Before this class, I had just started getting into playing more games as a way to pass time during shelter-in-place. I wanted to get a better understanding as to why there were some games that I absolutely loved, and others that I couldn’t really understand what was so interesting about them.
I’m happy to say that I did come around to learning that this quarter, as well as many more things! Taking this class has exposed me to many more and different types of games, through the weekly critical play writeups as well as game suggestions throughout lectures and discussions. It broadened my understanding of what a game is — despite the “quintessential” gamer stereotype (and the games that come with it), I’ve come to realize that mobile games themselves are huge and fun and they are also games!
By breaking down and analyzing games into bite-sized chunks that explain why different games create different types of fun, I’ve gotten a better understanding of what types of games I enjoy, and why (maybe someday, hand-eye coordination and twitch skill will come naturally to me, but that day has yet to come :\). For the games I do enjoy, learning how to analyze that has made me appreciate them even more so than before; that enjoyment is really the result of so many different, intentional, and thought-out decisions melding together into a perfect storm in my little brain :~)
I’m also really glad that this class gave me the opportunity to try my hand at making games and thinking through that process of thinking through design decisions, and working more collaboratively with peers. There are definitely projects I would love to see ship out as actual games after working and refining them a bit more. If I were to create another game (which I think I will!) I’d like to spend more time on parts of the process that I might not be as comfortable with (this quarter was particularly busy for me, so I stuck with parts that I knew best).
Overall this class was a joy to take, and I definitely got a lot out of it. I can confidently say that I came out of this class both knowing more about games, but also being more inquisitive and curious about them as well. Thank you Christina, Kally and Vincent for such a delightful quarter :~)
