faithz – The Mechanics of Magic

Final Class Reflection

June 6, 2025

Before taking 247G, I didn’t play many games. Even growing up, my relationship to games was pretty casual, mostly silly iPad games to pass…

P2: The Last Acorn

June 6, 2025

Brought to you by Team 22: Karina Chen, Mateo Larrea, Karina Li, Luke McFall, Faith Zhang Artist’s Statement The Last Acorn is a heartfelt…

Sketchnote: Onboarding in Plants vs Zombies

May 25, 2025

Critical Play: Games of Chance & Addiction

May 23, 2025

The game I played this week is Blackjack, a popular casino card game widely believed to have originated in 18th-century France. The goal is…

Sketchnote: Addiction by Design

May 21, 2025

Critical Play: Worldbuilding

May 16, 2025

This week, I played Pokémon Emerald Version, a role-playing video game developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for…

Sketchnote: Loops & Arcs

May 14, 2025

A game I enjoy is Family Style. It’s a multiplayer mobile game where players work together to complete recipes by passing ingredients between each…

Critical Play: Puzzles

May 7, 2025

This week, I played Monument Valley, a visually stunning and narrative-rich puzzle game developed by ustwo games for iOS and Android. The game is…

Sketchnote: Puzzles in Games, Puzzles as Games

May 4, 2025

Checkpoint 1: Concept Doc (Individual)

May 4, 2025

Emotions Delight, Purpose, Curiosity Moodboard Spotify Playlist Game Directions

Critical Play: Mysteries & Escape Rooms

May 1, 2025

The game I played this week was Tiny Room Story: Town Mystery, an escape room game developed by Kiary Games. It is available on…

Sketchnote: Designer’s Notebook: The Role of Architecture in Videogames

April 28, 2025

Critical Play: Walking Simulators

April 25, 2025

The game I played this week was Babbdi, a free first-person exploration game developed by Sirius and Léonard Lemaitre. It’s available on Steam and…

Mindmap: Narrative Architecture

April 21, 2025

Critical Play: Competitive Analysis

April 18, 2025

Gartic Phone is a free, browser-based game developed by Onrizon, where players alternate between drawing and guessing prompts. Its appeal lies largely in its…

Sketchnote: Game Design Patterns for Building Friendships

April 15, 2025

Short Exercise: What do Prototypes Prototype?

April 10, 2025

A working idea that our group is currently exploring is a drawing game that blends elements of games like Scribbl.io, Telephone, and Spyfall. We’re…

Critical Play: Bluffing, Judging and Getting Vulnerable…

April 10, 2025

The game I played was Among Us, which is a social deduction game centered on deception. Created by the indie studio InnerSloth, it skyrocketed…

Short Exercise: MDA & 8 Kinds of Fun

April 6, 2025

One game I love to play is Family Style, a fast-paced, cooperative mobile game where players shout out and pass ingredients across phones to…