ARTG 129Special Topics in Game Design
Courses in this series address a rotating set of specialized topics in the expanding field of game design and interactive performance and media artworks. Each offering provides an opportunity to strengthen a creative practice by developing projects in conversation with topic-specific concepts, methods, approaches and/or frameworks. Details about the specific topic can be found in the Class Notes section.
Enrollment is restricted to art and design: games and playable media declared majors.
- This course gets its name from the 2014 Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition Disobedient Objects which displayed ephemera and iconography from protests against its established collections of art and design, creating conversation around the creative energy of activism and the use of aesthetics and design for social movement purposes. Design has historically been aligned with consumerism and various manifestations of colonialism, so designers have had to interrogate our creative processes to better align with the goals of cultural change work and social interventionism. This is a seminar course consisting primarily of lectures, readings, ethnographic exercises, and discussions of developments in design research and the various considerations we must make when using our discipline for social good projects.
- This course may satisfy AGPM's Social Interventions requirement or an upper division elective.
Find a section and add it to your scheduleLive seat counts, time-conflict checks and the walk from your previous class.
When it runs
Fall 2026Open Fall 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Studio | Tue Thu 3:20pm–4:55pm | Digital Arts 308 | m. brice | Open 17/25 |
| 02 | Studio | Mon Wed 9:20am–10:55am | Digital Arts 308 | d. wright | Wait List 25/25 |
| 03 | Studio | Mon Wed 9:20am–10:55am | Digital Arts 230 | T. A. Leckman | Open 20/25 |
Summer 2026Open Summer 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Studio | Asynchronous | — | Staff | Closed 0/0 |
Spring 2026Open Spring 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Studio | Tue Thu 1:30pm–3:05pm | Digital Arts 308 | P. Ballard | Closed 25/25 |
| 02 | Studio | Tue Thu 9:50am–11:25am | Digital Arts 308 | J. Kemper | Open 23/25 |
| 03 | Studio | Asynchronous | — | Staff | Closed 0/0 |
| 04 | Studio | Asynchronous | — | Staff | Closed 0/25 |
| 05 | Studio | Tue Thu 9:50am–11:25am | Digital Arts 230 | E. A. Swensen | Closed 25/25 |
Winter 2026Open Winter 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Studio | Mon Wed 4:00pm–5:35pm | Digital Arts 230 | T. A. Leckman | Closed 28/25 |
| 02 | Studio | Mon Wed 9:20am–10:55am | Digital Arts 308 | J. Kemper | Open 14/25 |
| 04 | Studio | Tue Thu 3:20pm–4:55pm | Digital Arts 308 | P. Ballard | Open 17/25 |
| 05 | Studio | Mon Wed 12:00pm–1:35pm | Digital Arts 308 | T. M. Duplantis | Closed 45/40 |
Fall 2025Open Fall 2025
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Studio | Tue Thu 3:20pm–4:55pm | Digital Arts 308 | m. brice | Open 14/25 |
| 02 | Studio | Mon Wed 9:20am–10:55am | Digital Arts 308 | d. wright | Open 24/25 |
| 03 | Studio | Tue Thu 9:50am–11:25am | Digital Arts 308 | P. Ballard | Closed 27/25 |
Who teaches it
| Instructor | Rating | Difficulty | Would take again | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattie Brice | 1.0 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 | 0% | 11 |
| Tad Leckman | 4.6 / 5 | 2.3 / 5 | 94% | 16 |
| Patrick Ballard | 4.8 / 5 | 2.5 / 5 | 96% | 23 |
| Elizabeth Swensen | 4.8 / 5 | 2.8 / 5 | 100% | 5 |
From RateMyProfessors, which is student-submitted and not a survey. Small review counts move a long way on one bad quarter.
SlugAtlas is a student project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by UC Santa Cruz. Course data is a snapshot of the public class search; myUCSC is authoritative for enrolment.