGRA Conference. 2011.
WHALEN, Tara. Playing well with others: Applying board game design to tabletop display interfaces. In: ACM symposium on user interface software and technology. New York: ACM Press, 2003.
WIGDOR, Daniel, et al. Under the table interaction. In: Proceedings of the 19th annual ACM symposium on User interface software and technology. ACM, 2006. p. 259-268."

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Attendance 1 % 10
Presentation 1 % 5
Project 9 % 25
Midterms 1 % 20
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 35
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 65
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Duration (Hours) Workload
Course Hours 14 1 14
Application 14 3 42
Study Hours Out of Class 8 8 64
Midterms 1 3 3
Final 1 3 3
Total Workload 126

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) To have a grasp of basic mathematics, applied mathematics and theories and applications in Mathematics
2) To be able to understand and assess mathematical proofs and construct appropriate proofs of their own and also define and analyze problems and to find solutions based on scientific methods,
3) To be able to apply mathematics in real life with interdisciplinary approach and to discover their potentials,
4) To be able to acquire necessary information and to make modeling in any field that mathematics is used and to improve herself/himself, 4
5) To be able to tell theoretical and technical information easily to both experts in detail and non-experts in basic and comprehensible way,
6) To be familiar with computer programs used in the fields of mathematics and to be able to use at least one of them effectively at the European Computer Driving Licence Advanced Level,
7) To be able to behave in accordance with social, scientific and ethical values in each step of the projects involved and to be able to introduce and apply projects in terms of civic engagement,
8) To be able to evaluate all processes effectively and to have enough awareness about quality management by being conscious and having intellectual background in the universal sense, 4
9) By having a way of abstract thinking, to be able to connect concrete events and to transfer solutions, to be able to design experiments, collect data, and analyze results by scientific methods and to interfere,
10) To be able to continue lifelong learning by renewing the knowledge, the abilities and the competencies which have been developed during the program, and being conscious about lifelong learning,
11) To be able to adapt and transfer the knowledge gained in the areas of mathematics ; such as algebra, analysis, number theory, mathematical logic, geometry and topology to the level of secondary school,
12) To be able to conduct a research either as an individual or as a team member, and to be effective in each related step of the project, to take role in the decision process, to plan and manage the project by using time effectively.