Understand and sequence the essential steps in creating a game in order to launch its development.

The world of games is gaining more and more ground: game consoles, mobile games, board games, serious games and even games designed to explore complex knowledge in greater depth. Gamification is a way to explore complex ideas, concepts and know-how. Games can also be used to tackle controversial topics and open up a debate in a more relaxed way. As a result, schools, companies, associations and activists are now using games to collaborate, popularise and democratise their ideas.

The profession of game designer lies at the crossroads of several existing and emerging disciplines focused on the design of playful experiences. The role of the game designer is to grasp and bring out the often intangible but essential forms of a game: the game experience, the game loop, the progression curve of the players and interaction design. The game designer guarantees the game experience and the coherence between its different components.

This course focuses on the development of a game concept. After sessions of analysis, writing, rapid prototyping and play tests, participants will produce game design documents, which are necessary to rally the various stakeholders around the central concept of a game. Illustrations and interactive models will be produced and will allow participants to grasp the concept at the heart of their game project, its aesthetics and the way to play it. A synthetic presentation will also be produced to pitch the game concept.

Target audience
This course is primarily aimed at people who are familiar with the fields of art and/or design and who wish to strengthen their professional integration in fields related to emerging technologies.

Targeted skills
This course will enable participants to develop a game concept and produce all the documents necessary to explain and communicate it to a production team.
Through the analysis of existing games, the writing of a pitch and the production of UX design documents (diagrams, schematics, wireframes, interactive mock-up), participants will learn about notions of game loop and game experience, as well as about the art of pitching which allows them to explain a project and to gather the necessary funds and collaborators for the creation of a game.

Details:
Ability to analyse fundamental notions of video games such as game mechanics, game loops, difficulty curves and interaction design.
Basic knowledge of experimentation, rapid prototyping and game writing tools.
Skills in the art of pitching, in particular defining the game concept, gameplay and game mechanics and identifying the target audience.
Ability to write game design documents for future collaborators, as well as a synthetic presentation for future investors.

Prerequisites
No technical skills are required apart from a basic command of how a computer works (word processing, file management, etc.).

Teaching methods
Writing sessions, presentation and analysis of games, testing sessions, creation of models, design of a presentation (the art of the pitch) 

Certification
Certificate of Continuing Education

Credits
2 ECTS credits

Practical information
From January 12,2024 until February 10, 2024
Languages: French, English
Course format: courses and workshops
Fee: CHF 1,200/ HEAD – Genève alumni CHF 900
Location:  Campus HEAD, Building H, Room H – 4.01, Av. de Châtelaine 7, 1203 Geneva

Information and registration/admission
Contact: fc.head@hesge.ch
Follow this link to register
General terms and conditions

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