Learning Game Design While Playing Stardew Valley
In this Game Design Club, we play Stardew Valley together while exploring the fundamentals of game design. Through guided discussions and gameplay, students will discover how mechanics, storytelling, and player interaction fit together!
What's included
1 live meeting
55 mins in-class hours per weekClass Experience
Beginner - Advanced Level
Join us in our Stardew Valley Game Design Club! We'll play in a shared server of Stardew Valley while discussing different game design topics each week! ~~~~~ Feel free to message me if any of the scheduled times for this course don't work for you. I am willing to work to find a gap in my schedule. ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DISCUSSION TOPICS - Finding out what a game's intended experience is - Listening and learning from what players have to say - Ways a player is led through the game - How a game is shaped by its mechanics - Understanding trade-offs By playing the game, students can see and play these concepts as they learn from them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STARDEW VALLEY This game is rich in its game design depth and accessibility. By working on a shared farm in Stardew, we'll be able to look at how different aspects and different mechanics are able to connect together cohesively. Each day in the game is a new opportunity to try out something new! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWCOMERS - Newcomers are welcome, no matter the week! This club is all about inspiring each other to ask different questions about game design. - Each student has something they can add to the discussion since we all come from different, skill sets, backgrounds, and experiences. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other Details
Parental Guidance
In order for students to play together in a shared, private Stardew Valley server, gamertags will be required. This server will only be available during club-sessions and only open to students enrolled in the club.
Only message gamertags privately to myself, the instructor. Any messages with gamertags shared in the classroom page will be deleted.
Supply List
Prior to the class learners will need access to: - a Steam account - Stardew Valley purchased from Steam - A Steam account can be made for free at https://store.steampowered.com/ - Stardew Valley must be purchased from the Steam game storefront. It can be found here https://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/Stardew_Valley/ Please note that students will not be able to join the server or participate when playing from other platforms like PlayStation or Nintendo Switch.
Language of Instruction
English (Level: B1)
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
While discussions are often open-ended and meant to drive curiosity, many of the topics covered are from the book, "The Art of Game Design, 3rd Edition - Jesse Schell".
While this book isn't required to participate, it is a wealth of information for students to continue their learning.
Joined November, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have over 8 years of experience as a software engineer and 5 years as a Unity game developer. I have taught students young and old without prior any programming or game development experience to build games.
I have led multiple teams of various disciplines (art, sound design, writing, programming, animations) building 10+ games. I love including others and driving their curiosity to think about games from different points of view.Reviews
Live Group Class
$15
weekly1x per week
55 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-12
1-7 learners per class
