Student Projects in Game Design: A Showcase

For many years, I taught a class that focused on building game prototypes and building digital environments with a narrative or story. The goal was to create game environments, or at least small (sometimes pretty large) digital environments that simulated a player’s experience in the game. These environments needed a clear path for the player to follow that tells a story. The projects were team-based, but only 4-7 students on each team. Most of the students were adept at the tools and art needed to complete the tasks but needed coaching and taught professional skills. Below are some examples from these projects. When I remember my time teaching, these are some of the projects I was most proud of. I was the instructor for most of these projects, but not all. I moved into a director role at some point along the way.

A few more examples of student projects from the Prototype class at AiSD. The students could use materials (concepts, layouts) that Sony gave them access to, but they must create an entirely new world based on a Sony property. S.O.E. Online sponsored the project for quite a few years. If the final project was completed on time, and passed a critique by S.O.E. managers, then the student got to present their final project at S.O.E. studios in San Diego.