CS 4730 Game Challenges
In previous offerings of CS 4730, everyone was assigned the same game (or small set of games) to play during the semester. Recent examples have included A Short Hike, Portal, Celeste, and Eastshade.
This semester, we’re taking a different approach.
Instead of requiring everyone to play the same games, you’ll choose your own path through a curated library of 20 games spanning more than forty years of game design. The games are divided into two categories:
- Foundational Design – Games that established or fundamentally changed the way we think about game design.
- Contemporary Design – More recent games that build on, reinterpret, or challenge those foundational ideas.
Rather than completing every game, each has a challenge milestone. These milestones were selected because they represent the point where the game’s primary design lesson should be clearly visible without requiring a full playthrough.
During the semester, every student will complete:
- One challenge from the Foundational Design list
- One challenge from the Contemporary Design list
Students who complete additional challenges will unlock a few extra opportunities during the semester, but there is no expectation that everyone will finish all twenty.
Getting the Games
Don’t let cost keep you from choosing a game.
For many of the Foundational Design titles, I have handheld emulation devices available for checkout, or you’re welcome to use your own legally obtained copies or emulation setup. I also own multiple copies of several games on Steam and expect to have a small number of Steam Decks available to lend when appropriate.
In short, you should be able to complete both required challenges for anywhere from free to about $10, depending on the games you choose. For example, you could borrow my copy of Super Metroid on an emulation device and purchase A Short Hike for only a few dollars during a sale.
| Era | Game | Design Lesson | Challenge Milestone | Where Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Progression & Metroidvania Design | Reach the Inverted Castle | PS, Android, iOS |
| Foundational | Chrono Trigger | Long-Form RPG Progression | Reach Zeal | Steam, Android, iOS, DS, SNES |
| Foundational | Portal | Onboarding & Teaching Mechanics | Complete Chamber 19 | Steam |
| Foundational | Street Fighter II | Competitive Balance, Readability & Mastery | Defeat M. Bison on default difficulty or win 10 human matches | SNES, NSO, or Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection |
| Foundational | Super Mario World | Secrets, World Structure & Platforming | Discover Star Road and complete one Star World level | SNES, NSO |
| Foundational | Super Metroid | Exploration & Spatial Learning | Acquire Grapple Beam | SNES, NSO |
| Foundational | Tetris | Elegance & Flow | Play at least 2 hours across at least three separate sessions | Tetris Effect, NES, NSO, DS |
| Foundational | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Guided Exploration, World Structure & Player Discovery | Obtain the Master Sword | SNES, NSO |
| Contemporary | A Short Hike | Nonviolent Conflict & Intrinsic Motivation | Complete | itch.io, Steam, Switch |
| Contemporary | Blue Prince | Knowledge as Progression | Reach Room 46 | Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Celeste | Challenge, Failure & Mastery | Complete Chapter 3 | itch.io, Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Gone Home | Environmental Storytelling | Complete | itch.io, Steam |
| Contemporary | Hades | Replayability & Meta-Progression | Defeat Megara | Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Hollow Knight | Exploration, Atmosphere & Player Trust | Reach the City of Tears | Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Minecraft | Player-Created Goals & Emergent Systems | Obtain iron tools and establish a permanent base | Everywhere |
| Contemporary | Outer Wilds | Curiosity-Driven Design | Complete | Steam, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Return of the Obra Dinn | Information as Gameplay | Correctly identify 15 fates | Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | Stardew Valley | Self-Directed Play & Lifestyle Design | Finish Spring, Year 1 | Steam, Android, iOS, Switch, PS, Xbox |
| Contemporary | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Emergent Exploration & Player-Directed Problem Solving | Complete the Great Plateau | Nintendo Switch |
| Contemporary | Undertale | Mechanics as Theme | Complete Neutral Route | Steam, Switch, PS, Xbox |
* NSO: Nintendo Switch Online
Game Design Challenge Milestone Stickers
Every challenge milestone has a custom sticker associated with it. To complete a challenge, you’ll meet with me briefly during office hours or another designated time to talk about the game and the milestone you reached. This isn’t meant to be an oral exam—just a short conversation about your experience, what you noticed, and what you think the game was trying to accomplish from a design perspective.
Once you’ve completed the challenge discussion, you’ll earn that game’s custom sticker.
What you do with your stickers is entirely up to you. You’ll receive an achievement page that can be added to your course notebook to collect them, but you’re also welcome to decorate your notebook cover, laptop, handheld case, water bottle, or anywhere else you’d like.
The stickers aren’t rewards for “beating” games—they’re reminders of experiences. By the end of the semester, they’ll represent a personal library of games you’ve explored and the design ideas you’ve encountered along the way.