Postgraduate Course: Game Design Studio (DESI11182)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course looks in detail at non-linear design scenarios, particularly those that pertain to computer games. The course addresses examples of interactive environments and approaches to open-ended structures - such as multiple narratives and explorable open world environments - brought about by ubiquitous and portable devices and digital distribution across a variety of media.
*** Please contact the Course Organiser to discuss suitability if considering this course. The Course Organiser must agree that your skills are at the required level before your personal tutor or Course Secretary can add you to the course. *** |
| Course description |
Participation in this course is intended to lead to a deep understanding of the issues encountered in detailed non-linear interactions, from sonic, visual, narrative and experiential perspectives. Participants will expand their own approaches to understanding and interpreting narrative by developing studies in reactive and/or non-linear environments in response to a supplied project brief. The project uses individual and collaborative tasks and critique to develop work for a participant's professional portfolio.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Design for Interactive Media (DESI11180) OR
3D Digital Design (DESI11206)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | *** Please contact the Course Organiser to discuss suitability if considering this course. The Course Organiser must agree that your skills are at the required level before your personal tutor or Course Secretary can add you to the course. ***
This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10,
Online Activities 6,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
150 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Project Draft and Documentation 40%, due mid-semester. Addresses LO 1, LO2 and LO3
2. Completed Project and Documentation 60%, due end-semester. Addresses all Learning outcomes and must be passed in order to pass the course.
Component 2, the completed project and documentation must be passed in order to pass the course.
Project Draft - The submission includes a draft playable build or prototype, supported by an organised library of assets suitable for interactive use, and evidence of initial narrative and level design decisions through blockouts, greyboxing, scripting, or equivalent production methods. The submission also includes documentation that clearly records key design decisions, assumptions, and early iteration, and the practical work and documentation are treated as one object for assessment purposes.
Completed Project - Practical work that delivers a fully realised digital game for the selected platform, demonstrating resolved narrative design and level design supported by appropriate technical implementation. The submission includes a completed playable build with final or near final assets, tuned pacing, onboarding, and interaction design, supported by playtesting evidence where appropriate. Also includes documentation that records major design decisions and iterations across development, including how feedback and testing informed changes, and the practical work and documentation are treated as one component for assessment purposes. |
| Feedback |
The summative assessment is split over two components of assessment / submissions. These are linked by a single project brief with staged design, development and implementation, such that practical work for Submission 1 is used in developing work for Submission 2. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Skills in designing interactive environments.
- Knowledge of technologies used in developing interactive environments.
- Ability to translate and communicate narrative and articulate space.
- Critical understanding of aesthetic, structural and technical issues around interactivity.
- Experience of working independently and collaboratively to create engaging virtual environments.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | game design,interactive environments |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Cenk Koknar
Tel:
Email: cenk.koknar@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Barbara Bianchi
Tel: (0131 6)51 5736
Email: barbara.bianchi@ed.ac.uk |
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