EDGE

Empowering Game Design Education

Course Content
Course Information
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Course Calendar
Schedule & Instructions
Department Standards
Learning Objectives and Success Criteria
Course Materials
Policy on Generative AI
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Unit 1 Introduction to Role-playing Games
This course explores foundational concepts and practices to consider when designing for transformative impacts. In addition to lectures, discussions, and journals, you will be designing a game.
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Unit 1 Overview: Introduction to Role-playing Games
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 1: Introduction to Role-playing Games
Instructions for Major Assignment 1: Transformative Nano-Game Design Document
Quiz 1: Role-playing Games
Unit 2: Introduction to Transformative Role-playing Game Design
In this unit, we will discuss three different types of contexts: transformative leisure, therapeutic, and educational role-playing games.
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Unit 2 Overview: Introduction to Transformative Role-playing Game Design
Reflection Journal 1: Transformative Game Design and You
Quiz 2: Transformative Game Design
Unit 3: Transformative Role-playing Game Design in Practice
In this unit, we will share our model of transformative role-playing games
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Unit 3 Overview: Transformative Role-plaaying Game Design in Practice
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 2: Setting Brainstorming
Quiz 3: Transformative Game Design in Practice
Unit 4: Character, Culture and Mechanics Design
In this unit, we will provide some techniques and additional considerations when adding these facets to your game.
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Unit 4 Overview: Character, Culture, and Mechanics Design
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 3: Character and Relations Design
Quiz 4: Character, Culture and Mechanic Design
Unit 5: Myth, Symbolism, Ritual and Magic
In this unit, we will discuss some of the factors that can make role-playing games such powerful and transformative experiences, including the use of mythic structures, symbolic images, and ritual activities within games and also in the act of play itself.
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Unit 5 Overview: Myth, Symbolism, Ritual, and Magic
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 4: Myth, Symbolism, Ritual, and Magic
Quiz 5: Myth, Symbolism, Ritual and Magic
Unit 6: Culture and Conflict in RPGs
In this unit, we deepen our understanding of culture, thinking about it as something surrounding games and also embedded within them.
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Unit 6 Overview: Culture and Conflict in RPGs
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 5: Culture and Conflict
Quiz 6: Culture and Conflict
Unit 7: Designing Safety Structures
In this unit, we will deepen into concepts related to safety design. Several issue that can arise with regard to psychological safety during games.
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Unit 7 Overview: Designing Safety Structures
Reflection Journal 2: Designing Safety Structures
Quiz 7: Designing Safety Structures
Unit 8: Game Technologies and RPGs
By its very name, analog role-playing emphasizes interactions between people unmediated by technology, but of course in reality, we often use technologies during play.
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Unit 8 Overview: Game Technologies and RPGs
Reflection Journal 3: Game Technologies and RPGs
Unit 9: Offering and Receiving Design Feedback
In this unit, you will be providing feedback on the scenarios of other students. Figuring out the best way to give feedback can be difficult.
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Unit 9 Overview: Offering and Receiving Design Feedback
Discussion Forum Instructions
Discussion 5: Transformative Nano-game Design Document Feedback
Quiz 8: Inclusion and Sensitive Content
Unit 10: Transformative Game Design and You
In this unit, you will reflect upon the course as a whole.
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Unit 10 Overview: Transformative Game Design and You
Reflection Journal 4: Transformative Game Design and You
Major Assignment 1: Transformative Nano-Game Design Document
Transformative Role-Playing Game Design

Unit 1 Overview: Introduction to Role-playing Games

Welcome to Introduction to Transformative Game Design! This course explores foundational concepts and practices to consider when designing for transformative impacts. In addition to lectures, discussions, and journals, you will be designing a game.

All class activities are asynchronous, meaning that you will submit your work on specific due dates, but there are no assigned class times where you must log in. These activities are discussion boards, journals, quizzes, and a major assignment. 

Discussion forum engagement is the lifeblood of the course. Since we are all in different time zones, please post your initial discussions the night before the class day. Then, engage in the discussion forum by responding to two (2) of your peers in Ask a Question, Answer a Question format. See the Discussion Forum Instructions in the Unit for more information.

Reflection journals are viewable only by your instructors. In Reflection journals, you will consider the work you have read, watched, and discussed all week and tie it to your personal thoughts and experiences.

Quizzes assess your comprehension of the central concepts present in the readings, videos, and other assigned homework.

Major Assignment 1 is a game design document of your game, which will help you practice writing facilitation instructions for your games in the future. 

Please familiarize yourself with the contents of the course including the syllabus, the calendar, and the units, then take your Orientation Quiz, which is linked in this Unit.

Resources in Each Unit

Each Unit Overview will feature several important sources, so make sure you read the Overview first. These materials will be organized as follows:

  • Required materials: These are materials you need to examine to complete your assignments in the Unit.
  • Choose (1) to examine: These resources feature similar content as your required materials, e.g., a video containing similar content as your textbook chapter. As some student learn better by watching, listening, or reading, for example, these materials may be supportive of different modes of learning.
  • Additional materials on these topics (not required): These are assigned materials on these topics from previous versions of the course in case you want to dive deeper into the content.

Unit 1 will provide basic information on role-playing games, including tabletop, larp, and freeform. 

Required materials:

Readings:

  • Bowman, Sarah Lynne, Elektra Diakolambrianou, and Simon Brind. 2024. “Preface.” In Transformative Role-playing Game Design, edited by Sarah Lynne, Elektra Diakolambrianou, and Simon Brind. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Transformative Play Research 1. Uppsala University Publications. 
  • Bowman, Sarah Lynne, Elektra Diakolambrianou, Angie Bandhoesingh, Guus van Tilborg, Alessandro Giovannucci, and Taisto Suominen. 2024. “Chapter 1: A Brief Introduction to Role-playing Games and Cousin Activities.” In Transformative Role-playing Game Design, edited by Sarah Lynne, Elektra Diakolambrianou, and Simon Brind. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. Transformative Play Research 1. Uppsala University Publications. 

Optional materials:

Video:

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