Online Game Design
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
This course aims to teach be basic skills required for the design and development of online multiplayer games. These skills will be related to the game design functional to player experience and to the definition of the supporting technical infrastructure to provide the service.
Expected learning outcomes
The student must be able to describe in a proper, and critic, way the strategies to be adopted to design and implement an online multiplayer game. Moreover, the student must also be atle to apply all the techniques proposed by the course in order to design and implement a prototype of an online multiplayer game.
Lesson period: First four month period
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First four month period
Course syllabus
In this course students will learn the basics of videogame design and development, with a special focus on online multiplayer games
Lessons are organized into two sections: "online games design" and "infrastructures for online games". They focus - respectively - on the design of an online multiplayer game and on planning the technical infrastructure to support it. Both sections are composed by lessons aimed at teaching the theoretical foundations and by seminars on specific topics (speakers are generally experts from the video game and digital entertainment industry).
In the online game design section the following aspects will be investigated:
1) Background:
- What a game is and what does it mean to entertain players (theory of fun)
- History and taxonomy of video games
- Main characteristics of an online multiplayer game
- Industry structure and production process
2) Game design basics:
- The structure of games (formal and dramatic elements of games)
- Game design approaches, processes and techniques
- Design peculiarities of online multiplayer games
- Playtesting and prototyping
In the Infrastructures section the following aspects of online games will be investigated:
- General features and organization of supporting infrastructures
- Issues in real-time communication
- Issues related to mobile devices
- Upward and downward scalability
At the end of the course, the best students' projects will be presented to a group of experts from the industry.
NB: an existing agreement with Politecnico di Milano allows a limited number of master students in computer science to enrol in the following classes at Politecnico:
- Videogame design and programming (in English), first semester (prof. Pier Luca LANZI)
Students interested in participating must contact the secretary's office.
Lessons are organized into two sections: "online games design" and "infrastructures for online games". They focus - respectively - on the design of an online multiplayer game and on planning the technical infrastructure to support it. Both sections are composed by lessons aimed at teaching the theoretical foundations and by seminars on specific topics (speakers are generally experts from the video game and digital entertainment industry).
In the online game design section the following aspects will be investigated:
1) Background:
- What a game is and what does it mean to entertain players (theory of fun)
- History and taxonomy of video games
- Main characteristics of an online multiplayer game
- Industry structure and production process
2) Game design basics:
- The structure of games (formal and dramatic elements of games)
- Game design approaches, processes and techniques
- Design peculiarities of online multiplayer games
- Playtesting and prototyping
In the Infrastructures section the following aspects of online games will be investigated:
- General features and organization of supporting infrastructures
- Issues in real-time communication
- Issues related to mobile devices
- Upward and downward scalability
At the end of the course, the best students' projects will be presented to a group of experts from the industry.
NB: an existing agreement with Politecnico di Milano allows a limited number of master students in computer science to enrol in the following classes at Politecnico:
- Videogame design and programming (in English), first semester (prof. Pier Luca LANZI)
Students interested in participating must contact the secretary's office.
Prerequisites for admission
Students are expecetd to have acquired good knowlde and skills in programming and networking.
Teaching methods
Lessons, seminars, project development
Teaching Resources
Slides provided by the teachers (published on the course website on MyAriel) and selections from the following textbooks:
A Theory of Fun for Game design by R.Koster - Paraglyph Press
The Art of Game Design: a book of lenses by J. Schell
Creating Games by M.McGuire & O.Chadwicke Jenkins - AK Peters
Game Design Workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games by Tracy Fullerton - Morgan Kaufmann
Game Engine Architecture. by Jason Gregory - Taylor and Francis (2°edition)
Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard Bartle - New Riders
Fundamentals of game design by Ernest Adams, New Riders
A Theory of Fun for Game design by R.Koster - Paraglyph Press
The Art of Game Design: a book of lenses by J. Schell
Creating Games by M.McGuire & O.Chadwicke Jenkins - AK Peters
Game Design Workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games by Tracy Fullerton - Morgan Kaufmann
Game Engine Architecture. by Jason Gregory - Taylor and Francis (2°edition)
Designing Virtual Worlds by Richard Bartle - New Riders
Fundamentals of game design by Ernest Adams, New Riders
Assessment methods and Criteria
ATTENDING STUDENTS (at least 80% attendance to lessons)
Students will be required to work in teams (3 members) to design and prototype an online multiplayer video game, including accompanying project documents and deliverables, while respecting intermediate deadlines and pre-defined design constraints.
Students are then expected to discuss (in oral form) their design and implementation choices on the basis of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the lessons. A positive evaluation of the project is prerequisite to access the oral discussion. If the oral discussion is not sufficient to pass the exam, it can be retaken in one of the following dates. The project remains valid for 1 year from the moment of delivery.
The overall rating will be based on: the project quality, the degree of knowledge of the course topics, the ability to apply knowledge to solve concrete problems, and critical reasoning skills.
Being an attending student is a prerequisite to participate to the events that are generally organized during the course with the participation of companies belonging to the entertainment industry.
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Students will be required to work solo to design and prototype an online multiplayer video game, including accompanying project documents and deliverables (concept, game design document, game technical document, trailer), while respecting pre-defined design constraints. There will be no intermediate reviews.
Constraints must be asked to the professors at least 2 months before the date of the exam, and will remain valid for that date only (if the exam date is changed, it is compulsory to ask for a new set of constraints). Project documentation must be sent to the professors at least 1 week (count working days only) before the exam. The project demo must be presented on the day of the exam.
On the day of the exam, students will receive a feedback on the project and then are expected to discuss (by answering several questions in written form) their design and implementation choices on the basis of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the lessons. A positive evaluation of the project is prerequisite to access the discussion. The discussion must be taken on the same date of the project evaluation. In case of failure, the oral part of the exam can be retaken for a maximum of 2 other times in the next 6 months, then the project expires.
The overall rating will be based on: the project quality, the degree of knowledge of the course topics, the ability to apply knowledge to solve concrete problems, and critical reasoning skills.
STUDENTS FROM POLITECNICO DI MILANO
They are subject to the same rules of UniMi's students. Contact professors for further details and course schedule.
Students will be required to work in teams (3 members) to design and prototype an online multiplayer video game, including accompanying project documents and deliverables, while respecting intermediate deadlines and pre-defined design constraints.
Students are then expected to discuss (in oral form) their design and implementation choices on the basis of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the lessons. A positive evaluation of the project is prerequisite to access the oral discussion. If the oral discussion is not sufficient to pass the exam, it can be retaken in one of the following dates. The project remains valid for 1 year from the moment of delivery.
The overall rating will be based on: the project quality, the degree of knowledge of the course topics, the ability to apply knowledge to solve concrete problems, and critical reasoning skills.
Being an attending student is a prerequisite to participate to the events that are generally organized during the course with the participation of companies belonging to the entertainment industry.
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Students will be required to work solo to design and prototype an online multiplayer video game, including accompanying project documents and deliverables (concept, game design document, game technical document, trailer), while respecting pre-defined design constraints. There will be no intermediate reviews.
Constraints must be asked to the professors at least 2 months before the date of the exam, and will remain valid for that date only (if the exam date is changed, it is compulsory to ask for a new set of constraints). Project documentation must be sent to the professors at least 1 week (count working days only) before the exam. The project demo must be presented on the day of the exam.
On the day of the exam, students will receive a feedback on the project and then are expected to discuss (by answering several questions in written form) their design and implementation choices on the basis of the theoretical knowledge acquired during the lessons. A positive evaluation of the project is prerequisite to access the discussion. The discussion must be taken on the same date of the project evaluation. In case of failure, the oral part of the exam can be retaken for a maximum of 2 other times in the next 6 months, then the project expires.
The overall rating will be based on: the project quality, the degree of knowledge of the course topics, the ability to apply knowledge to solve concrete problems, and critical reasoning skills.
STUDENTS FROM POLITECNICO DI MILANO
They are subject to the same rules of UniMi's students. Contact professors for further details and course schedule.
INF/01 - INFORMATICS - University credits: 6
Lessons: 48 hours
Professors:
Maggiorini Dario, Ripamonti Laura Anna
Shifts:
Professor(s)