With a heavy focus on the experiential game design process, the Whaaat!? Lab delivers a robust games-based curriculum as part of the Creative Technology & Design programs of the ATLAS Institute.
Classes
Game Design
ATLS 4140 / 5140
Introduces students to the skills needed to develop original digital games, including game mechanics, design, programming, user-testing, analysis, and team organization.
Game Development
ATLS 4140 / 5140
Introduces students to the skills needed to develop original digital games, including game mechanics, design, programming, user-testing, analysis, and team organization.
Games as Culture
ATLS 4519 / 5519
Introduces students to the massive impact that games and play have had on our modern culture and how we can understand both games and our culture better by observing them through specific lenses.
Tiny Games
ATLS 4519 / 5519
A hands-on game design studio where students will develop games within extreme technical constraints to better understand how those boundaries help us create better games.
Alternative Game Interfaces
ATLS 4519 / 5519
In this course students will develop the skills necessary to create unique interfaces for experimental game experiences.
Game Audio
ATLS 4519 / 5519
This course focuses on the power of sound to create more immersive and engaging game experiences
Game Prototyping Studio
ATLS 4519 / 5519
An intensive three week studio where students will ideate and prototype three games, one over each week of the course. This class is modeled on Game Jams, where students will be given a theme, constraint, or platform each week on which to draw inspiration. By working on making more games, and making them quickly, students will improve their rapid-prototyping skills.
Introduction to AR/VR
ATLS 4616 / 5616
Introduces students to the field of virtual reality (VR). Covers the historical development of virtual reality technologies and virtual reality as a research field, the mathematics of 3D coordinate systems, fundamental principles, algorithms, and design patterns in developing interactive virtual environments, the perceptual science behind mixed reality technologies, and libraries and tools for creating VR experiences.