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The Mechanics of Magic

The Mechanics of Magic

Game Design Writings by Students at Stanford taking 247G and 377G

  • Library
    • CS247G Community Game Design Resources
    • Game Design Resources
    • Graphic Design for Game Designers
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • Chapter 11 from Game Balance
  • Read Write Play
    • Hollow Knight: RWP 4 2023
    • Mystic Messenger: RWP 6 2023
    • Undertale: RWP 3 2023
    • What Remains of Edith Finch: RWP 5 2023
    • Catan: RWP1 2023
    • 80 Days: RWP 2 2023
  • 247G Syllabus
    • The Formal Elements of Game Design
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture B
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section A
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section B
    • Design for Play | Week Five | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 5 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class A (no class)
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Lecture B
  • Serious Play Study Group Overview
    • Study Group Week by Week Breakdown
      • Formal Elements of Games
      • Final Reflection Essay
    • [Optional Material] What is fun?
    • Project 1: Those Who Play, Teach
      • READING Visual Design of Board Games
      • Pitch Your Teaching Game
      • Sketchnote: Playtesting Boardgames
      • Sketchnote: Erin Hoffman // Wind, Not Sand: Mapping Dynamic Emotion Across a Product Landscape
      • SketchNote: MDAO
      • Critical Play: Write up your game of FLUXX
      • [Optional Material] Playtesting
      • OPTIONAL Board Game Usability
    • P2: The Future We Deserve
      • Critical Play: A Mechanic and a Story to Tell
      • Interactive Fiction: Tiny Playable Prototype
      • Introducing Interactive Fiction
      • Map and Premise
      • Critical Play: Story AND Storytelling games
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Sketchnote: Art of game design- Story
      • [Optional Material] Emergence and Progression
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Project 2 Reflection Essay
      • Share what you Learned: Writing Excuses Podcast
      • Values at Play & P2 Peer Grading
    • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
      • P3 Concept Doc
      • Playable prototype
      • Working With System Dynamics (mindmap the reading, apply it to your game)
      • Mapping Systems
      • Sketchnote/Response for Rules & Tutorials
      • Project 3 Check-in
      • Project 3 Reflection Essay
    • P4: Refine a game
      • Sketchnote/Response for Playtesting with Strangers
      • Read: Mechanic is the Magic
  • On Sketchnotes
  • Printing at Stanford

P2: Playtest Prototype – Jeffery

October 21, 2026

I had my second playtest with Sabrina! The playtest video can be found in this link: https://stanford.zoom.us/rec/share/EqoSS8ysQdRONS7Of8h5_8kQRwOKhZY1ehzyhMXAutBgJMBTz1Ia7MXp7gYzalGZ.fGSIut_GK53VW8vd Passcode: hgh!8DGX This playtest I implemented more…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 21, 2026

1. Premise One-sentence premise A sixteen-year-old aspiring designer wants to attend a workshop outside his village, but money, family concerns, and other responsibilities make…

P2: Playtest Prototype_Paprika

October 21, 2026

After I revised the prototype based on  the advice I got in the first playtest, I did one external playtest with one player Yifan,…

P2: Refining Silicon Crossroads and Playtesting Outside Class

October 21, 2026

Where I started In class I brought a paper prototype of Silicon Crossroads: four chapters, three options each, and a score card where players…

Aiden P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan

October 21, 2026

In my story, the player experiences being a First Class passenger on the Titanic during the disaster. The player’s goal is dependent on their…

Sento with Baachan (P2 External Playtest: Yuina)

October 21, 2026

Playtest & Changes from V1 Prototype In my v1 paper prototype, I playtested with Alex, a fellow CS377G classmate. He was initially confused by…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Noe Chicas

October 21, 2026

Premise: In this story, Leon wants to keep spending time with his best friend pip, but can’t, because pip is gone and Leon hasn’t…

P2: Playtest Prototype – Judy

October 21, 2026

I playtested with one of my friends, Mark, who is an international student himself and has been in the States for almost 10 years. …

Silicon Crossroads: Premise, Map and Project Plan

October 21, 2026

Premise One sentence In the Silicon Story, a first-term Stanford student wants to get through a demanding term and build a future they’re proud…

P2: Playtest Prototype: Jessica

October 21, 2026

My second playtest was with a 31 year old father of a 1 year old (my husband). He is a gamer who plays things…

P2: Playtest Prototype (Emma Wong)

October 21, 2026

Who: I playtested over Zoom with my college friend, Kirin. As someone also familiar with Batman and who enjoys creative writing and visual novels,…

P2: Playtest Prototype – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 21, 2026

My game, What We Carry Forward, started as an interactive fiction project about Ang Sila, my hometown in Thailand. The player took the role…

Aiden P2: Playtest Prototype

October 21, 2026

Aiden P2: Playtest Prototype The main ‘refinement’ I did since class was transferring the game from a paper playtest into a digital version. Outside…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Jeffery

October 21, 2026

Hello! If you are a prospective playtester don’t read don’t get spoiled !!!! . . . . . . Premise: You are a formless…

P2: Playtest Prototype – Noe Chicas-Aranda

October 21, 2026

What I Changed Going In The setting and the story changed. The game used to take place in a computer lag room. Now it’s…

P2: Playtest Prototype – Rachel Zhao

October 20, 2026

Following the initial prototype, I conducted a playtest session with my roommate to evaluate narrative flow, choice agency, and emotional immersion. Players strongly resonated…

Map, Premise, Project Plan – Rachel Zhao

October 20, 2026

Premise Player Role This interactive narrative takes place in the universe of The Little Prince, where a wild fox living on the edge of…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan_Paprika

October 20, 2026

Premise In this story, a young volunteer teacher arrives in a remote mountain village for one week and wants to help Mei, a shunned…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan (Emma Wong)

October 20, 2026

PREMISE: Renowned yet reclusive horror author, Bryce Wyne, just wants to hide away in his lonely manor, writing in peace. However, this peace is…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Judy

October 20, 2026

1. Premise An international student wants to be known for who they really are, but can’t, because the words they need always arrive a…

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Welcome to the Stanford HCI Game Design Blog.

Currently this blog holds two formal classes being taught by Christina Wodtke as well as Independent Study Work. In winter of 2022, cs377g was cancelled because of covid-19 uncertainty, and became a study group. You can follow along by looking at the SGSG syllabus and weekly break down.

CS 247G: Design for Play(SYMSYS 195G)

A project-based course that builds on the introduction to design in CS147 by focusing on advanced methods and tools for research, prototyping, and user interface design. Studio based format with intensive coaching and iteration to prepare students for tackling real world design problems. This course takes place entirely in studios; please plan on attending every studio to take this class. The focus of CS247g is an introduction to theory and practice of the design of games. We will make digital and paper games, do rapid iteration and run user research studies appropriate to game design. This class has multiple short projects, allowing us to cover a variety of genres, from narrative to pure strategy. Prerequisites: 147 or equivalent background.

CS 377G: Designing Serious Games

Over the last few years we have seen the rise of "serious games" to promote understanding of complex social and ecological challenges, and to create passion for solving them. This project-based course provides an introduction to game design principals while applying them to games that teach. Run as a hands-on studio class, students will design and prototype games for social change and civic engagement. We will learn the fundamentals of games design via lecture and extensive reading in order to make effective games to explore issues facing society today. The course culminates in an end-of- quarter open house to showcase our games. Prerequisite: CS147 or equivalent. 247G recommended, but not required.

SGSG: Serious Games Study Group

  • Library
    • CS247G Community Game Design Resources
    • Game Design Resources
    • Graphic Design for Game Designers
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • Chapter 11 from Game Balance
  • Read Write Play
    • Hollow Knight: RWP 4 2023
    • Mystic Messenger: RWP 6 2023
    • Undertale: RWP 3 2023
    • What Remains of Edith Finch: RWP 5 2023
    • Catan: RWP1 2023
    • 80 Days: RWP 2 2023
  • 247G Syllabus
    • The Formal Elements of Game Design
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week One | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Two | Lecture B
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture A
    • Design for Play | Week Three | Lecture B
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section A
    • Design For Play | Week Four | Section B
    • Design for Play | Week Five | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 5 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class A (no class)
    • Design for Play | Week 6 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 7 | Class B
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Class A
    • Design for Play | Week 8 | Lecture B
  • Serious Play Study Group Overview
    • Study Group Week by Week Breakdown
      • Formal Elements of Games
      • Final Reflection Essay
    • [Optional Material] What is fun?
    • Project 1: Those Who Play, Teach
      • READING Visual Design of Board Games
      • Pitch Your Teaching Game
      • Sketchnote: Playtesting Boardgames
      • Sketchnote: Erin Hoffman // Wind, Not Sand: Mapping Dynamic Emotion Across a Product Landscape
      • SketchNote: MDAO
      • Critical Play: Write up your game of FLUXX
      • [Optional Material] Playtesting
      • OPTIONAL Board Game Usability
    • P2: The Future We Deserve
      • Critical Play: A Mechanic and a Story to Tell
      • Interactive Fiction: Tiny Playable Prototype
      • Introducing Interactive Fiction
      • Map and Premise
      • Critical Play: Story AND Storytelling games
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Sketchnote: Art of game design- Story
      • [Optional Material] Emergence and Progression
      • Essay or Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters
      • Project 2 Reflection Essay
      • Share what you Learned: Writing Excuses Podcast
      • Values at Play & P2 Peer Grading
    • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
      • P3 Concept Doc
      • Playable prototype
      • Working With System Dynamics (mindmap the reading, apply it to your game)
      • Mapping Systems
      • Sketchnote/Response for Rules & Tutorials
      • Project 3 Check-in
      • Project 3 Reflection Essay
    • P4: Refine a game
      • Sketchnote/Response for Playtesting with Strangers
      • Read: Mechanic is the Magic
  • On Sketchnotes
  • Printing at Stanford

Archives

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Recent Posts

  • P2: Playtest Prototype – Jeffery
  • P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)
  • P2: Playtest Prototype_Paprika
  • P2: Refining Silicon Crossroads and Playtesting Outside Class
  • Aiden P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan

Recent Comments

  • Jeffery Cai on P2: Playtest Prototype – Noe Chicas-Aranda
  • dkkoba on Critical Play: Blood on the Clocktower (Bluffing, Judging, and Getting Vulnerable) – Sabrina
  • Jeffery Cai on P1: Cave Talk
  • syenko on P1: Cave Talk
  • snoopy on Games, Design and Play: Elements – Noe Chicas-Aranda

Categories

  • P2: The Empathy Machine
  • Featured
  • Project One
  • milestone
  • P2: The Future We Deserve
  • mindmap
  • P1: Social Games
  • CS247G
  • Assignments
  • P1: those who play, teach
  • Lectures
  • P2: Games In Space
  • Critical Play
  • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • Project Two
  • Project Four REFINE
  • P4: Refine a Game
  • Sketchnotes
  • Project Two: The Future We Deserve
  • From the Instructor
  • Project Three: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • ReadWritePlay
  • 377G: Serious Games
  • SGSG

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