This web page is only accessible from the Williams network. That is because some of this material is from my unpublished textbook and some is from other sources that we are not allowed to distribute. Please do not share these materials with anyone outside Williams.
Below is a list of the required reading and homework assignments for each class meeting. The date listed is the class date that the work is due. You should always be reading a few days ahead since some of the reading is necessary for completing assignments. The main textbook for the course is Creating Games: Mechanics, Content, and Technology(CG) by McGuire and Jenkins, which is available to you for free as preprint PDFs on this web page. If you want a hardcover copy they will be available in January from A. K. Peters. Selections from other texts will be provided as copies, PDFs, and web links. Many of the copied texts are available in Sawyer and Schow for follow-up reading if you want to learn more than the selection that was assigned. Where chapter numbers are listed, they mean that you have to read everything between the assigned chapters, including the endpoints. Chapter exercises are optional unless explicitly assigned.
Check this web page regularly; readings will be updated as the class progresses.
| Date | Topic | Handouts | Reading Due | Assignment Due |
| R 9/6 | What are Games? | Syllabus CG preface-Ch. 1 | None | None |
| M 9/10 | Casual Critiques | Werewolf Rules | None | Casual Critique 1 |
| R 9/13 | Mechanics, Content, and Technology | None | CG pref-Ch. 2 |
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| M 9/17 | Managing Innovation | Hex Paper 10x10 Grid | CG Ch. 3 |
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| R 9/20 | Critique | Skills Matrix | CG Ch. 4 |
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| M 9/24 | Design Document | None | CG Ch. 5 |
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| R 9/27 | Game Technology | Balance Exercise | CG Ch. 6 |
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| M 10/01 | Strategic Thought | None | CG Ch. 7 |
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| R 10/04 | Probability | None | CG Ch. 8 |
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| R 10/11 | Balance | Challenge #2: | CG Ch. 9 |
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| M 10/15 | Mechanics Guest: Chris Warren | None | CG Ch. 10 |
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| R 10/18 | Artificial Intelligence | Chess Bitch, hardcopy |
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| S 10/21 | Sunday 7:30-9:30pm Griffin 3 | None | Chess Bitch Excerpt (Handed out in class) | None |
| M 10/22 | Women and Games Guest: Jennifer Shahade | None | Women and Games |
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| R 10/25 | Project Presentations | A Theory of Fun, hardcopy | None | |
| M 10/29 | A Theory of Fun | None | A Theory of Fun Excerpt | |
| R 11/01 | Structures 1/3 | None |
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| M 11/05 | Structures 2/3 | None | None |
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| R 11/08 | Creating a World | Level Design Reading | CG Ch. 11 (before or after class) |
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| M 11/12 | Level Design | None | Level Design Reading (handed out in class) |
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| R 11/15 | Art Direction | None | CG Ch. 12 |
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| M 11/19 | Experiment Design | Experiment Notes | CG Ch. 13 |
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| M 11/26 | Proof Techniques | Review Ch. 7-10 |
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| R 11/28 | Tactics Guest: Trevor Murphy | None | None |
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| M 12/3 | The Big Picture | Slides | None | None |
| R 12/6 | Project Presentations | None | None | Project 2 |