Admission requirements
Not applicable.
Description
Once upon a time, developing computer games required in-depth knowledge of computer hardware — how it works, and how to program for it. While this is still the case for commercial game development, there are now more resources than ever that support newcomers in creating a game project.
In this course, you will learn the basic principles of game development and how to deconstruct a game idea into the many challenges that need to be solved to create it. Apart from creating games, this course will give you a better understanding of how the technological aspects of the medium shape their rhetorical, visual, and narrative dimensions. This will help you to become a well-informed game critic and give you the ability to express your ideas through the medium of video games.
To enjoy this course you should be enthusiastic about creating games and interested in analyzing games that you might not usually choose to play. Game development is typically a team effort — as such you should expect to work together with other students on a shared project.
Computer Requirements:
A personal computer or laptop is required to follow this course. Said laptop requires a desktop operating system (Linux, Windows, MacOS). Chromebooks, iOS or Android devices are not fit for this task!
For students without programming experience:
This course does not cover the basics of programming. While following the course without prior programming experience is possible, most tasks in game Development require code in one form or another. Thus you will have to be PROACTIVE in learning to read, understand, and also write a little bit of code (in GDScript / Python). Keep this in mind before joining the course, but do not be afraid to try — some of the best projects in the past came from students who never programmed before!
For students with prior game development experience:
If you have created a game with Godot, Unity, Unreal, or any other 2D / 3D game engine before, this course might be too basic for your level of experience.
Course Objectives
Explain the basic principles of game development
Define the difference between game development, game design, and many of the individual tasks that go into making a video game
Dissect and explain the intended functionality and design decisions of a video game
Infer relevant tasks and reason about solution choices when creating video games
Create working video games (in a group) that are ready to be shared with the world
Illustrate functionality and highlight design decisions of self-created video games in both oral presentations and self-directed videos
Assess and score other people's games in a peer-review setting
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of Instruction
Lectures, self study, discussions, peer-review, and team work.
Assessment method
Take-home Quiz (20%)
Individual Assignments (40%)
Group Project (40%)
Assessments that are not handed in / participated in will be graded with 0 points.
To pass the course (next to a passing average grade) the Group Project grade has to be above 5.5.
There are no resits for the Quiz or Individual Assignments.
The retake for the Group Project is completing or re-starting development work on a partially completed group project (either your own, one we prepare or that of another student). The resit itself is done individually, so you don't continue working with the group.
Group Project
We assume that you equally distribute the workload between all group participants for the group project.
In case of problems: Should the majority of the group be convinced that a particular group member has not contributed sufficiently and it is brought to the attention of the lecturer or TAs, we will verify the claims and may remove said person from the group, referring them to the re-take.
Academic Integrity
We assume that students uphold the Academic Code of Condcut and do not plagiarise or copy any of the submitted work for the course.
- The Art of Game Design (Jesse Schell)
We recommend acquiring a 2nd hand copy of the book, or lending it. The book provides a useful starting point for most of the topics in the course; but it is unfortunately also more expansive than it should be, relative to its overall value within the course.
Throughout the course students will also receive articles or papers to read and games to play. All essential material (apart of the book above) is freely available through Brightspace. Additional, non-essential material might be recommended from time to time.
Reading list
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Contact the lecturer(s) for course specific questions and the programme's coordinator Education coordinator LIACS bachelors for questions regarding course admission or registration.
Remarks
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.