Assignments
In total there are eight assignments, for which you will get 7 grades. All assignments should be made by a pair of students. These two students should work together for the entire course duration. The assignments are:
- Assignment 1: Research into topic
- Assignment 2: Create 5 game concepts and write executive summary
- Assignment 3: Choose 1 concept and write the concept document
- Assignment 4: Create board game (based on concept)
- Assignment 5: Create a storyline (for the game)
- Assignment 6: Design a level (for the game)
- Assignment 7: Create design document for the game
- Assignment 8: Build the game
The aim for you is to keep all these assignments within the same concept/topic. If you succeed in doing this you will receive a bonus point on your final grade.
Assignment 2 and 3 will be graded at the same time. In other words, you will hand in assignment 2 with the work for assignment 3.
Grading
The final grade for the course is calculated as the weighted sum of the grades for the assignments. The weights of the assignments are:
| Assignment | Weight |
| Research document | 10 % |
| Concept document | 15 % |
| Board game | 15 % |
| Storyline | 15 % |
| Level design | 15 % |
| Design document | 15 % |
| Final game | 15 % |
In addition, if you manage to keep all the assignments within the same concept you will receive a bonus point. Thus, you can get an 11 for this course!
Additional assignment
After thirty years of game design, designers have some inkling of what makes a game fun to play, how to set up rewards and challenges. Very little, however, is known scientifically. Therefore, at Utrecht University, we're doing research in game design, but for this we need participants. As a student enrolled in the Game Design 2010 course, you are obliged to participate in the game design experiment, which takes approx. 40 minutes (you will also be paid). The outcome of the experiment will be discussed in the level design course, so you will have to participate before that time. Please fill in your name in the desired slot of the experiment schedule. Write (EN) after your name if you're not a native Dutch speaker. In the case you already participated in a CR:T experiment (for example because you followed the course Using Interactive Systems), please e-mail Erik van der Spek (eriks@cs.uu.nl), you will be exempt from participation.
What should you hand in?
For all assignments except the last one you have to hand in a PDF file. If you do not know how to create a PDF file: please search the internet for this! There are many free online tools for converting any document into a PDF file. For the last assignment the Game Maker file and a executable should be handed in on CD or DVD.
Deadlines
The deadlines are strict. You should not be late. If, for some reason, you do not manage to hand in the work before the deadline you will go into the late policy, which is:
- 2 points (out of 10) will be deducted if you are less than 24 hours late.
- 3 points will be deducted if you are between 24 and 48 hours late
- after 48 hours, assignments will not be accepted anymore
Bad planning, holidays, ski-trips, crashing hard disks etc. are not valid reasons to hand in an assignment late.
The deadlines for the assignments are:
- Assignment 1: Date: September 20, 2010 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 2+3: Extended: October 4, 2010 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 4: Extended: October 11, 2010 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 5: Extended: October 18, 2009 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 6: Extended: October 25, 2010 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 7: Extended: November 12, 2010 - Time: 17h00
- Assignment 8: Extended: November 12, 2010 - Time: 17h00
These deadlines are also in the google calendar!
For all assignments except the last one you have to use the Submit system. The last assignment should be handed in on CD or DVD in the mailbox of Arno Kamphuis in the CGN (Centrum Gebouw Noord) building.