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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

Author: hannahy9

Final Class Reflection

June 7, 2025

Before this class, playing games was all about how I felt while playing the game. I loved exercising my creativity in Minecraft, losing track…

Sketchnote: Cursed Problems

June 3, 2025

Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist

May 30, 2025

This week for my critical play, I chose to play Monument Valley 2, a mobile game developed by ustwo games, and available on iOS…

Sketchnote: Plants VS Zombies Onboarding

May 28, 2025

Critical Play: Chance and Addiction

May 23, 2025

For this week’s critical play, I chose to play Brawl Stars, which is a game that my friends have been raving about but I…

Sketchnote: Addiction by Design – Hannah

May 21, 2025

Critical Play: Worldbuilding – Wizard101

May 16, 2025

Introduction This week for my critical play, I chose Wizard101, a game created by KingsIsle Entertainment and available for download for PC and Mac….

Sketchnote: Loops & Arcs – Hannah

May 13, 2025

I really enjoy the game Minecraft! Minecraft utilizes a lot of different loops, from farming to crafting, players are constantly gathering resources, learning recipes,…

Critical Play: Puzzles – Hannah Yu

May 9, 2025

For this week’s critical play, I played Fireproof Games’ The Room, developed for the iPad (but also available on PC and Android). While playing,…

Checkpoint 1 P2-01

May 6, 2025

Setting the Stage It’s May of your Senior Year at Stanford, and you’re just a few weeks from graduating. Maybe you’re co-terming (you probably…

Sketchnotes: Puzzles — Hannah Yu

May 6, 2025

Individual Deliverable P2-01: Hannah Yu

May 5, 2025

Theme: Trip Down Memory Lane (Stanford Edition) Emotions: Nostalgia, Excitement, Happiness Spotify Playlist: Pinterest Moodboard: https://pin.it/4dBV6EEMp   Ideas for Game Directions  You have a…

Critical Play: Tiny Rooms (Mysteries & Escape Rooms) – Hannah Yu

May 1, 2025

For this week’s critical play, I played Tiny Rooms Story Town Mystery, a mobile game dedveloped by Kiary Games. I would describe the target…

Sketchnote: The Role of Architecture in Videogames – Hannah Yu

April 28, 2025

P1 Team 2: Mark of the Witch

April 26, 2025

created by Zander Majercik, Kai Ssempa, Izzy Meyerson, Hannah Yu, & Gracielly Abreu   Artists’ Statement Mark of the Witch is a game designed…

Mindmap: Narrative Architecture – Hannah

April 21, 2025

Critical Play: Competitive Analysis (One Night Ultimate Werewolf) – Hannah

April 16, 2025

For this critical play, I chose to play One Night Ultimate Werewolf, a social deduction game similar to Mafia. One Night Ultimate Werewolf was…

Sketchnote: Game Design Patterns for Building Friendships – Hannah

April 15, 2025

Critical Play: Spyfall – Hannah

April 11, 2025

Critical Play – Bluffing, Judging and Getting Vulnerable… For this first critical play, I chose to play a childhood favorite, Spyfall. Similar to games…

What do Prototypes Prototype? – Hannah

April 10, 2025

The premise of our team’s idea is a witch hunt story for an analog game (will most likely incorporate cards and/or a board). One…

Posts pagination

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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

Archives

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  • February 2025
  • December 2024
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  • December 2023
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  • June 2021
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  • April 2021
  • September 2020
  • February 2017

Recent Posts

  • Critical Play: Play Like a Feminist – Kai Ssempa
  • Critical Play: Games of Chance and Addiction – Kai Ssempa
  • Critical Play: World Building – Kai Ssempa
  • Critical Play: Puzzles – Kai Ssempa
  • Pixel Runway — Or, What Games Teach Fashion‑Tech About Joyful Retention

Recent Comments

  • Christina Wodtke on Read, Write, Play: Starcraft 2 – Varsha
  • Christina Wodtke on Reflection Seb
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection – Mateo LF
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection – Thu
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection

Categories

  • Featured
  • Project One
  • P2: The Future We Deserve
  • milestone
  • 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
  • Sketchnotes
  • P4: Refine a Game
  • Project Two: The Future We Deserve
  • From the Instructor
  • Project Three: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • ReadWritePlay
  • 377G: Serious Games
  • SGSG

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