Course Reflection

Introduction to Game Studies has taught me a lot over the course of this semester. I improved my soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, and tackling problems. I also added a new game design engine to my technical skills. I was always fond of playing games like any other person, but this class gave me a different lens through to think like a game designer. I had never thought about the definition of play, but I learned it through the different definitions and interpretations.

Learning different mechanics of board games helped me to see the difference between various board games that I loved playing. Designing my own board game was a really fun experience as well. Conceptualizing, designing, and developing our own video game was a great learning experience for me. The part that I found the most interesting about the course was the games that we got to play and test during the class. Giving and receiving feedback on the work that people had put in was a fulfilling experience. I got the opportunity to test games in their alpha phase and play the final version to see the improvements. The only part that I would like to improve about the course is adding more lecture discussions during class time. With the timeline of developing various games, it can be a little hectic, but I really enjoyed the different materials being discussed in class and hearing my peers’ opinions about the same. Other than that, I had a great semester!