Given that the market for video games and digital simulations (including sectors ranging from education to highly interactive applications to the recent phenomenon of social gaming and gamification) represents one of the most significant sectors of the global economy.
Therefore, it is considered necessary to develop programs designed to study video games and, more generally, all games and their possible practical applications in relation to numerous cultural, productive, and service contexts.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course aims to provide theoretical, methodological, and technical-practical training for professionals working in the field of game design, video games, digital simulations, and gamification applications. It provides specific knowledge in areas related to the gaming and gamification sectors, such as edutainment solutions, gaming simulation, experiential training, highly interactive applications, engagement programs, etc.
The course specifically addresses the study of simulations, video games, and more generally all games and their possible practical applications in different contexts (cultural, productive, training, assessment, communication, marketing, process governance, etc.) with a particular focus on gamification solutions.
The course includes the study of the reference scenario, both endogenous (the game and gamification itself) and exogenous (the target audience, the market, production and destination technologies) and is completed by an overview of project management techniques applied to the video game industry as well as the study of playtest conduct and analysis methods.
The difficulty of reducing the multitude of aspects involved in “game/simulation design” to a single, formalized scheme is also one of the most interesting and difficult aspects of this work, namely the need to balance multiple elements, essentially related to the technical and “artistic” sides of production.
The design process, which includes both the collection and definition of requirements and the precise definition of specifications for each objective/production area, is expressed in a design, analysis, and planning document called the “Game/Gamification Design Document,” whose usefulness is evidenced by the fact that such documents are regularly drafted and used throughout the industry.
SKILLS ACQUIRED
The “game & gamification design” course aims to provide methodological and practical training for professionals who will work in the field of design/planning of gamification solutions, video games, simulations, and highly interactive digital applications.
The course allows students to master the tools of analysis and design as well as the techniques related to the various domains considered, including the formal ones (logical and mathematical) that underlie the mechanical component (models); those related to the evocative-multimedia component (setting); and those related to the technological component of the product (software components depending on the target platforms).
At the end of the course, students will be able to create a complete “game/gamification Design Document” (the general project document that precedes the practical creation of the product or its prototyping) intended for the creation of gamification products, simulations, or games/video games with original mechanics and in any case suitable for the objectives required by the context.
As part of the group activities, students are guided in the creation of an application prototype with the aim of carrying out real testing activities on the mechanics being designed.