2008 Summer Course Schedule by Program
Pro Series Courses
Educator Series Courses
Teen Summer Camps
Kids Summer Camps
“DMA was an amazing experience. We learned a lot of material in a short ammount of time while at the same time having a lot of fun. While we learned a lot, I never really felt rushed as the teacher was always there to help anyone who needed it.”
- Joshua Cohen
- High School Student
- Los Angeles, CA
Video Game Production
Targeted to:
- Adult-learners. University-level. Check if appropriate for teens.
Locations, Dates, & Instructors:
- Stanford University
- Jul 3-7
- Steve Librande
Course Outline:
Preview the 5-day Course Outline for this course.
Course Overview
Learn video game production this summer. Do you want to be a game designer? Surprisingly, you don't need a big budget, a large team of programmers and artists, or a room full of electronic gear. Games have been played since the dawn of civilization--long before Xbox Live, LANs, Pacman and Pong. In this course we are taking games back to the basics. Along the way you'll learn how to design memorable, addicting and--most importantly--entertaining games.
During this 5 day session we'll examine games from many cultures and time periods: from the early Egyptians to today's billion dollar video game corporations. We'll discuss the psychology of games (why are some games so addicting?), the analysis of games (how do you calculate odds?), and how to write your own video game design document. Each day you will also work on your own games using common non-electronic components.�The session ends with a guided tour of the Electronic Arts campus in Redwood City on Friday afternoon.
This class is taught by Steve Librande who has been designing games for over 15 years. He has worked as a game designer at Blizzard Entertainment and is currently employed at EA. Steve also teaches game design classes at Cogswell College in Mountain View and at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose.
Prerequisites
This course is open to everyone with an interest in high level game conception and design.
DMA’s Recommended Multiweek and Multilevel Course Tracks
Our courses are all built around the weeklong immersion format and can be taken in multi-week tracks. DMA's multiweek/multilevel tracks allow you to gain a great deal of knowledge and skills in a particular topic and progress from beginning to advanced levels. The suggested tracks below are just a few of the many course combinations that are available. You may even want to try a completely different topic each week over multiple weeks. To build your own course track, please go to our Stanford schedule page.
| Track | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracks for Video Game Production | ||||
| Game Creation Track 3 | Video Game Production (7/3 -7/7) | 3D Game Creation with 3ds max I (7/10-7/14) | 3D Game Creation with 3ds max II (7/17-7/21) | Game Modding (7/24-7/28) |
