ahandrewh teaches IAT-165game design and development

Readings for the Spring 2026 version of IAT-165Game Design & Development

When are readings due?

Please try to complete readings before the lecture time. All readings are linked on Canvas with direct links provided below when possible.

Weekly reading list

All readings for the term, listed by week.

January 7 (Week 1)

Hunicke, R. et al. (2013). "MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research." Retrieved 1/21/2026, from http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf

January 14 (Week 2)

Schell, J.. (2019). "The Game Begins with an Idea (Chpt 7)." The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. CRC Press.

January 21 (Week 3)

Anthropy, A. & Clark, N.. (2014). "Verbs and Objects (Chpt 2)." A Game Design Vocabulary. Addison-Wesley.

February 4 (Week 5)

Macklin, C. & Sharp, J.. (2016). "The Iterative Game Design Process (Chpt 5)." Games, Design and Play. Addison-Wesley.

February 11 (Week 6)

Platz, C. (2025). "Let the Right Ideas Win (Chpt 14)." The Game Development Strategy Guide. Rosenfeld Media.

February 18 (Week 7)

Fullerton, T.. (2024). "Playtesting (Chpt 9)." Game Design Workshop. CRC Press.

February 25 (Week 8)

Ellison, C. & Keogh, B.. (2015). "The Joy of Virtual Violence." The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture. Seven Stories Press.

March 4 (Week 9)

Isbister, Katherine. (2016). "Bodies at Play (Chpt 3)." How Games Move Us: Emotion by Design. The MIT Press.

March 11 (Week 10)

April 1 (Week 11)

April 8 (Week 12)