Course Calendar
Transformative Game Design 1: Course Schedule
- For detailed requirements for assignments, see the Schedule & Instructions link.
- All assignments are due the end class on the day assigned, i.e. Mondays at 11:59pm in your time zone. When possible, please post the night before to make sure your peers have time to comment upon your posts.
- Discussions and Journals marked as Optional are recommended to skip if you want to go for a Pass instead of a Pass with Distinction. You will still be required to examine the homework materials leading up to those assignments.
Week 1 – Unit 1
Monday
Introducing Yourself and Connecting with Your Peers
Activities:
- Choose a playtest group based on times available under groups. You can choose the same group as last time or join a different one. Please organize in groups of 4.
- Post an introduction to your small group.
- Organize a playtest session with your group.
- Read “Glossary” from the Larp Design book and Stephen R. Balzac’s “The Use of Structured Goal Setting in Simulation Design.”
- Complete Discussion 1: Introduction by 11:59pm in your time zone.
- This post is your introduction to the entire class.
- Reply to the initial posts of at least two of your peers in Ask a Question, Answer a Question format for every discussion post.
- Complete Orientation Quiz by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch Bowman’s “Traditional Tabletop Role-playing Game: Design Basics” and “Indie Tabletop Role-playing Games: Design Basics.”
- Familiarize yourself with Bowman’s and Hugaas’ “Transformative Role-play: Design, Implementation, and Integration.”
- Optional: Read White, Arjoranta, Hitchens, Peterson, Torner, and Walton’s “4 Tabletop Role-Playing Games.”
Wednesday
Tabletop Role-playing Games — Design Basics
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 2: Tabletop Role-playing Games — Design Basics by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch Bowman’s “Traditional Live Action Role-playing (Larp): Design Basics” and “Experimental Live Action Role-playing (Larp): Design Basics.”
- Read Stenros and Montola’s “Basic Concepts in Larp Design.”
- Optional: Read Harviainen, Bienia, Bowman, Brind, Hitchens, Kot, MacCallum-Stewart, Simkins, Stenros, and Sturrock’s “5 Live Action Role-playing Games.”
Friday
Live Action Role-playing Games (Larp) — Design Basics
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 3: Live Action Role-playing Games (Larp) — Design Basics by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Review the selections from #Feminism.
- Choose one (1) scenario to playtest with your group, preferably one none or few of your group members have played. Remember to select at least one (1) safety mechanic to use during the game.
- Read Mo Holkar’s “Workshop Practice: A Functional Workshop Structure Method.”
- Choose one (1) item to examine from the Workshop category in the Unit Overview.
- Familiarize yourself with the resources available in the Workshop Handbook and Drama Notebook.
- Review Taylor’s “Brainstorming Technique: The ‘Yes, and’ Technique.”
Week 2 – Units 1, 2 & 3
Monday – Units 1 & 2
Workshop Design Brainstorming
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 4: Workshop Design Brainstorming by 11:59pm in your time zone.
- Read Instructions for Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan
Homework:
- Watch Westborg’s “Designing the Framing.”
- Review the Workshops section of Bowman et al.’s “Chapter 4: Practice: Designing for Transformative Goals” in Transformative Role-playing Game Design.
- Begin work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Wednesday – Unit 2
Return to #Feminism
Activities:
- Complete Playtest 1: Return to #Feminism by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Read Brown’s “Creating a Culture of Trust through Safety and Calibration Larp Mechanics.”
- Choose one (1) item to examine from the Effects Studies section of the Recommended Materials list in Unit 2.
- Review Nesbitt’s explanation of “The Toulmin Method.”
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Friday – Unit 2 & 3
Designing Transformative Leisure Role-playing Games
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 5: Designing Transformative Leisure Role-playing Games by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Choose one (1) item to examine from the Effects Studies list under Recommended Materials in Unit 3.
- Read Brown’s “Post-Play Activities for Larp: Methods and Challenges.”
- Familiarize yourself with the materials under “Reflecting for Self-Awareness” from the Reflector’s Toolbox.
- Optional: Watch Bowman’s “Safety in Role playing Games Part IV: After the Game.”
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Week 3 – Units 3 & 4
Monday – Unit 3
Emotional Debriefing and You
Activities:
- Complete Reflection Journal 1: Emotional Debriefing and You by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Choose one (1) item to examine from each of the following three (3) lists under Recommended Materials for a total of three (3) items: Emotional Debriefing, Theory, and Design.
- Optional: Watch Bowman’s “Safety in Role playing Games Part IV: After the Game.”
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Wednesday – Unit 3
Design Day
Activities:
- Work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Homework:
- Watch Diakolambrianou’s “Beyond the Couch: Psychotherapy and Live Action Role-playing.”
- Read Bartenstein’s “Larp in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Making Larp a Standard Method.”
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Friday – Units 3 & 4
Therapeutic Role-playing Game Design
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 6: Therapeutic Role-playing Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Read TeachThought Staff’s “Bloom’s Taxonomy is a Hierarchical Framework for Cognition and Learning Objectives.” Familiarize yourself with the list of verbs provided.
- Read Jesper Bruun’s “Pre-larp Workshops as Learning Situations – Matching Intentions with Outcome.”
- Review Section 2 on Transformative Goals of “Chapter 2: Theory, Central Concepts, and Inspirational Materials” in Transformative Role-playing Game Design.
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Week 4 – Unit 4
Monday
Learning Objective, Workshop, and Educational Debrief Brainstorming
Activities:
- Optional for PwD: Complete Discussion 7: Learning Objective, Workshop, and Educational Debrief Brainstorming by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch Miriam Lundqvist’s “Making Mandatory Larps for Non Players.”
- Read Michał Mochocki’s “Edu-Larp as Revision of Subject-Matter Knowledge.”
- Continue work on Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan.
Wednesday
Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan
Activities:
- Submit Major Assignment 1: Playtest Scenario and Playtest Plan by 11:59pm in your time zone.
- Schedule your Playtest 2: Playtest and Feedback Session with your group.
- Read Instructions for Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Homework:
- Watch Josefin Westborg’s “Learning and Framing” and Sarah Lynne Bowman’s “Mixing Desk of Edu-Larp.”
- Read David Crookall’s “Engaging (in) Gameplay and (in) Debriefing,” and Erik Aarebrot and Martin Nielsen’s “Prisoner for a Day: Creating a Game Without Winners.”
- Review slides for Sarah Lynne Bowman’s “Mixing Desk of Edu-Larp.”
- Begin work on Game Design Document for Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Friday
Educational Role-playing Game Design
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 8: Educational Role-playing Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch Josephine Baird’s “Surveys, Interviews, and Consent” and Annika Waern’s “How Can We Know What Actually Happened in a Larp.”
- Read Sarah Lynne Bowman’s “Educational Live Action Role-playing Games: A Secondary Literature Review.”
- Continue work on Game Design Document for Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Week 5 – Units 4 & 5
Monday – Units 4 & 5
Specifics of Researching Role-playing Games
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 9: Specifics of Researching Role-playing Games by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch Josefin Westborg’s “Deeper Dive into Design” and Alessandro Giovannucci’s “No More Hero: Larp as a Collective Journey.”
- Choose one (1) of the the following articles to read:
- Jesper Heebøll Arbjørn’s “The Narrative Experience.”
- Troels Barkholt-Spangsbo and Jesper Heebøll Arbjørn’s “Emergent Stories and Directed Narratives.”
- Simon Brind’s “Narrative Design.”
- Choose one (1) of the the following articles to read:
- Danny Wilson’s “Designing the Mechanics You Need.”
- Johan Dahlberg and Jon Back’s “Rules are Magic: What Larp Can Learn From Narrative RPGs.”
- Continue work on Game Design Document for Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Wednesday – Unit 5
Specifics of Role-playing Game Design
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 10: Specifics of Role-playing Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Continue work on Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Friday – Unit 5
Playtesting Framing Design
Activities:
- Complete Playtest 2: Playtest and Feedback Session by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Familiarize yourself with “Reflecting on Experience: A Range of Models That Can Be Used to Prompt and Structure Reflection on Experience” from the Reflector’s Toolkit.
- Continue work on Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Week 6 – Units 5 & 6
Monday – Units 5 & 6
Reflection Models and You
Activities:
- Optional for PwD: Complete Reflection Journal 2: Reflection Models and You by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Examine one (1) item from the Recommended Materials list on tabletop role-playing games under the Unit 6 Overview.
- Examine two (2) items from the Recommended Materials list on larp under the Unit 6 Overview from two (2) different creators under two (2) different categories, e.g. German larp, American freeform, Online larp, etc.
- Continue work on Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Wednesday – Unit 6
Styles and Cultures of Role-playing Game Design
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 11: Styles and Cultures of Role-playing Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Continue work on Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
Friday – Unit 6
Framing Transformative Game Design Draft
Activities:
- Submit First Complete Draft of Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design.
- Review the Peer Review Instructions for Major Assignment 2.
- Send your First Complete Draft over email to your playtest group for peer review.
Homework:
- Work on one (1) or more peer reviews for Major Assignment 2, sending your feedback as soon as it’s ready.
Week 7 – Units 6 & 7
Monday – Unit 6
Peer Review Work Day
Activities:
- Work on one (1) or more peer reviews for Major Assignment 2, sending your feedback as soon as it’s ready.
Wednesday – Unit 6 & 7
Peer Review Work Day
Activities:
- Work on one (1) or more peer reviews for Major Assignment 2, sending your feedback as soon as it’s ready.
Homework:
- Watch the first 56 minutes of Caro Murphy’s “Ritual: The Importance of Framing Transformational Experiences — Caro Murphy.”
- Read Martin Nielsen’s “Culture Calibration in Pre-larp Workshops.”
- Examine one (1) item from the Ritual Design category and one (1) item from the Symbolism category on the Recommended Materials list for a total of two (2) items.
- Optional: Watch “Cultures by Design” by Eirik Fatland. (Use headphones for optimal sound).
- Work on one (1) or more peer reviews for Major Assignment 2, sending your feedback as soon as it’s ready.
Friday – Unit 7
Culture, Ritual, and Symbolism Design Brainstorming
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 12: Culture, Ritual, and Symbolism Design Brainstorming by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Watch “Experimental Anthropology” by Kaisa Kangas.
- Read Whitney Strix Beltrán’s “Why Minority Settings in RPGs Matter,” Ajit George’s “The Beautiful Challenge of Bringing India to D&D’s Ravenloft,” and Shoshana Kessock’s “Cultural Appropriation and Larp.”
- Work on one (1) or more peer reviews for Major Assignment 2, sending your feedback as soon as it’s ready.
Week 8 – Units 7, 8 & 9
Monday – Unit 7 & 8
Cultural Role-playing and You
Activities:
- Complete Reflection Journal 3: Cultural Role-playing and You.
- Submit one (1) or more Peer Reviews to your peers over email and under the Peer Review submission link.
Homework:
- Read Kaisa Kangas’ “Playing the Stories of Others.”
- Examine at one (1) item from three (3) different creators in each of the following three sections under Recommended Materials in Unit Overview for a total of three (3) items: Politics and Cultures; Race and Ethnicity; and Gender and Sexuality.
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback (when available).
Wednesday – Unit 8
Conflict in Role-playing Game Design
Activities:
- Complete Discussion 13: Conflict in Role-playing Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback (when available).
Friday – Units 8 & 9
Writing Workshop
Activities:
- Visit the Language Workshop for academic writing assistance when appointments are available (if needed).
Homework:
- Read Elsa S. Henry’s “Reimagining Disability in Role-Playing Games” and Shelly Jones’ “Blinded by the Roll: The Critical Fail of Disability in D&D.”
- Watch the Ethical Use of Generative AI section (49:44-52:03) of Taisto Suominen’s “Game Technologies in Larp and Tabletop RPGs.”
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback (when available).
Week 9 – Units 9 & 10
Monday – Unit 9
Representation and Tech Ethics in RPG Design
Activities:
- Complete Reflection Journal 4: Representation, Tech Ethics, and You by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback.
Wednesday – Unit 9
Writing Workshop
Activities:
- Visit the Language Workshop for academic writing assistance when appointments are available (if needed).
Homework:
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback.
Friday – Unit 10
Transformative Game Design and You
Activities:
- Complete Reflection Journal 5: Transformative Game Design and You by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Homework:
- Revise your Major Assignment 2 according to peer and instructor feedback.
Week 10 – Unit 10
Monday
Framing Transformative Game Design and You
Activities:
- Submit Major Assignment 2: Framing Transformative Game Design by 11:59pm in your time zone.
Course schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor(s). Please note that schedule changes may occur during the semester.