This course introduces the relationships and approaches of interactive technologies and environments that make use of the body, data manipulation and visualizations, and immersive experiences. The use of interactive spaces will be discussed as students design and build multiple interactive projections, make use of motion sensing cameras (such as the Kinect), and explore projection mapping possibilities. Students will continue their development in their design process through sketching and prototyping with pencil, software, and code. Students will approach interactive work with various inquiries, such as: What makes a space interactive? Does technology make a space interactive? Are the interdependencies of a space clearly visible? If not, what can be introduced into the space to reveal them? How is the students work situated within the historical and theoretical continuum? Students will conceive, plan, propose, and develop an interactive space, demonstrating competence in their role as a designer and developer, and question assumptions about what makes a space interactive. Emphasis is on a critical awareness of new technologies, an articulated design process, and creative engagement with the space and medium.

This course is focused on the practice of level design. It will look closely at the process by which an established core mechanic is polished and made fun through the balance of the game elements. This includes both the balancing of the tweakable variables that define the mechanic, as well as the distribution of these game elements in chunks of play content known as levels. Also included in this lesson is a careful study of game testing. To accomplish these goals, students are asked to examine and analyze a number of examples of good level design in pre-existing digital or non-digital games. Students are also asked to design levels for a number of different games, including one of their own creation. Student will learn to situate digital or analog environments for meaningful play experiences through those level design experience. The goal of the course is to provide a working knowledge of what a level is and how good level design can be the critical difference between a good game and a bad one.

This course introduces the relationships and approaches of interactive technologies and environments that make use of the body, data manipulation and visualizations, and immersive experiences. The use of interactive spaces will be discussed as students design and build multiple interactive projections, make use of motion sensing cameras (such as the Kinect), and explore projection mapping possibilities. Students will continue their development in their design process through sketching and prototyping with pencil, software, and code. Students will approach interactive work with various inquiries, such as: What makes a space interactive? Does technology make a space interactive? Are the interdependencies of a space clearly visible? If not, what can be introduced into the space to reveal them? How is the students work situated within the historical and theoretical continuum? Students will conceive, plan, propose, and develop an interactive space, demonstrating competence in their role as a designer and developer, and question assumptions about what makes a space interactive. Emphasis is on a critical awareness of new technologies, an articulated design process, and creative engagement with the space and medium.

This course is focused on the practice of level design. It will look closely at the process by which an established core mechanic is polished and made fun through the balance of the game elements. This includes both the balancing of the tweakable variables that define the mechanic, as well as the distribution of these game elements in chunks of play content known as levels. Also included in this lesson is a careful study of game testing. To accomplish these goals, students are asked to examine and analyze a number of examples of good level design in pre-existing digital or non-digital games. Students are also asked to design levels for a number of different games, including one of their own creation. Student will learn to situate digital or analog environments for meaningful play experiences through those level design experience. The goal of the course is to provide a working knowledge of what a level is and how good level design can be the critical difference between a good game and a bad one.