CG322
Gamified Experience Design
Spring
Professor
C.J. Yeh
Assistant Chair, Animation Interactive Media & Game Design
Chair, Creative Technology & Design Curriculum
Co-chair, Advertising & Digital Design Curriculum
Founder and Executive Creative Director, Cynda Media Lab [➚]
Course Description
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of game UX/UI design through an exploration of tabletop and screen-based games. Students will analyze game mechanics, player interaction, and storytelling in tabletop games to understand the foundations of game design. They will then apply these principles to create screen-based educational games tailored for teenagers. With a hands-on approach, students will develop prototypes that demonstrate their ability to merge gameplay and experience design to create engaging and meaningful experiences.
CG322 Classweb
NewCreatives.net [➚]
CT&D Program Website
ExperienceDesign.NYC [➚]
Grade Breakdown and Evaluation
Attendance and Participation (30%)
Weekly Progress Checks (30%)
First Project (10%)
Final Project (30%)
(A: 91% or above, B: 90% – 71%, C: 70% – 61%, D: 60% – 51%, F: 50% or below)
* You will work in teams in this class, but you will be graded as an individual
Section Info
Section 601 / Tuesday 2:10 - 5:00 pm / Class Drive [➚]
Office Hours
Schedule a meeting with CJ via Calendly [➚]
Assignment 1: The Best Game in Town (5 Weeks)
In this assignment, students will work in teams to conceptualize and prototype a tabletop game inspired by the vibrant culture, history, and energy of New York City. Using the city as a theme, students will explore how to integrate real-world elements—such as iconic landmarks, neighborhoods, events, or cultural diversity—into the mechanics, objectives, and design of their game. Teams are encouraged to experiment with player interaction, storytelling, and strategic gameplay to create a unique and engaging tabletop experience. The final deliverable will include a playable prototype and a short presentation of the game's concept and mechanics.
Deliverables: A low-fidelity playable prototype (can be low-fidelity, such as paper and card-based).
Week 6: Presentation
Assignment 2: Gamified Experience Design (10 Weeks)
For this assignment, students will shift their focus to screen-based games, working in teams to design a mobile game concept aimed at educating teenagers. The goal is to create an engaging and interactive educational experience tailored for teenagers’ learning preferences. Teams will apply game design principles such as core loops, progression systems, and feedback mechanisms to develop a game concept that makes learning enjoyable and effective. While this assignment emphasizes conceptual design, teams will present wireframes, storyboards, or a digital prototype to demonstrate how the educational content and gameplay elements integrate seamlessly.
Deliverables: The final presentation will be in the format of a pitch deck for game publishers.
Week 15: Final Presentation
WEEKLY OUTLINE
* Weekly outline is subject to change according to the pedagogical needs.
WEEK 1
Tue 01/28
Introduction
In-class Exercise:
– Game Day!Introduction: Project #1 The Best Game In Town
In-class Workshop/Homework:
– Team forming (3 to 4 students per team)
– Create team Slack channel
– Create team Miro board
– Prepare first presentation: one thing all team members have in common, each team propose three game concepts including game titles, game themes, moodboards, and elevator pitches.
WEEK 2
Tue 02/04
Presentation: Project #1 Proposals
Lecture: Primary Game Types and Mechanics
Homework:
– Develop game play rules and mechanics
WEEK 3
Tue 02/11
Due: Game Play and Strategy First Draft
Lecture: Game prototype
Homework:
– Game prototype begins
WEEK 4
Tue 02/18
Due: Game Prototype First Draft
Lecture: Prototype testing basics
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– Prototype testing
– Prototype refinement
WEEK 5
Tue 02/25
In-person Class Canceled
Presentation Preparation
WEEK 6
Tue 03/04
Presentation: Best Game In Town (common hours 1-2, setup starts at 12:30)
Guest Lecture: Leah Lee, Product Designer at Duolingo
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– Project 2 instructions
– Project 2 Topic Presentation Prep
WEEK 7
Tue 03/11
Due: Gamified Experience Design Project Topics
Career Opportunities in the Game Design Industry
Lecture: What is GDD?
Lecture: MVP features
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– GDD and MVP features
WEEK 8
Tue 03/18
Due: GDD and MVP features
Lecture: Aashrey Sharma, Senior UX Designer at Epic Games
Lecture: Process of UX/UI design (from sketches to high-definition)
In-class Assignment/Homework:
– Screen sketches
WEEK 9
Tue 03/25
Due: Sketches
Demo: Figma / Julia Singh, Product Designer at Microsoft
Lecture: Paper prototype testing
In-class Assignment/Homework:
– Sign-up for Figma
– Paper prototype testing
WEEK 10
Tue 04/01
Due: Final screen sketches
Demo: Figma / Julia Singh, Product Designer at Microsoft
Lecture: UI design fundamentals
In-class Assignment/Homework:
– UI design begins
WEEK 11
Tue 04/08
Due: UI first drafts
Guest Speaker: Julia Singh, Product Designer at Microsoft
Lecture: UI design fundamentals
In-class Assignment/Homework:
– Case study script draft
– Moodboard and storyboard
WEEK 12
Tue 04/22
Team Review: Case study script, mood board, and storyboard
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– Team review
– UI design
– Case study video design and production
– Progress Update (upload before next class)
WEEK 13
Tue 04/29
Team Review
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– Team review
– UI design final revisions
– Case study video design and production
– Progress Update (upload before next class)
WEEK 14
Tue 05/06
Team review
In-class Workshop / Homework:
– Case study video wrap-up
– Final presentation prep
– Progress Update (upload before next class)
WEEK 15
Tue 05/13
Final Presentations
Creative Technology & Design (CT&D) Attendance Policy
Attendance is not optional. If you are going to miss a class, you must contact me via email ASAP. Due to the quantity of material covered in the course, I will not be able to spend class time explaining missed assignments or redo lectures. If a class is missed, it is your responsibility to get information regarding missed assignments and lectures from one of your classmates.
Students are required to attend all classes, be on time, and remain for the entire class.
Students who miss three classes for classes meeting once a week or four classes for classes meeting twice a week will receive a grade of “F.”
The student who arrives 10 minutes after the start of the class will be considered late.
Two late occurrences = one absence
A student who arrives over 30 minutes late or not returning from the break will be considered absent from the class.
Working on projects for another class or using digital devices for socializing (texting, social media…etc.) or gaming during class time will be recorded as an absence.
An excused absence is still recorded as an absence. The difference is an excused absence won’t impact your grade for professionalism and class participation.
Additional Course Information:
Grade Appeals: Include information on the grade appeal process. See Grade Appeal for more information.
Department Policy on Plagiarism
Plagiarism and other forms of academic deception are unacceptable. Each instance of plagiarism is distinct. A plagiarism violation is an automatic justification for an “F” on that assignment and/or an “F” for the course. A student found in violation of FIT’s Code of Conduct and deemed to receive an “F” for a course may not withdraw from the course prior to final grade assignments.
Use of AI tools
It is permissible to utilize AI tools in your creative process. However, you must identify which AI tool is being used at each stage of the process. You are required to fact-check AI output and avoid stereotyping and bias in your work. Finally, you are responsible for ensuring that the final creation is unique, ownable, and without any copyright issues.
Fact-checking AI output
AI tools are not infallible. They often generate incorrect or misleading information. It is your responsibility to fact-check any AI output before using it in your work. This includes checking the source of the information, evaluating the quality of the information, and considering the context in which the information was generated.
Avoiding stereotyping and bias
AI tools can be trained on data that contains stereotypes and biases. This can lead to AI output that is also biased. It is your responsibility to avoid the potential for bias in AI output. You should also be mindful of your own biases when using AI tools and take steps to mitigate them.
Ensuring the uniqueness and ownership of your work
You are responsible for ensuring that the final creation of your work is unique and ownable. This means that you must not plagiarize the work of others, including submitting works done solely by AI tools without meaningful improvement and input from you.
Penalty for violation
Violation of this policy may result in a grade reduction or suspension from the class.