Instead of handing the students a can of paint, some canvas and telling them to get to work, I want to bring my experience as a game designer to bear on them. At the Game Design Club on campus we're prone to meetings wherein we create games from scratch using a variety of media (cards, dice, various prototyping tools) and usually have some manner of playability in short order.
To meet the objective of making a game, they need to:
Make a goal - What must the player do to end the game?
Put something in the way - Why is it difficult for the player to reach that goal?
One aspect of fun in games comes from the challenges inherent in achieving the game's goal. To that end I want to start by describing this to students through a simple exercise in which I ask them to take a card from me. Once they realize that's boring, I act to prevent them from getting the card and we fight about it.
Then I bring out a deck of cards and ask them to consider a couple goals and find a way to prevent each player from achieving that goal.
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