GAMES STUDIES - EXERCISE 1: MY FAVOURITE VIDEO GAME

22.09.25 - 07.10.25 (Week 1 - Week 3)
Michelle (0373843)
Games Studies / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Exercise 1: My Most Favourite Video Game & What Makes This Game Playful

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Lectures

2. Exercise

3. Feedbacks

4. Reflection

Lectures

Week 1

Lecture 01 - Principals of Game Design

Game design breakdown human reaction with media - combining creativity, technicality, and psychology.

Core Principles

1. Player EX

Games are emotional journeys (immersed).
User-centered, depends on target audience & playstyle preferences.
Flow state = Feeling locked in, "in the zone" mode.

Figure 1.1 Playful Experience Framework

2. Gameplay Mechanics - what's the main purpose of interaction?

Primary - core actions.
Secondary - enhance gameplay.
Feedback Loops - how to determines the winner/loser (positive - rewards, negative - penalties).

3. Storytelling: narrative

A game can have a set up story or allow people to imagine their own stories.

Player - ownership to influence story.
Environmental - world-design, visuals, settings.
Arcs - conflict, climax, resolution.

4. Balance & Challenge: increase of challenge

Difficulty curve: Overtime increase in difficulty (from told what to do > figure out yourself) - the higher level, the more challenge.
Skill vs Luck: from poor to rich, winning to losing.
Player progression - rewarding progress, growth, and achievements.

Enhance & Refine

5. Feedback (feeling when playing) & Iteration (continuous playing)

Play-testing - identify areas that needs improvement/adjustment.
Feedback loops - difficulty level (too high/low), storyline (flat/too complex).
Fine tuning experience - balance game composition to make sure polishness.

6. Immersion and Worldbuilding - more in games development

Deepen context and connection to the world.

Challenges

Over complication
Failure to adapt
Monetization vs. Player Experience

Week 2

Lecture 02 - Balancing Fun & Educational Elements in Game Design

Games:

Naturally needs to be fun - look, feel, smell (emotionally satisfying).
Through engaging mechanics & rewarding challenges - usually from discovery, competition, achievement.

Educational component:

Can be simple knowledge acquisition, complex problem-solving, critical thinking, real-world application.
Could teach concepts, improve skills, or enhance understanding.

Learner & Designer - think as Player

Challenges:

Gamifying education without making fun a secondary.
Too difficult to understand.

Strategies:

Learning through play - conscious strategic decision making.
Layered learning - unlock learning as game progress.
Game Mechanics as educational tools - seamless integration - problem solving, puzzles, etc.
Storytelling with purpose

Try to include more unknown information/knowledge.

To Avoid:

Edutainment Fatigue - don't make education obvious, not forced.
Over-Instructions - gradually, simple concepts in the beginning harder as time goes.
Player Motivation (intrinsic) - curiosity, exploration, achievement & Rewards Gameplay. Mechanics (Extrinsic) - points, levels, badges.

Goal: memorable experience

Week 3

Play week, no lectures.

Week 4

Playtesting & Iterative Design
Design systems that evolve dynamically

Design Thinking Process

Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test

Basic Iterative Process
Design game mechanics > Playtest player behavior > Analyze game motives > Repeat Cycle

With Playful Experiences: Ideate game > Playtest: interaction, dynamics > Analyze: to create improvements > Repeat Cycle

Week 5

Public Holiday (Deepavali) - No Class.

Week 6

No lectures

Exercise

Brainstorm session about group project, make whatsapp group

w3 - find game cafes, exposed with a whole bunch of games, understand how to play

w6 - revision, adjustments

w7 - new players

w8 - game components finalized

w11/12 - playtest beta

Table Top Games - Understanding User Experience
Playing game - goal to have fun (feel happy after)
Game Skeleton (Framework) - Regulation, Games Mechanics (Minimal Design)

Look for games that were once popular but lose its popularity (adapt) - research to make sure game hasn't been invented
Keep the game simple, no complicated rules
Maintain player's interest, (fun feeling) only last for 20-40 minutes, after negative feelings starts to arise.

Target audience - people of our age (what they want
Information delivery
Game testing -

GenAI only for research, process

Report Writting (exercises 20%)
what I like
how re-media-ting affect UX (tabletop to digital/screen)

Group 60%

ideation
propposal

test run

presentation

10% e-port
10% peer assestment

Exercise 1
Video game/Table top Game really liked, to go back to
Why locked in state?

what makes us like certain games?

How can we improve

Be smart in prompting AI -> to not get general info, but more unique
utilize technology, cuts down time to find what we need - latest research paper?

discover something we might overlook

critical thinking, rational thinking - don't repeat things, don't copy pasta!

Indonesian culture - bring people together (socials)

Feedbacks

Week 1

together

Week 2

Do research on a
Can implement theories to other projects.

Petrosains - exhibition require user interactivity that goes beyond the screen.

Week 3

!

Week 6

Propose research, reference, trials

Adjustments will be made

3 playtest - documenting findings.

figure the best way to capture gameplay - record video of game interaction and the outcome

See how the players react, identify moment where playfulness

Ideas might look good on paper, but in

Week 7

pre-alpha

documentation: game mechanics review - evaluate
collective interview finding

be honest, do not make phrase it to sound good - for good response

same concept for application design

finalized by week 12

don't waste time for designing.

information is king.

how do we put all information into the game elements (board, card, rules, etc.)

ask: as a user, what info will I need?

Reflection

Experience

Observation

Findings

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Michelle (0373843)