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Educators Summit: Games That Cell: Teaching Spreadsheets in Art School

Alexander King  (Game Designer & Professor, NYU Game Center)

Location: Room 2014, West Hall

Date: Tuesday, March 21

Time: 3:50 pm - 4:20 pm

Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass

Topic: Educators

Format: Lecture

Vault Recording: Video

Audience Level: All

The humble spreadsheet is easy to overlook, but it's ubiquitous across the game industry. They're surprisingly versatile, and they're an invaluable tool in nearly every aspect of game development. But this skill is rarely taught directly, and most books and tutorials are written for finance and accounting. So what are students to do?

Alexander King developed an experimental course that teaches spreadsheets to game designers in an art school context. In this talk, you'll see what the course covers and why, lessons learned from each iteration, and see some particular units and exercises that could be integrated into more typical game design or development classes.

Takeaway

Attendees will get a detailed look at a unique class that integrates practical professional skills with a critical context appropriate for game design MFA students. In addition to going over its structure and exercises, Alexander King will also share suggestions and best practices for teaching these topics yourself.

Intended Audience

This is for game design and game development educators teaching at the undergraduate or graduate level, especially those who teach students with an arts or non-engineering background, as well as students pursuing game design. Additionally, a predilection for spreadsheet related puns is encouraged, but not required.