Game Design

Games can help us to learn something new, safely explore difficult topics, try new experiences, make new friends, and much more -- not to mention have fun along the way! However, making games that reliably accomplish these things is difficult. It requires a strong research base with roots in theory, craft knowledge unique to the professional gaming industry, and the ability to utilize these skills while working in interdisciplinary teams.

The goal of Game Design is to make games that more reliably accomplish their goals, whether those goals be purely for entertainment or whether the designers seek to transform players. To provide a strong theoretical grounding, we draw on ideas from cognitive psychology, social psychology, learning theory, and more. To provide training in the craft of game development, we design, build prototypes, and playtest games of all types (for example, tabletop, PC, RPG) and on all scales -- from rapid iterations of 1-week analog game design cycles to multi-year PC games with large teams. Finally, we train students in research-backed methods for interdisciplinary creative collaboration, such as effective feedback exchanges. In short, we take a human-centered approach to building playful experiences with technology.

Additional Game Design resources at CMU include: the Center for Transformational Play (CTP), the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), and Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe).

Students who want to learn more about this HCI research area might be interested in the following CMU courses:

• 05-499 F/05-899 F: Transformational Game Design Studio (fall 2024) 
• 05-418/05-818: Design of Educational Games
• 53-414/53-614: Introduction to Game Design (offered by the ETC)