General provisions

The course is a free standing course and elective course in the Bachelor's programmes Game Design and Graphics, Game Design and Programming, Game Design and Project Management and Game Design

Entry requirements

30 credits in game design

Learning outcomes

The overall aim of the course is to develop knowledge and skills related to character design in digital games, with special focus on how gender, race, ethnicity, age and dis/ability are represented.

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• demonstrate basic knowledge of character design and production of graphics for digital games
• identify and critically discuss theories of cultural representations
• describe and critically discuss cultural conventions in terms of how people and groups are represented in games
• identify and critically discuss dimensions of power, particularly gender, race, ethnicity, age and dis/ability
• demonstrate ability to discuss and justify ethical choices and aesthetic results, in writing as well as orally, and to describe the underlying theoretical knowledge and argumentation
• demonstrate in problem identification solving within specific time frames.

Content

The course has an interdisciplinary foundation based on game design and gender studies. The course covers different perspectives on cultural representations and dimensions of power, such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and dis/ability, and focuses particularly on different ways to present these in games and through game mechanics. The course consists of theoretical and practice based components. The students apply their theoretical knowledge in practice based creative assignments that are carried out in groups and individually, allowing them to reflect on their own work processes and results. The students are encouraged to use examples from their own local environment in the creative assignments. Guest lecturers in the course contribute with perspectives from their respective areas.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures, mandatory workshops, mandatory seminars. In addition, students are expected to work on individual assignments and group assignments.

Assessment

Examination is based on active participation in workshops, seminars with oral presentations, written assignments and a final written minor essay that describes the connection between theory, method and artistic results. Achieving a Pass grade on the course, requires a Pass grade on each of the assessed elements in the course: Workshop participation, seminar participation, written assignments and the final written minor essay. To achieve a Pass with Distinction, students should independently be able to demonstrate a deeper understanding of theoretical perspectives. They should also be able to reflect on and apply said perspectives in the final essay, as well as in discussions and in practical assignments.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.