GDC201 Human-computer interaction and user experience design

This unit explores how digital games are studied and how they are connected with cultural and psychological studies. Lectures will be introducing the social context of play, self-determination theory (SDT) and social capital theory (SCT) for linking digital game play with positive wellbeing by examining the social context of play and its impact on the player experience. Students will conduct studies to explore the relationships between the social context of play, the player experience and wellbeing using online surveys, interview techniques and game-play experiments. Contrasts between social and solitary play; relationships between players (known or unknown); interaction type (competitive or cooperative play); or combinations of relationship and interaction type will be explored in assignments. By critically examining how video game culture has been defined in both press and academic articles, students will overcome the limitations of the current studies on digital games, define the gaps in research literature and propose ways to bridge these gaps. Working in teams, students will review existing literature on games culture, theory and player psychology, present their findings, discuss, and evaluate each other’s approaches and viewpoints in presentations.

By writing essays, students will develop skills in articulating ideas for innovative game concepts and projects, and will learn to provide constructive feedback to their peers in a professional manner and reflect upon and document their own ideas. After completing this unit of study, students will have a theoretical and critical knowledge of the digital game medium, and player culture and psychology.