When starting at Stanford three years ago, there were only a few classes on my “course bucket list.” At the top of that list was CS 247G. I’ve grown up with video games in many forms in my life, and have always had a love of indie games, narrative games, and game criticism in particular (shout out to Jacob Geller, my favorite video essayist!) However, I had never really had the chance to actually make a game myself. Games felt like something I knew how to play, analyze, and watch four hour long lore videos about, but they felt way too complex for me to even begin to tackle what making one looked like. I’ve identified as an artist and a writer for the vast majority of my life, and I had always wanted to bring that love of creativity and analysis of narrative to the field of games themselves, a genre that I loved so deeply. Nevertheless, I had always felt blocked by the huge learning curve.
I’m happy to say that after 10 weeks, 247G gave me all that I could wish for and more. Not only did I have the space to actually practice making games and make two games I was extremely proud of (shoutout Rock-it! and Recursed teams!), but I also got a crash course in what it actually means to be a genuine game designer. Whether it’s ideas on narrative design, or how to build games in a way that support genuine friendship and connection, there were so many frameworks and ideas that I genuinely will take with me as I go forward and think not only about how to make games, but how I create art and build community. I also loved having guest speakers from all kinds of game backgrounds, whether it was sound or character design or escape rooms. As an artist, what I ultimately love about game design is precisely that it feels like a mix of all the things that people love from other forms of art, and that any designer can bring what they’re passionate about to the table.
Of course, the class wasn’t all just fun and games ;). There were definitely challenges throughout the quarter, and I had my fair share of 3am nights playing through games for a critical play and having to speed run through some elements to try to see if I could finish faster (shout out Year Walk hint system, you were a real one). But throughout all these moments, the reason I was up past 3am was because I genuinely enjoyed and cared, so, so deeply, about the fact that games are meaningful, genuine, artistic works that deserve devoted time and attention to understanding. I’m happy to say that I was proud of every word I wrote about games over the course of the class. I’ve never spent so many hours on a class in one week before, but the thing is, I’ve never wanted to spend so many hours on one class until now.
As I continue on my game making, playing, and loving journey, 247G has set me up in such an invaluable way that I will always remember. Not only did I come away from the class with so many genuine skills in game design (such as information design, level design, art design, etc.), but I also built up more of a language and confidence in knowing how to understand games. I came into the class writing a short reflection on What Remains of Edith Finch, a game I love but didn’t have all the words to describe. I left the class writing a critical play on a text-based game only ten seconds long and applying feminist game theory to it—something I really doubt I could’ve done 10 weeks ago.
Going forward, this class has confirmed to me that games are not only something I love playing and analyzing, but something I love building as well. As I prepare to keep working on Recursed going forward, I’m so excited to bring these skills and knowledge to keep working on many more projects that I’m passionate about (such as a video game about a haunted house that I’ve been writing excerpts for for years now!). Thank you 247G, for breaking down that barrier to entry that I had always been too scared to cross. Thank you to everyone who was there along the journey, from the teaching team for their positive vibes and feedback that pushed me to always improve, to my two teams whom I love with all my heart, to every person in the class that I met through shared activities and playtests where I got to see just how many amazing ideas can exist in the world. I know I’ll take the lessons, friendships, and motivation from this class for many years going forward.
