Skip to content
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 2026

P2 Concept Doc Individual Submission – Reithrodon Jeffery

May 4, 2026

Three directions for the game to go in: Doomscrolling sim: You send reels to the character(s) on screen in a sequence. Each reel sent…

P2: Checkpoint 1 – Individual Post

May 4, 2026

Moodboard: Playlist: The 3 emotions I want to evoke are: suspense, curiosity, nostalgia Direction 1: The Relic Run A student in a red hoodie…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc Individual

May 4, 2026

Moodboard Playlist Narrative Directions 1. Free Exploration + Interactive Story This direction focuses on exploration where the player moves through the house at their…

Lily – P2 Checkpoint 1

May 4, 2026

Emotions to Evoke: Ethical dilemma  Players have to choose between maximizing points for the algorithm, keeping characters doomscrolling, or breaking the rules to try…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in/as Games

May 4, 2026

P2 Individual Concept Doc

May 4, 2026

Moodboard Playlist The three emotions I want to evoke: Mischief, Tension, Triumph. Direction 1 – 2D Pixel Platformer (Axe Heist) A Celeste-style 2D pixel…

Checkpoint 1 Individual Post

May 4, 2026

  Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2O64S74DZmt4ApEfGfoWb4  Mood board: https://www.pinterest.com/reynaduffy1/heist-game/    Direction 1: Very character/persona driven Each player picks a specific role with a unique ability, puzzle type,…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc – Team Lemming

May 4, 2026

“Colonialism is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native’s brain of all form and content. By a…

P2 Individual Concept Doc – Jinpu

May 4, 2026

  Direction 1: Four-Year Campaign  This direction frames college life as a four-year strategic campaign. At the macro level, players allocate limited time and…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc

May 4, 2026

Mood Board Eerie, mournful, and reflective. Playlist Directions One direction is to make the game a point-and-click experience where the player explores different locations…

P2 Individual Concept Document

May 4, 2026

Moodboard   The three emotions I want to invoke is: Thrill, Anxiety, Pride   Direction 1 – Platformer The player advances through the game by…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games

May 4, 2026

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc (Individual)

May 4, 2026

I had some primary themes in mind for this, but we’ll see if I can convey them in images, sounds, and descriptions first before…

P2 Individual Concept Doc – Sally

May 4, 2026

Direction 1: The Spy Platformer / Action-Stealth The player is a college student living a double life as a secret agent. During the day,…

Checkpoint 1 Individual Assignment

May 4, 2026

Mood Board Spotify Playlist   Three Directions The core stays the same in all three: 2D platformer, tight movement, jumping, dashing, avoiding hazards, dodging…

P2 Individual Concept Doc

May 4, 2026

Moodboard in the Featured Image. Evokes images of dark, eldritch horror with a splash of cartoonish ghouls. Cocktail of spooky with a dash of…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games

May 4, 2026

Fiona – Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc Individual

May 4, 2026

Mood Board Above ^^ Spotify Playlist: Narrative direction 1: Story Myopus is a species of lemming living in the Finnish forests. They eat moss…

Checkpoint 1: Individual Concept Doc

May 4, 2026

Moodboard Dark, moody, pixelated horror. Playlist Directions Point and Click: This is the simplest direction whereby the player can progress through the game and…

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc (Individual)

May 4, 2026

Emotions: Grief, desperation, hope Moodboard: Inspirations from point-and-click adventures (Putt Putt, Monkey Island), small creature games (Moss, Rain World), text-based adventure games (ZORK), The…

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 24 25 26 … 29 Next

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

  • July 2026
  • June 2026
  • May 2026
  • April 2026
  • March 2026
  • December 2025
  • November 2025
  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • September 2020
  • February 2017

Recent Posts

  • Critical Play–Bluffing, Judging, and Getting Vulnerable
  • Critical Play – Getting Vulnerable – Owen Sample
  • Critical Play: Bluffing, Judging and Getting Vulnerable…
  • Critical Play: Bluffing, Judging and Getting Vulnerable – Cards Aginst Humanity (Clare)
  • Sketchnote: What Games Are and Aren’t

Recent Comments

  • Christina Wodtke on Short Exercise: Learning to Play closely
  • Christina Wodtke on Short Exercise: Learning to Play Closely – Fruit Ninja
  • Aksel Kolasinski on Hi! I’m Mathias
  • Aksel Kolasinski on Self Introduction – Cameron H
  • Jinhyo Huh on Final Reflection – Leo Sui

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

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Copyright The Mechanics of Magic. All rights reserved. | Theme by SuperbThemes