Title: Start Here
Course: RITA MC - VIDEO GAME DESIGN HYBRID > Section: Begin HERE-GAME1328 Video Game Design

Required TextBook:

Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design Paperback – April 28, 2014

by Scott Rogers

ISBN: 978-1-118-87716-6

Recommended Course Materials:

Make Your Own Game Board Kit

There are a variety of these kits available on Amazon, or you can make your own.

Your Practicum or Final Project should have a more professional and finished quality to it.

Figures, Characters and Avatars: The Official Guide to Using DAZ Studio(TM) to Create Beautiful Art 2nd Edition
by Les Pardew (Author)

ISBN-13: 978-1435461208
ISBN-10: 1435461207

Remember, this is a recommended text, not a required text.  Why?  Some students find the text useful, some prefer the DAZ Wiki to the text. Your decision, you will still need to be prepared to complete a short and basic assignment on Character Design, and this is suitable FREE software to complete that task.

How do the Course Materials help you achieve your goals?

Reading the textbook by Scott Rogers, "Level Up!" could seriously improve your Game Design Skills.  It is written in clear and easy to understand language. Again, Scott Rogers is the author of this required textbook and is a video game designer behind hits like Pac-Man World, God of War, The Maximo Series, and SpongeBob Squarepants.  He has years of experience and knowledge and shares them in this textbook discussing things like:

- How to create what gamers want
- Techniques for bringing characters to life in your games
- All about building Game Levels and game stories that challenge a player
- Designing everything from touch control to cutscenes
- Critical Game Design Documents and Templates
- How to PITCH your Game like a Professional (this is a part of your final project too...)

Acquiring the recommended course materials simply makes it a little easier to create your board games by providing you with materials you need to take your game from idea to a playable medium without a lot of stress. You may create your own game boards and pieces, if you prefer.

The DAZ textbook is not required, but some students found it useful to get them started.  Some found the DAZ Wiki more useful.  The professor is probably open to other software (like Adobe products...Photoshop, Illustrator) for Character Design, but be sure and verify this fact when you reach that portion of the Course.

Ways to learn in this course:

- Follow the Course Navigation
- Use the Chapter Review Quizzes for practice or reinforcement of what you learned in readings and in class.
- Summative assessment - This course will evaluate student learning at the end of each module and the course through online exams in Canvas.
  - Your Text, the Quizzes and Homework, and the F2F Labs will be your study guides for Exams
  - The skills are cumulative, they build on one another
  - Each Quiz provides 3 attempts to mastery, and Exam provides 1 attempt
  - Have your reference materials handy during a Quiz and for the F2F Hands-On Labs
- Peer Learning - Student will give and receive feedback from their peers via the teams activities as assigned by your instructor.
- Your Instructor
- You can learn through course communication with other students and your instructor. See the NCTC Online Student Conduct page. (Links to an external site.)
- For FAQ in this course, see the Get Help & FAQ discussion.
- Hands-On Meetings and EXAM Sessions are mandatory- Please see the calendar for meeting dates.
- Office Hours -Room 201, Corinth Campus by appointment or via phone (CANVAS Conference).

What does the Instructor of this course expect?

1. Clear communication.  IF you have a question or need some clarity, be sure you send an email through CANVAS to the Professor.  Within 24 hours you will have a response during the week, and on the weekends...it might take a little longer.  But then again, sometimes you'll get a response within a few hours. This is really important!  IF you try to communicate any other way (like through the comments in CANVAS...your instructor might miss your message!  Last semester, several students communicated critical information in comments.  That information was not seen until the end of the semester.  Their inability to follow the directions and communicate correctly -robbed them of an opportunity and resulted in certain failure.  DO NOT make their mistake!)

2. Work THROUGH the Modules!  Do NOT NOT NOT just go by the To Do list.  If you start at the beginning of the Modules and click NEXT through the entire course, you are guaranteed NOT to miss anything and you will see more unity to the course objectives.

3. READ the material assigned in the text book. Let me repeat that: READ the material assigned in the text book, no kidding.

4. Review the assigned Videos. Watch the Videos.

5. Ask Questions.

6. Participate...stay in touch!

7. Finish the Quizzes and Assignments ON TIME.  Meet your deadlines.  If Sunday night is an awful night for assignments to be due, because YOU work all weekend, or you are busy with your kids, or you want to go fishing, camping, hiking, biking, camping, gaming, kayaking, playing...etc. -you get the idea.  Please communicate with me and we'll see if we can negotiate a better day for your assignments to be submitted.

Before moving forward, and into Modules and the Lessons and Character Design, let's get your baseline, check out the Syllabus, and make sure we are communicating.

IN CLASS, on DAY1 - Week ONE, complete the following, to prove that you can continue with this quest:

1. Take a few moments and read and review the course syllabus
2. Complete the Discussion Forum for Syllabus Group Review
3. Read the FAQ
4. Complete the Challenge 1 Assessment
5. Complete the PRE-Test