What's a video game class about anyway?

Many of you have asked about this video game class I'm teaching at EARTHs school this week, so lucky you, I decided to give a SNEAK PREVIEW!

Week one - where to start? The students (or the "lucky 13" as I'm calling them) are going to begin with the basics - WHAT is a video game?



We're going to learn about WHO makes video games...



We're going to learn a little about the HISTORY of video games...



We're going to brainstorm some ideas for video games and then... we're GONNA PLAY SOME VIDEO GAMES! I'm looking forward to it!

I never had an afterschool class like this.

This week I finally start a project that I've been planning for almost two years... and I'm really nervous.



Back in 2009, my 7 year old daughter was taking an after-school animation course and I thought "How cool is that? I wish there had been an animation class when I was a kid." Which got me thinking if her school might be interested in a class on video game design?

The class wouldn't be just about making video games, but actually about the important things you do when making games like brainstorming, collaborating on ideas, giving constructive criticism, taking your dreams, putting it on paper and working together with others to bring those dreams to life.



Around the time I was musing with these ideas, I read about a program called HASTAC and the National STEM Game Design Competition - President Obama's initiative to get technology into schools via various means including Playstation 2 and a great game called LittleBigPlanet.



As a HUGE fan of LittleBigPlanet, I had been playing the game with my own two kids and was creating our own levels. I started researching how I could get a grant from the $2 million that the MacArthur Foundation was contributing to the HASTAC program.

However, after six months of being shuffled around by the people at HASTAC, the MacArthur Foundation and Sony (where I used to work) I still wasn't any closer to getting a start on the class or obtaining any equipment. When I finaly did talk to someone at HASTAC, they told me the program was actually a competition and not an on-going program. I must have missed reading that the first time around. And when I found out that the kid's school summer programs were being administrated by the local Parks and Rec (who required teachers to be trained educators - something I'm not) I thought the class was sunk.



Discouraged, I stopped pursuing the idea... until I was attending the San Diego Comic Con where two Sony marketeers were demoing the Marvel Comic add-on for LittleBigPlanet. I figured, what the heck, if anyone knew about the program, it would be these guys. The guys at the show didn't know much about the program but one of them gave me a number of someone from Sony Entertainment who did.

Upon returning from the show, I contacted the Sony marketing rep with the hopes of getting Sony to donate PS3, Monitors, Games - anything that would keep me from spending about 4G of my own cash (the estimated cost of the class.)

Sony was intrigued with the idea and very generously donated copies of the game LittleBigPlanet but couldn't help out with the hardware. The other burst of enthusiasm came when I talked to the Principal about the class and she wanted it to happen regardless of how the other after school classes were done - which means I didn't have to do it through Parks and Rec and I didn't have to be an "official" teacher. I had my green light and not long after, the games from Sony arrived! We were back on track!



Re-encouraged, I explored several user-donated programs like Kickstarter to raise the additional capital for the hardware - as I braced myself for some major fundraising, I received an e-mail from the school Principal - the local Time Warner was funding the class! The additional donation allowed us to buy monitors, PS3s and extra controllers and classroom supplies!

So as I write this, things are pretty much in place and I start class this Friday at EARTHs academy with thirteen 4th and 5th graders. I've given talks to hundreds of people with no problem, but this time I'm actually nervous. I hope they like the class. Today my daughter gave me this bit of advice: "Daddy, don't make the class boring."

I'll do my best.

Imagineering!

As you might have figured out, we're big fans of Disney parks and the imagineers here at Mr. Boss' Design Lair.

ImagineeringDisney.com is a fantastic blog that shows lots of behind-the-scenes of the making of Disney magic.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Westlake Village Levels Up!

Hey All!

I'll be signing "Level Up!" at my hometown Barnes & Noble in Westlake Village, CA on April 8th starting at 7pm!

Start thinking about what you want for your unique level design and I hope to see you there!

Red Faction? I'm all over that game!!

See what Darius Mason is doing up there? He's saying WOOOT! 'cause he's so darn happy for me!

The latest games that I was involved with here at THQ is Red Faction: Armageddon - if you like blowing everything up including horrible aliens, then this is the game for you!

What's even cooler, is if you Pre-Order RF:A at Amazon or GameStop, you get a free download of Red Factions: Battleground, a game I worked on. If you like blowing things up (including your friends) while driving around in vehicles, then this is the game for you!

If you Pre-Order RF:A at Wal-Mart, you get a FREE copy of the Red Faction Comic Book I WROTE! (with Paul DeMeo) If you like reading about guys who blow each other up, then this is the comic for you!!!

Let me repeat this... The comic book I wrote will be carried in 2,907 Wal-Marts! Very Nice!!

Write it down!

I've been working as a creative manager for a major video game publisher for several years and the one thing I still don't get is why development teams are so hesitant to put their designs on paper. It's not that I'm unsympathetic to their reluctance - there's been a silent war within the industry for years about the need for game design documents (GDD) - especially when the results are 300 page tomes that no one wants to read. But that doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater.




Personally, I'm a fan of Mark Cerny's "Method" - which inspired many of my own views on game design documentation - Cerny promotes a "Macro Design" which is no more than five pages that covers the character and moveset, exotic mechanics, level structure, size and count, level contents and the games' overarching structure. In Level Up! I share my own version of the game overview that I call the "ten pager" which adds in the topics of story telling, AI and bonus/DLC materials.




I think I have a pretty thick skin when it comes to criticism and sometimes it still bothers me - it stems from the fact that no one likes to be wrong. I understand the feeling that when ideas are put down on paper, they become "real things" and therefore subject to criticism.



You get the feeling that the designs become locked in stone and can't be changed. Teams have often told me that they don't want to create paper designs because it takes away from time that could be spent putting the design into the game code.

But what I find ironic is, THIS IS THE FUN PART OF MAKING GAMES! Where the sky is the limit! You can come up with anything at this point as long as you can dream it. Sure, you'll eventually have to be grounded by reality but I find creating gameplay designs to be the least stressful part of the job.

Now I'm sympathetic to these concerns regarding time and scheduling but it in all honesty, it doesn't take that long to write down a design. If you spread the work out or work with others, it can go that much faster.

So here are seven reasons why you need to get your designs down on paper:

1. Paper designs allow you to get a picture of the entire game's scope. I was once shown the paper designs of Galaga and the entire game was all there on paper - before a single pixel had been drawn or a line of code written.

2. You can work out size, distance and proportation relationship before building a character or level. Plus it prevents you from having to resize models.

3. You can quickly find descrepancies in pacing, combat, rewards, economy and even story if you use tools like a beat chart.

4. You can spot where the player might be given too much information at once to help ease confusion or information overload

5. You can determine where you might need to add something new and help promote good flow in your game.

6. The human mind is a slippery thing and it's easy to forget good ideas. Get them down before they're gone forever!

7. You get cool artifacts as reminders of your thought process - plus if you don't use a design, you can always save it for another game!

Hopefully I'm convinced you (even a little bit?) to why you should document. Let's hear your reasons!

Nerds! at Wondercon!

I love attending Wondercon - it's big comic book convention that's not as crazy as SDCC but still pulls in lots of great guests.

Every year I consider giving a talk and this year I decided to put my money where my mouth is. So with the help of a few friends, I present to you:

FRIDAY, APRIL 1

12:30-1:30
Room 104

Nerds! The Secret Origins of Game Designers

Comics. Movies. Games. Did you know that a life of fandom might be perfect training for a career as a video game designer? Learn the secret origins of industry veterans Haden Blackman (Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 1 & 2, Batwoman), Tim Longo (Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: Dark Forces), Jason Weesner (Tomb Raider: Legend, Vectorman), and Scott Rogers (God of War, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design) as they share how their love for all things nerdy led to successful careers in video games...and how you can start your own career too!

Wondercon is held in San Francisco at the Moscone Center South. You can get tickets and info here.

See you there!

Game, Set, Watch is already a great video game blogsite, but its sister site is the one I'm currently excited about.

FingerGaming is one of the better sites I've found on tablet gaming - and considering how many titles are out there, it's good to have a resource that helps you track down cool and interesting games.

Check it out!

GDC signing!

UPDATE: The GDC signing was a HUGE success! Level Up! completely SOLD OUT at the show!



I drew over 25 unique levels for Level Up! readers!



I got to meet many nice people from all corners of the world!



MANY THANKS to everyone who stopped by!

********

Hey all!

I will be signing copies of Level Up! At the GDC bookstore in the Moscone Center South from 1-3 pm on Thursday March 3rd.

You don't have to attend GDC to go to the signing.

Come by, say hi and get your FREE unique level design and MYSTERY GIFT (while supplies last!)

See you there!

"Do Books HAVE T-Shirts?"

That's what someone recently said to me.

Well, THIS BOOK DOES!

There are so many awesome designs based on artwork from "Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design," I don't know which one I want to wear first. Maybe I'll wear all of them at once and walk around like that kid in "A Christmas Story"!

What are you waiting for? Christmas!??

You can get your official LEVEL UP! T-shirt right here!