[p4k] Fieldtrip!
This week at P4K was short but fun. On Monday we had a field trip to learn about game design from the pros. We traveled to Hunter College and Gamelab to see how games get from rough ideas, to polished downloadable.
First, we went to the Tiltfactor Lab at Hunter College. Professor Mary Flanagan was there to show us around, explain some of the work Tiltfactor is doing around human values and social impact game design, and talk about possibilities for studying game design in college. As a former professional game designer, and founder of the first academic game lab in New York, Professor Flanagan had plenty to talk about.
I also work at Tiltfactor and have integrated some of the elements from the Values At Play curriculum into our Playing 4 Keeps game design lessons. It was interesting for the students to see some of the entries to the Values At Play Better Game Contest, and compare how different college students tackled the challenge of designing games that are both emotionally compelling, and entertaining.
Next, we traveled down to Gamelab, the second largest casual game maker in the US, and the company P4K worked with to make Ayiti two years ago. At Gamelab, the students had the opportunity to see professional game designers at work, and compare their process to our own. Gamelab has a slick office with plenty of high tech equipment–but I was most interested in their low-tech tools. Stacks of board games line the wall, they have a library of manga, and piles of hand drawn sketches and paper prototypes.
I must admit, I felt a little vindicated when game designer Greg Trefry explained the long grueling process of making games–from marathon brainstorming sessions to making card game paper prototypes to inch thick design documents. For game designers, the real work is in the mind, and the computer is but a tool. Our group also got to see the still-in-development Gamestar Mechanic. I think I saw a few kids salivating at the chance to so easily make little platformers and shooter games. We can’t wait till it comes out.
Finally, we headed back to the office eat pizza, process the day, and write some blog entries reflecting on what we saw. You can read our students’ reactions here on the blog, and we have pictures to share. You can see them here.
