game design - lesson plan

This note last modified September 1, 2024

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Activities:

• What are your favorite games, and what have they done well?
• explain MDA
• Make a modification of an existing game. What will it do?
• Let’s talk dominant strategies
  • you can make them fun via RPS.
  • you can limit / vary dominant strategies
  • The dominant strategy should be fun
  • You can make the game easier.
• Teach ’em playtesting
  • playtest early and often
  • your players aren’t stupid
  • think aloud, don’t interfere
  • players know their feelings, you know the solutions
  • questions to ask
    • describe the game in your own terms, as you would to friends or family
    • what would you add, remove, or change

Todo:

• Print and play checkers
• Print and play chess
• get index cards
• blank slate has whiteboards!

Theories worth talking about:

• MDA
• kishotenkutsu
  • safe environment first, then test, then challenge, then boss
• MoSCoW

game design inspiration

make optimization fun!

talk about Eurogames traitor games!

games are very interconnected

dominant strategies