Sisler Industry Talk & Hands on experience

Battle Cards: A lesson in game design, feedback, and balancing.

 
Lesson Plan:
This workshop serves as a lesson in balancing characters as a game designer, with the popular game League of Legends serving as a case study and example . The students get hands on experience balancing with an in-class card game where they create their own characters.
Once students have learned the rules of the card game they are tasked with creating their own character for the game under the set rules. The students are advised that balance is the goal with their characters design as after they have created the card they will be trading it with another student, similar to how a game designer would balance a character for League of Legends. Once created, cards are traded and another round is played. Students then see how their characters preformed and are asked the try and balance the card they have been traded , changing it stats to make it more balanced. Then, students trade cards again and try the final round with their now edited characters. The cards are then returned to their original student and students can see how their character was changed. During the entire workshop, comparisons to the game League of Legends are made, showing the real world application of the game design process.
This worksop goal is to help show the importance of designing for balance instead of power, and how integral feedback is to design. Afterwards, all time remaining would be a Q&A with the two instructors about any questions students might have about the industry,
Agenda :
1. Introduce both instructors
2. Talk about the industry and working in game design
3. League of Legends Case study intro
4. Introduction to Battle Card game, explanation of rules.
5. Hand out Cards and dice to students and assign groups of 2.
6. Students play one round of the game with Pre-built cards
7. Discuss and hand out blank cards allowing students to create their own characters.
8. Have students trade their cards and battle with other students
9. Discuss and have students balance their traded card and then trade and battle again
10. Return cards to original students, discuss learning outcome and Q&A with remaining time.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Students learn the importance of balancing, and get hands on experience doing so with other students cards.
2. Students experience and learn how integral feedback is to the game design process.