Designing Treasure Hunts, CS 227

This is the official course website for Designing Treasure Hunts: An Earth Day Celebration, CS 227, taught by Ira Fay at Hampshire College in Spring 2019.

Basic Info

The most important document for this class is the syllabus. I spent hours crafting it, and I believe it contains useful information, including the course schedule.

Class Sessions: Mondays and Wednesday, 10:30am - 11:50am, FPH 101
Lab: Fridays, 10:30am - 11:50am, FPH 101
Professor: Ira Fay, (413) 559-6844, ASH 216, ifay@hampshire.edu
Office Hours: By appointment. A sign up sheet is available digitally.
Course Slack Channel: Hampshire Game Dev (sign up here, then click "Channels" on the left nav and choose #cs227)
IP Agreement: IP Agreement for this course

Projects

Project details will be posted here when they are available.

Design Journal project.

First Puzzle project.

Second Puzzle project.
Hint 1: It's important to map out a plan in case of emergency. Google might help.
Hint 2: Don't over-react. It's better to be under-stated during an emergency.
Hint 3: The numbers are GPS coordinates. Google can help map it. The answer can be found under something emergency-related.
The Answer: Actual Second Puzzle project.

Third Puzzle project.

Hint 1: Perhaps I should have called this Guveq Chmmyr.
Hint 2: The translated version has some useless letters.
Hint 3: Try meditating to get centered.
The Answer: Actual Third Puzzle project.

Fourth Puzzle project.

Fifth Puzzle project.

Useful Links

Puzzle Feedback Form

Feedback Results

Puzzle Ideas

Previous Surveys

Final Survey

Week 5 Check In

Intro Survey

News Guru

Throughout the semester, students present game-related news to the class, which hopefully puts our work in context of the greater world. The articles from the last time I taught this course (in 2015!) are listed below.

Bonus Info

Email Lists
First, ensure you're on the Hampshire Game Dev Slack, since we use that for a lot of information. In addition, for Game Development at Hampshire and in the Five Colleges, join the Game Development email list. You may also want to join the Game Jobs email list. In fact, you might just want to browse all the lists at Hampshire and find lists that appeal to you.

Game Gatherings
Every Thursday from noon - 2:30pm, Ira will be hosting a board game playing session in ASH 136. It's open to everyone, and is a nice way to learn new games. Sign up here. This can also satisfy CEL1 if needed.

Game Library
We are fortunate that the Hampshire library has an ever-growing collection of board games and digital games. Students, staff, and faculty members have access to this great resource. Please make use of it, and feel free to give feedback to Ira on your experience.

GlowLime Games
GlowLime Games is a student group focused on facilitating game development among students in the Five College area. They are an amazing resource, and anyone interested in game development should check them out. You can pitch your own ideas and/or contribute to other games.

Pioneer Valley Game Developers (PVGD)
The Pioneer Valley Game Developers (PVGD) meetup group is another great resource and community for game developers in the area.

The Quarters
The Quarters is an incredible arcade + restaurant. They have my full support, and their food is excellent and reasonably priced. If anyone beats my high score on Arkanoid, please let me know.

Word Snack and Project IONA
These are two digital games made by Hampshire students, staff, faculty, and Five College members. Each game was made in a semester as part of the Interdisciplinary Game Studio course. Try them out!

Game Stores
For some projects or just general fun, it may be useful for you to be aware of nearby boardgame stores.