My advanced game design class is going well so far, and it’s always a blast to teach. I run a student-centered class, which means that while I come in with a sense of what we’re going to explore in the course, the students have a lot of say in what we do. The class is also project-centered. A big chunk of my class prep involves setting up real-world projects my students can participate in – but as a class, they choose which one to pursue.
This year, my students are going to be working with the New York Hall of Science to design games about, unsurprisingly, science. I’m particularly excited about this partnership for a number of reasons! First, it’s local, which means my students can head out there to observe the exhibits and watch how people actually use them. Second, it’s a real-world space, which has some interesting implications for the design of mobile or augmented-reality games. Finally, the Hall has been incredibly supportive of this partnership: just for example, they’re sending someone from the Hall to be a guest critic at our midterm and final presentations.
The semester’s only barely begun, but I’ve got a fabulous group of students and I can’t wait to see where it goes!