This document outlines lessons learned from experimenting with game education courses and programs over many years. Some key lessons include finding experiential gaps in programs to fill with new courses, drawing inspiration from what motivates faculty to create exciting new offerings for students, aligning course goals and assessments with student expectations, and treating students like junior colleagues to help guide course improvements. The document advocates frequently updating and innovating courses through a process of maintenance to continually meet student and industry needs.

1. FLYING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS: DON’T
Jose P. Zagal
Entertainment Arts &
Engineering
University of Utah
Experiences Experimenting with Games Education

2. WHO AM I? (GAMES ED CV
“HIGHLIGHTS”)
2000 – 2003
Taught “Videogame Design and Development” at Universidad Catolica (Chile)
Context: College of Engineering, Computer Science Department
2008-2015 Faculty at DePaul University
Context: Bona Fide Game Program, College of Computing and Digital Media
2013- Present Faculty at University of Utah’s EAE Program
Context: Bona Fide Game Program, Highly Ranked by Princeton Review

3. OUTLINE / AGENDA
How do game programs / courses of study change or evolve over the
years?
What role do we, as faculty, play in that evolution?
Today’s perspective: Exploring those questions via course/module
design

4. GAME PROGRAMS AS
SOFTWARE PRODUCTS
The
Development
Lifecycle of a
Game Program

5. GENESIS OF A GAME PROGRAM
(APOCRYPHAL)
Waterfall Model

6. THE TRUE LIFECYCLE OF A
PROGRAM
The “real” model…
Maintenance
What does this
mean?
What does this look
like?

7. (NOT SCIENTIFIC) SURVEY
Which of these happens more
often?
You create a new degree OR An existing degree is eliminated
You create a new track/specialization OR An existing track/specialization is
eliminated
A new course is added/created OR A course is eliminated from your
catalog
Game faculty are hired OR Game faculty are “let go” / contract
not renewed

8. (NOT SCIENTIFIC) SURVEY
Raise your hand if you have seen the following happen (maybe even been
responsible)
Created an “advanced” class for an existing course already offered
Created a “new” course that’s a variant/offshoot of an existing class
Created an “updated” version of an old class that’s still on the books
Taught a section of an existing class in a totally new way, but the other sections
stayed the same

9. Lock = Module/Course
Game Program
Years 1-3 (or so)

10. Game Program
After a few years
Still pretty neat and organized!

11. Game Program
Years: Forever After(?)

12. WAIT, THIS IS A GOOD THING!
“Core Classes” “Electives” – Usually gets longer over the years…
Curricular Offerings
(Courses/Classes/Modules)
Over the years:
The long tail
grows…
Are you aware of your tail?
How does your tail grow?
Are you grooming your tail
appropriately?Courses/Mo

13. LESSON #0 (WHY YOUR TAIL
MATTERS)
The tail is where you
innovate and experiment

14. Maintenance

15. MAINTENANCE IS
EXPERIMENTING
MAINTENANCE IS
INNOVATING
In our context, games education….

17. AVOIDING THIS:
While…

18. LESSONS FROM MY
TRENCH
YMMV

19. LESSON #1
Find experiential gaps in
your program

20. UNIVERSITY OF UTAH’S EAE
MASTERS PROGRAM
2-year Masters Program
Cohort-based
 Admissions are once a year
Yearly enrollment +/- 60 Students
4 tracks
- Arts, Technical Arts, Production, Engineering

21. EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF
STUDY
Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring
Design
Design
Elective
Elective Elective
Track I Track II Track III
Track IV or
Elective
Rapid
Prototypin
g
Project I Project II Project III
Optional
Internship
Academic Classes

22. EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF
STUDY
Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring
Design
Design
Elective
Elective Elective
Track I Track II Track III
Track IV or
Elective
Rapid
Prototypin
g
Project I Project II Project III
Optional
Internship
Industry Experience
Taught by Industry Professionals
Specialization (in track)
Socialization (learn to walk/talk like a pro)
Alternate grading scheme
(promote, retain, probate)

23. EAE MASTERS – PROGRAM OF
STUDY
Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring
Design
Design
Elective
Elective Elective
Track I Track II Track III
Track IV or
Elective
Rapid
Prototypin
g
Project I Project II Project III
Optional
Internship
Project-Driven
Faux-Studio Model
Soft Skills
Coached not “Taught”
“Large” Team – 10+ students

24. GAP IN THE PROGRAM?
EAE emphasizes teamwork/collaboration
Lacking opportunities to design and develop games solo
We need a course that provides this opportunity….

25. LESSON #2
Draw from what
motivates and inspires
you

26. INSPIRATIONS
Running (almost) continuously since 2002 @ GDC….

27. WOULDN’T IT BE COOL IF MY
STUDENTS…
…made cool stuff like what they show at GDC?
…got really excited about weird/wacky zany
games?
…blew my mind more often?
…whined less about how other people (e.g.
teammates) got in the way of them making
really cool games?

28. INSPIRATION
2005 – ETC at Carnegie Mellon University
“The Experimental Gameplay Project began as a student pitched project at
the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University. The
project started in Spring 2005 with the goal of discovering and rapidly
prototyping as many new forms of gameplay as possible.”
“A team of four grad students, we locked ourselves in a room for a semester
with three rules:”
http://experimentalgameplay.com/blog/about/

29. RULES
1. Each game must be made in less than seven days,
2. Each game must be made by exactly one person,
3. Each game must be based around a common theme
http://experimentalgameplay.com/blog/about/

30. SPRING SEMESTER 2016 –
EXPERIMENTAL GAMES
“In this course students will explore, examine, and discover new
forms of gameplay by rapidly developing small experimental games.
Students will be expected to individually design and develop games in
under 7 days and will develop 8 games over the course of the
semester. Each game will be based on a predetermined theme and
restrictions discussed in class. Class sessions will alternate between
discussions, playtest sessions (of student games as well as other
currently available ones), and presentations.”

31. LESSON #2 (COROLLARY)
Draw from what motivates
and inspires you
If you’re not that
motivated/inspired find
someone else who is (and
help them out as much as

32. LESSON #2 (COROLLARY TO THE
COROLLARY)
If you’re not that
motivated/inspired find someone
else who is (and help them out as
much as possible)
Find someone who’s better than
you to teach that course

33. COURSES I HELPED CREATE, BUT
NEVER TAUGHT…
GAM 201 – History of Videogames
 Person who taught it had been editor of Computer Gaming World for several
years…
GAM 231 – History and Design of Role Playing Games
 Person who taught it was a co-founder of Paizo publishing and had played D&D
with Gygax
GAM 312 – Playtesting
 Person who taught it had worked at Microsoft Games User Research!

34. EXPERIMENTAL GAMES, AVOIDING
THIS:
While…

35. LESSON #3
Articulate course goals
and align them with
student goals

36. GOALS – 1ST DAY
OF CLASSTheir goals, not mine!
Discussed as a group
Refined a little

37. LESSON #4
Align assessment with
student expectations

38. WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO (IN
THIS CLASS)?1. Form Hypothesis
2. Test It
3. Analyze
4. Conclusion + Share/Report

39. Deliverables?

40. Formal Assessment
Success: Pick apart your “failure”
Failure: Didn’t do it / Doesn’t run/work
Mediocre: Lack of effort, Didn’t Reflect/Learn
Stuff I didn’t explicitly discuss: What happens when stuff is late?

41. LESSON # 5
Ending the course is just
as important as the
beginning

42. IN-CLASS POST-MORTEM REVIEW /
REMINDER
1. Revisited everything we talked about on day 1.
1. What were the learning goals?
2. Had a class discussion about what went well, what could
be improved
1. By them
2. By me
3. Distributed self-assessment “forms”
1. Half-sheet of paper with two questions:
1. What grade do you deserve
2. Why do you deserve that grade

43. LESSON #6
Don’t be afraid to leave
your comfort zone
If you don’t feel a bit scared/worried/excited, you’re probably not experimenting enough.

44. THEMES
Pointillism
Wetness
Roll and Move
Envy
Social Connections
Platformer with a Twist
Sanctity
2 Hour Time Limit
In-Class
I Also Made a Game

45. LESSON #7
Don’t ask your students
to do things you wouldn’t
be willing to do yourself

46. LESSON #8
You don’t have to cater to
everyone.
After the first day of class, half the students dropped out.
I survived to tell this tale.

47. LESSON #8 (COROLLARY)
You don’t have to cater to
everyone
Everyone should be
catered to (see Lesson
#1)

48. RESULTS?
Students blew my mind.
(every other week)
Students blew each other’s minds.
(every other week)

49. LESSON #9
Treat your students like
junior colleagues rather
than just junior
Their help will guide you along the way.
Trust them!

50. CONCLUSIONS
Lesson #1 – Find Experiential Gaps in your Program
Lesson #2 – Draw from What Motivates and Inspires You
 Corollary a - …or find someone else who is
 Corollary b - …or find someone else who is better than you
Lesson #3 – Articulate Course Goals and Align them with Student Goals
Lesson #4 - Align Assessment with Student Expectations
Lesson #5 – Ending the Course is Just as Important as the Beginning
Lesson #6 – Don’t be Afraid to Leave your Comfort Zone
Lesson #7 - Don’t ask your students to do things you wouldn’t be willing to do
yourself
Lesson #8 – You Don’t Have to Cater to Everyone
 Corollary a – Everyone should be catered to (see Lesson #1)

51. LESSON #10
It doesn’t have to be
pretty, polished, slick, or
elegant. Rough around
the edges is probably
better.

52. CONCLUSIONS
Neither does anybody else.
So, listen to others, learn
from them, adapt, and adopt
what works for you and your
program.

53. THANK YOU!
Jose P. Zagal
 jose.zagal@utah.edu
 http://www.eae.utah.edu/faculty/
jzagal
Special thanks to my students and
colleagues over the years.
Anything smart or insightful I said
is thanks to them.
Images used in this presentation are the property of their respective owners.
Their use here qualifies as fair use under US copyright law for educational purposes and
critical commentary.
@JoseZagal