RAVENSBOURNE COLLEGE, LONDON: GUEST LECTURE FOR DESIGN STUDENTS

Flow Athens offered a guest lecture and workshop on Game Design, from ideation to playtesting. The lecture was part of the course: "Interactive Narratives", for 2nd year Design Students at Ravensbourne College in London. Ravensbourne is an innovative, industry-focused university sector college, providing the specialist skills and opportunities for outstanding careers in digital media and design.

In the first part of the workshop we presented several games and playful experience development projects, spanning a wide array of tools and methodologies, to inspire new ideas and possibilities. The students analyzed each project and identified practical ideas and tools, readily applicable on their own game design projects.

In the second part, they gained hands-on experience on the iterative game development process: ideation - prototype making - playtesting - feedback. They playtested the various development stages of "Basecamp", outside the Millennium Dome - O2 Arena, under a welcoming spring sunshine, and therefore understood how layering features, incrementally builds complexity.

In the final part, they collaboratively hacked digital gaming experiences by redesigning the user interface in the physical world. They crafted functioning prototypes of their original ideas; they tested and improved them, working in teams. They trained their creativity skills. They innovated. They created technological solutions instead of acting as technology consumers.

TESTIMONIALS

"Your workshop was by far the most enjoyable for our students, and has planted some "thought-seeds" that will start sprouting soon!"
Matteo Menapace - Associate Senior Lecturer for Web Media, Ravensbourne

Testimonials from the participating students:

"The extension in real life of virtual games was FAB"
 
"All the activities we did with Themis were Engaging!"

"I learned games are complicated structures which can mold and adjust to change their nature."

 "I enjoyed playing with apples!
Also liked making physical controllers.
The Fun worked Best!"

 "You can take web related lessons outside :)"

"Looking at past examples + then implementing them ourselves"

"Keeping the makey makey concept in mind for my project"

"Makey makey was cool as we had to use our imagination."