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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

Category: Critical Play

Fluxx Critical Play

January 20, 2022

Thoughts I played two 3-player games of Fluxx in person. In the beginning we all mostly focused on simply setting up and fulfilling goals,…

Goutham’s FLUXX Critical Play

January 19, 2022

FLUXX is a card game where the game change as it goes on. Players have the ability to alter the game at any given…

Critical Play (Theme Only Games): Temple Run and Tiny Wings

June 2, 2021

I played Temple Run (created by Imangi Studios) and Tiny Wings (created by Andreas Illiger) on iOS, and these two games share the same racing…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games – Physics Games

June 2, 2021

I chose to play Cut The Rope Remastered (created by ZeptoLab), Angry Birds 2 (created by Rovio Entertainment), and Mushroom 11 (created by Untame)….

Critical Play: Theme Only Games

June 1, 2021

For this assignment, I explored two games with a similar concept but vastly different themes, to see how different themes impacted the overall gameplay,…

Critical Play: Tower Defense

June 1, 2021

For this Critical Play, I played Kingdom Rush and Battle Cats, both of which are Tower Defense games. I found that because Kingdom Rush…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games: Tower Defense

June 1, 2021

I played two Tower Defense games: Plants vs Zombies and Arknights. The former is a single-player game developed by PopCap Games and published in…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games

June 1, 2021

  Name Temple Run Alto’s Adventure Genre Endless Runner Endless Runner, Snowboarding Creator Imangi Studios Snowman Platform iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Tizen, PC, Arcade,…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games – Plants vs Zombies and The Battle Cats

June 1, 2021

Critical Play: Theme Only Games – Plants vs Zombies and The Battle Cats Basic information about Plants vs Zombies Name of game: Plants vs…

Critical Play of Theme Only Games: Battle Cats & Plants vs. Zombies

May 30, 2021

This week I played two theme-only, tower defense games: Battle Cats and Plants vs Zombies. Tower defense is a game genre where the goal…

Temple Run vs Cluster Truck: The Effects of Thematic Design

May 29, 2021

Temple Run is a 3D endless running game made by Imangi Studios for iOS and Android Devices. The game involves the player stealing an…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games: Race Games

May 27, 2021

For this critical play I played three games: Temple Run, Tiny Wings, and Jetpack Joyride. While all three were race games and the primary…

Critical Play: Balance in Clue

May 27, 2021

I have enjoyed the game Clue, which was released in America in 1949 by Parker Brothers, since I was a child.. I think it…

Critical Play (Balance): Stardew Valley

May 26, 2021

Stardew Valley is a simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric Barone, known as “ConcernedApe.” It was first released in 2016 on Windows and…

Critical Play: Is this game balanced? – Stardew Valley

May 26, 2021

Stardew Valley is a game designed by ConcernedApe, and I played the game on Nintendo Switch. In the game, you play as someone who…

Critical Play: Theme Only Games

May 26, 2021

For this Critical Play, I played 1 level of Plants vs Zombies and 1 level of Battle Cats. I actually played both of these…

Critical Play: Is this game balanced?

May 26, 2021

The game I choose to analyze for this critical play is AC Rebellion. It is a mobile Strategy-RPG of the Assassin’s Creed universe, developed…

Critical Play: Is this game balanced?

May 25, 2021

Name FIFA 21 Creator EA Sports Platform Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 4, Playstation 5 Target Audience 9+ Important…

Critical Play: Is this Game Balanced?

May 25, 2021

For this assignment, I played Hades on Steam, which had its official release in September 2020 and was developed by Supergiant Games. Hades is an example of…

Critical Play: Balance in Slay the Spire

May 25, 2021

For this critical play, I went back and revisited a game I was addicted to 4 years ago. It is Slay the Spire, a…

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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Recent Posts

  • Final CS247G Reflection
  • Critical Play on WorldBuilding: Cyberpunk’s Night City Doesn’t Have Races — It Has Lifepaths
  • Critical Play: Puzzles — EXIT: The House of Riddles
  • Critical Play: Mysteries & Escape Rooms — Cube Escape: Paradox
  • Protected: Independent Study Final Reflection

Recent Comments

  • Christina Wodtke on Personal Reflection
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection – Nicholai K.
  • Christina Wodtke on 247G Final Class Reflection
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection – Joseph Gu
  • Christina Wodtke on Final Class Reflection

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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