Welcome! Start Here for Important Information from Your Instructors

Hello everybody and welcome to the course! 

Dear Game Design Students,  

Welcome to Cultivating Transformational Communities! We are delighted that you are joining us on this journey into understanding how to transform conflict and create safer containers for transformative role-playing games. This course explores foundational concepts and practices to consider when building the communities that surround play.

Required Materials

All readings, videos, podcasts, and other materials are embedded in the course. You can find links under the relevant Units and specific Assignments.

The entire course, including Units 1-10 is contained under the heading Modules, which is linked here.

Assignment Overview

This course is taught mostly asynchronously, meaning that your course materials and the majority of your interactions will take place in this learning management system, Studium. These assignments are Discussions, Journals, Peer Reviews, and Major Assignments. Rather than attending a scheduled lecture at a regular time, you will instead complete the assignments required of you by 11:59pm on the due date they are assigned. Note that you will use your own time zone, meaning that others may be posting at different times.

Course Schedule

Assignments are due on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Make sure to review the linked Course Calendar and plan your time accordingly.

Discussion Posts

Essential to your work each week are your discussion posts, including (and especially) your responses to your peers. As this course is distance learning, active engagement with your peers in the discussion forum is the lifeblood in this 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 Unit 1 for more information.

Video Conference Playtests

The exception is your Playtest and Feedback sessions, which you will need to schedule as a video conference with your peers based on your available schedule. Make sure that you sign up for a group based on your preferred schedule for these meetings under People –> Groups. You will need to attend a minimum of two (2) synchronous meetings with your group in order to take part in the necessary activities of the course, as playtesting and giving feedback to each of your group members are essential to Research Through Design. You can find more information about joining your group under “Sign up for Your Playtest and Feedback Group.”

Game Design

In addition to your discussions and journals, you will also be role-playing scenarios about crisis management and then designing one (1) autobiographical nanogame on a subject of your choice with a transformative goal in mind. A nanogame is a short role-playing game with condensed instructions that can be played in a short amount of time, in this case one that can be played over video conferencing. Your game should not exceed 45 minutes to play, with an additional 15 minutes for feedback, for a total of 1 hour maximum per playtest. It is hugely important that you keep track of time in order to be respectful of the needs of your peers. Groups cannot exceed 4 members, so your nanogame should be designed to be played by 2-4 people (including yourself if appropriate).

Writing Assignments

Based on your design, playtests and feedback sessions, you will complete two (2) Major Assignments: one (1) Game Design Document and one (1) academic paper.

Deliverables

• Discussion Boards Assignments: You are expected to participate in all discussion assignments in the Units, including your initial posts and posts to the required number of peers throughout the week in Ask a Question, Answer a Question format.
• Reflection Journal Assignments: You are also expected to complete Reflection Journals at the end of each Unit. Note that only your instructors and you can see your journals.
• Major Assignment 1 — Transformative Game Design Proposal: You will write a short paper about your transformative game design project.
• Game Design Document and Playtest Plan: These documents should contain all the instructions for your nanogame that facilitators and participants need to play, as well as your plans for playtesting and receiving feedback. 
• Major Assignment 2 — Transformative Game Design: You will compose an academic article using Research Through Design as a method based upon your process of designing, playtesting, and analyzing the results of your nanogame. You will submit a complete first draft for peer feedback, then revise your assignment based upon these comments for your final submission at the end of the course.
• Peer Feedback — Transformative Game Design: You will read the first complete draft of Major Assignment 2 for one to three (1-3) of your peers in your group and respond to the required feedback questions to help them improve their work. Peer review is essential to the examination process in academic work.
  • For consideration for a grade of Pass on your own Major Assignment 2, you must complete one (1) peer review for a member of your group.
  • For consideration for a grade of Pass with Distinction on your own Major Assignment 2, you may complete peer reviews for all members of your group (2 reviews for a group of 3 including yourself; 3 reviews for a group of 4).

Forms of Teaching

Teaching is comprised of:

• Video lectures by the instructors, guest lecturers, and other sources
• Articles and other resources

Technical Requirements

• You will need a computer, word processor software (such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs), video conferencing software (such as Zoom) and consistent Internet access

Writing Assistance

Uppsala University offers writing support through the linked Language Workshop. We encourage you to make an appointment if you need additional writing support. You will have time in this course set aside for visits, but please schedule early to avoid delays at the end of the course period.

Disabilities

If you have disabilities and need accommodations, please contact the Disabilities office linked here.

Plagiarism

The use of AI is strictly prohibited in this class and is considered plagiarism. You must write your and assignments posts in your own words based on your reflection on the course materials. You should use the Chicago Author-Date citations provided in the course materials whenever possible. You should not need to include additional sources, but if you do, you must construct your citations yourself rather than relying on machine technology.

Before taking your Orientation Quiz, please watch this important video on plagiarism, which can have serious consequences at Uppsala University: 

Contacting Your Instructors

Be sure to email Sarah at sarah.bowman@speldesign.uu.se and Josephine Baird at josephine.baird@speldesign.uu.se if you are experiencing any difficulties or have questions. Please use your uu.se student email account rather than messaging through Studium.

Orientation Quiz

The course is divided into ten (10) Units, which you will find listed under the Modules tab on the left-hand side of Studium. Please review the Schedule and familiarize yourself with the Units. Then, take your Orientation Quiz.

Click here to take your Orientation Quiz.

Design Credits

This course was designed by Sarah Lynne Bowman, Josefin Westborg, Elektra Diakolambrianou, and Josephine Baird. Curricular materials have been added by members of the Erasmus+ EDGE Cooperation Partnership. It has been revised with feedback from Kaya Toft Thejls. 

Graphic design by Liliia Chorna.