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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: Saharat "Game" Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

Saharat "Game" Laksanasut (In Thai: สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต) is an English language teacher, educational researcher, and learning designer from Thailand. He is currently pursuing an M.S. in Learning Design and Technology at Stanford University as a Thai government scholarship recipient. His work focuses on English language learning, educational technology, AI-supported learning, gamification, teacher professional development, and inclusive learning design. Before coming to Stanford, Saharat taught English at Angsilapittayakom School in Chonburi, Thailand, where he worked with secondary students and led educational research and development initiatives. He has also participated in international education and youth programs, including the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program at Ohio University. Saharat is passionate about designing meaningful learning experiences that connect technology, local contexts, and learner agency, particularly for students and teachers in under-resourced educational settings.

P3: Concept Map – Spoon Fight (previously known as Restaurant Rivals)

November 10, 2026

Team Members: Paprika, Emma, Olu, and Saharat (Game) Figure 1: Small restaurant (one dinner shift) (Actual Size on Canva) We first focused on restaurant…

Sketchnote: Playtesting Formally – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

November 8, 2026

P3: Tiny Playable Prototype — Restaurant Rivals

November 4, 2026

Restaurant Rivals Playtest Date: November 4, 2026 Game: Restaurant Rivals  (Prototype V1) Team Members: Paprika, Emma, Olu, and Saharat (Game) Playtesters: Michael and Krystal…

Read & Play: Working With System Dynamics – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

November 2, 2026

Sketchnote: Working With System Dynamics Cities: Skylines (2015) Developer: Colossal Order Publisher: Paradox Interactive Platform: PC (Digital) Genre: City-building simulation, strategy, and management sandbox…

P2: Reflection – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 31, 2026

Before starting P2, I thought that giving players difficult choices and information about a place would help them understand other people’s perspectives. My first…

P2: The Empathy Machine – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 30, 2026

“The Road Beyond the Village” PLAY THE GAME FIRST (10-15 minutes): Link Content note: Financial hardship, family conflict and estrangement, uncertainty about educational opportunities,…

P2: Refined Prototype – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 26, 2026

The Road Beyond the Village (Platform: Arcweave) Figure 1: A screenshot of the first page of the game. 1. Link to My Game in…

Read & Play: The Rhetoric of Video Games – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 25, 2026

Sketchnote: The Rhetoric of Video Games by Ian Bogost Game 1: We Become What We Behold Creator: Nicky Case | Platform: Web Browser |…

P2: Map, Premise, Project Plan – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 21, 2026

1. Premise One-sentence premise A sixteen-year-old aspiring designer wants to attend a workshop outside his village, but money, family concerns, and other responsibilities make…

P2: Playtest Prototype – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 21, 2026

My game, What We Carry Forward, started as an interactive fiction project about Ang Sila, my hometown in Thailand. The player took the role…

P2: Tiny Playable Prototype – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 19, 2026

“What We Carry Forward” What We Carry Forward is an educational interactive fiction game that I will be working on for the P2 project….

Read & Play: Game Design as Narrative Architecture – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 18, 2026

Sketchnote: Game Design as Narrative Architecture by Henry Jenkins Game Overview and My Play Experience for the First Time: “Night in the Woods” Figure…

Sketchnote: Rise of the Video Game Zinesters – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 17, 2026

   

P1: Reflection – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 15, 2026

“Is It Truly a Good and Ethical Idea to Teach players/learners to Be SCAMMERS?” This question arose during the initial brainstorming activity for our…

Precision of Emotion: A New Kind of “Fun” Approach in Educational Games – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

October 5, 2026

Sketchnote: MDAO – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

September 29, 2026

Introducing Serious Games – Stop Disasters! – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

September 29, 2026

Stop Disasters! by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in collaboration with Playerthree Figure 1: A screenshot of the Stop Disasters!…

Games, Design and Play: Elements – Saharat “Game” Laksanasut (สหรัฐ ลักษณะสุต)

September 27, 2026

Task 1: Identify the basic elements in a game of your choice. Figure 1.1: A screenshot of The Sims 4 gameplay. Image source: YouTube.com….

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

  • P3: Concept Map – Spoon Fight (previously known as Restaurant Rivals)
  • Aiden Sketchnote: Playtesting formally
  • Sketchnote: Playtesting Formally – snoopy
  • Sketchnote: Playtesting formally – Sabrina
  • Sketchnote: Playtesting formally_Paprika

Recent Comments

  • Xingyi Zhang on P2: The Empathy Machine – Our Room by Noé Chicas-Aranda
  • Xingyi Zhang on P2: The Empathy Machine – The Words We Don’t Say
  • Paprika Chen on P2: The Empathy Machine-Paprika
  • Paprika Chen on P2: The Empathy Machine-Paprika
  • Paprika Chen on P2: The Empathy Machine-Paprika

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

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