CMS.611
Creating Video Games
Introduces students to the complexities of working in small, multidisciplinary teams to develop video games. Covers creative design and production methods, stressing design iteration and regular testing across all aspects of game development (design, visual arts, music, fiction, and programming). Assumes a familiarity with current video games, and the ability to discuss games critically. Previous experience in audio design, visual arts, or project management recommended. Limited to 36.
Fall 2014
Topics
- Introduction; Guest Pablo Suarez ( Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Center ); Game Engines; Meaningful Decisions in Games
- Project 1; Brainstorming and Low-Fidelity Prototyping
- Revision Control; Game Engines; Vision Statement
- Project 2 Intro; Project 2 Elevator Pitches; Digital Prototypes; Project 2 Team Choice
- Agile Software Development
- Agile Project Management
- Quality Assurance; Playtesting by Genevieve Conley ( Riot Games ); Focus Testing Results
- Project 2 Presentations; Project 3; Digital Prototype with User Interference
- Guest Lecture – Hidetaka “SWERY” Suehiro ( Access Games )
- Project 3 Check-In; UI and Usability
- Game Development and Best Practices by Tim Cowan ( EA Games )
- Project 3 Presentations; Project 4 Topics by Guest Pablo Suarez ( Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Center ); Project 4 Brainstorming
- Project 4 Planning and Team Formation; Serious Games
- Aesthetics
- Freedoms of Play by Scot Osterweil (MIT Game Lab); Project 4 Playtesting; Project 4 Status Report
- Team Dynamics
- Working with Artists by Luigi Guatieri
- Fiction and Narrative in Video Games
- Working with Sound Designers by Richard Ludlow and Andy Forsberg ( Hexany Audio )
- Writing in Games by Heather Albano and Laura Baldwin
- Guest Lecture: Blizzard Entertainment
- Project 4 Check-in Presentations; Scope
- Project 4 Feedback; Team Discussions
- Running a Game Studio (Guest Lecture by Michael Carriere and Jenna Hoffstein of the Indie Game Collective )
- Getting Players to Your Game by Sean Baptiste ( Fire Hose Games )
- Final Presentation Rehearsal
- Final Presentations
Readings
- This class does not have a required textbook, but a useful book to read for advice on game design is Brathwaite, Brenda, and Ian Schreiber. Challenges for Game Designers . Charles River Media, 2009.
Prerequisites & course information
Same subject as 6.4570J Prereq: 6.100A or CMS.301 U (Fall) 3-3-6 units. HASS-A
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2014
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.