Skip to content
The Mechanics of Magic

The Mechanics of Magic

Game Design Writings by Students at Stanford taking 247G and 377G

  • 247G Syllabus
    • 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
  • The How and Why of Sketchnotes
  • Graphic Design Resources

Category: P2: The Future We Deserve

P2: The Future We Deserve

February 28, 2023

Introduction You enter a world where freedom is nothing more than a distant memory and oppression rules the land. The Regime, a powerful government,…

P2: The Future We Deserve – Ji Hong Ni

February 22, 2023

Welcome to the Aftermath!    Link to play: AFTERMATH (https://jihongni.itch.io/aftermath)   Premise: Aftermath sets the scene as you are a young adult/ teenager who’s…

P2: The Future We Deserve – Lost Voices, Lost Souls

February 21, 2023

Game Link: I highly recommend playing before reading the iteration history because there will be spoilers. [Lost Voices, Lost Souls] Overview of the game…

P2 Reflection

February 20, 2023

For the Interactive Fiction project, I indeed learned a lot. Some of my key insights were picking a topic you can be passionate about,…

P2: The Future We Deserve — You Are A Rabbit

February 19, 2023

This game is text-only and best played blind; see the end of this write-up for content warnings. You Are A Rabbit You Are A…

P2: The Future We Deserve (Hacking 101)

February 18, 2023

GAME LINK *Can either play now or wait till you read up to and including the premise.* Overview: In the beginning, when thinking of…

P2: The Future We Deserve – with what eyes

February 18, 2023

<<o>> with what eyes <<o>> You can play the story here, before or after you read the documentation! : ) https://shanaeh.github.io/with_what_eyes/with_what_eyes.html   <<o>> Overview <<o>>…

P2: The Future We Deserve (What Do You Dream Of?)

February 18, 2023

https://alalalada.itch.io/what-do-you-dream-of password: hello Premise It’s your first day as an Honorable Councilor, a prestigious critical role in the wonderful society that MotherBoard has built…

P2 – Split

February 18, 2023

Play Split here before reading. Overview In Split, you play a college student whose mom has just undergone a minor surgery. This interactive narrative communicates…

P2: The Future We Deserve https://mechanicsofmagic.com/?p=13253&preview=true

February 17, 2023

LINK TO GAME.

P2: Zauberkurg Kartoffel Farm

February 17, 2023

Zauber Kartoffel 2   Overall It is difficult to see how this idea came to my mind. The concept of a sorcerer that makes…

P2: The Last Moment of Sun

February 17, 2023

You are enjoying the end of your life with your lover before the sun explodes. You must make time-constrained decisions between looking up at…

P2 – Barrier or Bridge?

February 16, 2023

Play it here! Inspiration A friend of mine struggled to find her career path in her junior year of college. She loves both storytelling…

P2 – Interactive Fiction – comrade

February 16, 2023

Individual Project – Ember Fu Note: I believe my game is better played blind, though note that as of this posting/current time, while you…

P2: Change of Address (Yasmine Mitchell)

February 16, 2023

Premise 14 year-old Gloria Dupont (Glo) is working as an assistant to a government minister in Milchea’s capital city Peoria. When communication lines go…

P2: Old Man and the Sea (Alejandro Cid)

February 16, 2023

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV CLICK TO PLAY: https://lizardking260.itch.io/old-man-and-the-sea ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You are on a boat with Hemingway. And what do you do when you’re on a boat with…

P2 – My Sister’s Beetles (Kyle Nguyen)

February 16, 2023

    Play My Sister’s Beetles before reading further. Password: cs377g Overview I made My Sister’s Beetles to explore grief through interactive fiction. In…

P2: A Fated Fable

February 16, 2023

[Note: please play the game before reading about the process] Link: https://codewordpickle.itch.io/afatedfable Overview & Premise: A Fated Fable takes us into a dystopian parallel…

P2 – Benthamic

February 16, 2023

Project 2: The Future We Deserve The Game – Benthamic Link : https://nfeff98.github.io/benthamic/ – best enjoyed in fullscreen. Walkthrough: no real puzzles in the…

P2: All In A Day’s Work

February 15, 2023

(Highly recommend you have a few playthroughs before reading this page!) Link to itch.io host page: https://tn-dev.itch.io/all-in-a-days-work  Premise: All In A Day’s Work is…

Posts navigation

1 2 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

  • 247G Syllabus
    • 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
  • The How and Why of Sketchnotes
  • Graphic Design Resources

Archives

  • 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

  • The Mechanic is the Message – Charlotte Feng
  • P4: Refine a Game – Lost Voices – Charlotte Feng
  • P4: Black Friday Baking (Yasmine Mitchell and Grace Zhang)
  • P4 | Accelerate
  • P4: Refine a Game – Overgrowth🌲☀️🌲☀️🌲

Recent Comments

  • Christina Wodtke on P2 – Barrier or Bridge?
  • Christina Wodtke on P2 – Split
  • Christina Wodtke on P2: The Last Moment of Sun
  • Christina Wodtke on P2: Zauberkurg Kartoffel Farm
  • Christina Wodtke on P2: The Future We Deserve https://mechanicsofmagic.com/?p=13253&preview=true

Categories

  • mindmap
  • 377G: Serious Games
  • P2: The Future We Deserve
  • P4: Refine a Game
  • CS247G
  • Project One
  • milestone
  • P2: Games In Space
  • Critical Play
  • Lectures
  • Sketchnotes
  • Project Two
  • From the Instructor
  • Project Four REFINE
  • Assignments
  • Project Two: The Future We Deserve
  • ReadWritePlay
  • Project Three: The Game of Unexpected Consequences
  • 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