Course Syllabus

EAE 6900-007 - Game Systems Design

 

Instructor: Matt Anderson, MFA

University of Utah

Spring 2018, T, H / 3:40 PM - 5:00 PM M Lib 1160

Email: matthewladdanderson@gmail.com

Office Hours: By appointment only

College of Engineering Guidelines: COE Guidelines

 

 

Course Description

Game Systems Design will introduce students to the math, scripting, and theory behind building and balancing mathematical and system frameworks in games. Course work will focus on originating and modeling numerically-driven game behavior within systems-heavy genres, such as MMOs, RTSs, and CCGs, utilizing Google Sheets and Google Tools. Students will build complex economies, player progressions, leveling systems, combat mechanics, timelines, sub-games, monetization plans, and more. 

 

Course Objectives

Through readings, lectures, discussion and laboratory work, at the end of the course students will have a well founded, broad understanding of game systems design as well as a strong understanding the underlying math and structures for building complex game systems.

 

Required Texts

The Mathematics of Games: An Introduction to Probability by David G. Taylor

Advanced Game Design by Michael Sellers

Additional articles assigned by the instructor.

 

Teaching and Learning Methods

Students are expected to fully participate in the class. Attendance at lectures, participation in discussion, as well as completion of all assignments is expected and required for satisfactory completion of the course. I also reserve the right  to use a plagiarism detection service in this course, in which case you will be required to submit your paper to such a service as part of your assignment.

 

Attendance

Due to the strict enrollment limit registered students must attend class at least one of the first two days of class in order to retain their spot. Students who miss those days forfeit their positions and must drop the class or risk earning a failing grade for the class.

Students who participate in officially sanctioned University activities (e.g., marching band, debate, athletics) will be permitted to turn work in early and/or make up assignments without penalty. Official absences must be documented at least one week prior to the absence.

 

ADA Statement
The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, 581-5020 (V/TDD). CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All information in this course can be made available in alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.

 

Wellness Statement
Personal concerns such as stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, depression, cross-cultural differences, etc., can interfere with a student’s ability to succeed and thrive at the University of Utah. For helpful resources contact the Center for Student Wellness; www.wellness.utah.edu; 801-581-7776.

 

University of Utah Student Code
The Student Code is spelled out in the Student Handbook. Students have specific rights in the classroom as detailed in Article III of the code. The code also specifies proscribed conduct (Article XI) that involves cheating, tests, plagiarism, and/or collusion, as well as fraud, theft, etc. Students should read the Code carefully to become aware of these issues. Students will receive sanctions for violating one or more of these proscriptions.

The faculty will enforce the code. Students have the right to appeal such action to the Student Behavior Committee.

 

Accommodation
I do not offer content accommodations. If you find any of the course material offensive, you may opt not to participate acknowledging that you will not receive points for that section of the course.

 

Copyright

Work produced in this class is copyrighted by the student. Continued attendance to this course constitutes permission for your work to be used by the professor as examples in courses, public lectures, academic publications, and other not-for-profit, fair-use practices.

 

Evaluation

Work in this course will consist of three main components: in-class activities, systems homework exercises, and a semester long, full systems design of your choosing consisting of four deliverables. 

* Class Attendance and Activities: 30%
* Homework Exercises: 30%
* Final Game Project and Deliverables: 40%

 

Semester Project

The semester project will consist of creating a complete working model of a game with at minimum player progression, an economy, a loot table, a combat engine, and monetization.

The four deliverables will be:

• Conceptualization: Defining the game and its core systems abstractly, then specifying how they interact with and drive one another.
• Framework: First pass on the rules and formulas that run individual systems and create interdependencies between them. This will include a peer review and critique.
• Test Content and Extrapolation: Population of test content that allows for secondary/tertiary data and forecasting.
• Balance and Tuning: Utilizing findings to tighten, balance, and polish.

 

Grade Scale

* The A range is for excellent performance and superior achievement.
* The B range denotes good performance and substantial achievement.
* The C range indicates standard or average performance and achievement.
* The D range is for substandard performance and marginal achievement.
* An E is given for unsatisfactory performance and achievement.

I grade on a standard system: A=94-100; A-=90-93, B+=87-89, etc.

Late work will be accepted with permission only. There is a 10% reduction to the grade every 24hrs after the original due date/time.

 

Course Schedule and Content: 

**Note: The syllabus is not a binding legal contract and will likely change with appropriate notice. You are responsible to get those changes from this syllabus, your peers, or via class announcements. 

 

Course Calendar

 

Week 1: Aug. 21, Aug. 23

• Syllabus Overview
• Introduction to Game Systems Design

 

Week 2: Aug. 28, Aug. 30 

• Understanding Systems
• PAX

 

Week 3: Sept. 4, Sept. 6

• PAX
• Games as Frameworks
• Basic Probability, Odds

 

Week 4: Sept. 11, Sept. 13

• Games as Frameworks pt. 2
• Working with Randomness

 

Week 5: Sept. 18, Sept. 20

• Creating Game Loops
• Binomial and Multinomial Distribution

 

Week 6: Sept 25, Sept. 27

• Documenting Systems
• Curves and Tiers

 

Week 7: Oct. 2, Oct. 4

• Parts in Concert
• Permutations

 

Week 8: Oct. 9, Oct. 11

• FALL BREAK

 

Week 9: Oct. 16, Oct. 18

• Spreadsheet Deep Dive

 

Week 10: Oct. 23, Oct. 25

• Approaching Game Balance
• Probability Matrices

 

Week 11: Oct. 30, Nov. 1

• Balancing Methodologies
• Working with Data

 

Week 12: Nov. 6, Nov. 8

• Scripting Behavior pt. 1
• Hypergeometric Distribution, Working with Infinity, other Odds and Ends

 

Week 13: Nov. 13, Nov. 15

• Scripting Behavior pt. 2

  

Week 14: Nov. 20, Nov. 22

•  THANKSGIVING

 

Week 15: Nov 27, Nov. 29

• Working in a Team

 

Week 16: Dec. 4, Dec. 6

• FINALS WEEK