School of Communication and Media
Undergraduate

Term: Spring 2026
Session: Full Term (Jan 20 - May 08)
Start Date: Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026
End Date: Friday, May 08, 2026
Availability: On Campus
Day(s): Thurs.
Time: 09:30 AM to 12:15 PM

Students will expand their knowledge gained in Game Design Studio 1 and move from making good games to making meaningful games. Class time will include discussions play tests and studio time to conceptualize design and evaluate game-like experiences devised to instruct or persuade for strategic or research purposes as well as to explore innovations in design that allow interactive narratives to create meaningful experiences far beyond the end of the game itself. ?Serious games? have become vital to widespread industries and domains such as higher education finance public health communication information security and defence. The course will culminate in a serious game developed from a brief - from the process of identifying user needs based upon domain knowledge to play testing and outcome evaluation with the target audience. Students will research the design objectives of a range of successful serious games and cognitive simulations analyzing and assessing the effectiveness of their narrative structures motivation and evaluation metrics. Students will also engage in domain research to create their own meaningful games - a series of original handmade board games culminating in the design of a final board or hypertext game using studio and digital art techniques.