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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

Month: May 2024

Critical Play: Mysteries

May 8, 2024

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, developed by The Astronauts, is a mystery horror game that blends both narrative and mechanics to create a super…

Atman Individual Concept Doc

May 8, 2024

3 game directions: Story-plot focused game–largely clues/discovery about the city and themselves. In-depth aesthetics and worldbuilding along with tear-jerking, immersive writing about the characters….

Narrative Architecture Mindmap

May 8, 2024

Critical Play: Mysteries–Life Is Strange

May 8, 2024

“Life is Strange,” was developed by Dontnod Entertainment published by Square Enix and is available on platforms including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch….

Critical Play: Life is Strange

May 8, 2024

Life is Strange (Episode 1) is an adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and released in 2015. The video game can be played on…

[Sophie Jin] Critical Play: Mysteries

May 8, 2024

For my critical play, I played “Her Story”, an interactive film video game written and directed by Sam Barlow. It was released in 2015…

Sketchnote: Game Architecture

May 7, 2024

One of my favorite game is Monopoly, which has a architecture of core gameplay loops and strategic arcs. The core loop involves the basics…

Critical Play: Year Walk – Blain Engeda

May 7, 2024

Year Walk, created by Simogo and playable on iOS, Windows, and Wii U, is recommended for those who are 13+ with an interest in…

Sketchnote: Game Architecture

May 7, 2024

Pokemon uses a mix of interaction loops and arcs. Examples of interaction loops: Catching Pokemon by lowering their HP then throwing a Poke Ball…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc (Edith Finch Style)

May 7, 2024

Checkpoint 1_ Concept Doc (Edith Finch Style)

Sketchnote: Loops and Arcs (Charlotte Zhu)

May 7, 2024

A game that I really enjoy is What Remains of Edith Finch. It follows the architecture of mixing loops and arcs. The overall narrative…

Critical Play: Judging and Getting Vulnerable

May 7, 2024

  This week, I chose to play Skribbl.io, a free online interactive multiplayer game that involves drawing and guessing. Developed by ticedev does not…

Critical Play: Social Deduction

May 7, 2024

Among Us is a cross-platform online social deduction game designed by Marcus Bromander. The game caters to mostly everyone as it’s easily accessible; however,…

Team 4 Concept Doc – Checkpoint 1

May 7, 2024

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc (Team) Team members: Mohamed Musa, Bessie Zhang, Krystal Li, Steven Le Narrative: You arrive in hell as a historical figure…

Checkpoint 1 – Individual Deliverables (Mohamed Musa)

May 7, 2024

Emotions to Evoke: Adventure Curiosity Drive Directions for the game: Narrative: You arrive in hell as a historical figure (A. Hitler, Napoleon, etc.), but…

P2 Individual Concept Doc | Nick

May 7, 2024

Spotify Playlist Direction 1 | Embedded Narrative | Fantasy, Narrative, Discovery A vibrant lush forest, tinged with a hint of mystery and fantasy. At…

Critical Play: Mysteries – Her Story

May 7, 2024

Her Story was released in 2015 by Sam Barlow. It is available to play on mobile and PC devices, and I played on my…

Critical Play: Cyber Manhunt – Yuren Sun

May 7, 2024

Cyber Manhunt is a story-oriented game focusing on big data, hacking, and security driven by stories based on social issues such as cyber violence and…

Critical Play: Mysteries

May 7, 2024

For this week’s critical play, I played “Rip at the Rodeo” by Hunt a Killer. It’s a mystery in a box for an adult…

A Forest, Renewed: Game Directions

May 7, 2024

Based on our narrative, here are some possible directions for the game Set levels per season In this game, players progress through four distinct…

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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

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Recent Posts

  • Sketchnote: Playtesting formally
  • Sketchnote/Response Game Balance: Jessica
  • P3 Tiny Playable Prototype – Team Kinkajou
  • P3: Tiny Playable Prototype – FLOCK
  • P3: Tiny Playable Prototype — Restaurant Rivals

Recent Comments

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  • Rachel Zhao on P2: The Empathy Machine (Emma Wong)
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Categories

  • P2: The Empathy Machine
  • Featured
  • Project One
  • milestone
  • P2: The Future We Deserve
  • mindmap
  • P1: Social Games
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  • Assignments
  • P1: those who play, teach
  • Lectures
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  • Critical Play
  • P3: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
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  • Project Four REFINE
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