Course syllabus for Gameplay design

• Describe the role of a game designer within a game design project
• Motivate different perspectives on games and use of games, both from practical and ethical aspects
• Discuss game design features explicitly using both de facto industry concepts and academic frameworks
• Present game design concepts for an audience
• Relate current game designs to earlier examples, from the direct predecessors to the first recorded examples
• Plan game design projects according to best practice descriptions
• Develop a game design concept from initial idea to a full game design document, using iterative design processes and prototyping 
• Specify target audiences and develop specific game design concepts for specific target audiences
• Analyze different game design using analytical tools (such as game design patterns) to be able to A) suggest design changes and B) compare different game designs.

Game design focuses on how rules and game components can be used to create game environments that encourage and promotes specific interaction, either between humans or between humans and the game system. The aim of these environments can vary from experimental environments in the car and plane industries, learning environments in simulations to pure entertainments applications in home computers and game consoles. The course deals with general design methods that can be applied to all these use areas. The course aims to give an understanding in how the different components in a game environment interacts as well as what relations game design has to other areas, e.g. programming and graphical design, which are required in the development of modern interactive simulations. Central programs addressed in the course are how to motivate users to specific types of interaction, the relationship between interaction and narratives, how to balance interaction in multi-user environments, how to support and encourage creativity among users, how to modify designs to suit both novel and expert users as well as how to adapt design to suit interaction with specific time constraints.