Now the first year (of two year MA degree programme) of the Game Design and Production at the School of Art and Design at the Aalto University is over (and I am at the Södertörn University), I thought to write notes about the courses.
Game Design:
- Gameplay Design Workshop (5 days) by Petri Ikonen (Digital Chocolate) & me. (my slides: 1, 2)
- Lecture 1: Game Design by me
- Lecture 2: Narrative Design 1/2 by Mikko Rautalahti (Remedy)
- Lecture 3: Narrative Design 2/2 by Mikko Rautalahti (Remedy)
- Lecture 4: Level Design for Casual Games by Petri Ikonen (Digital Chocolate)
- Lecture 5: Gameplay Design Patterns by Jussi Holopainen (NRC)
- Lecture 6: Level Design by Jarkko Kainulainen (Tribe Studios)
Game Analysis
- Four mornings with lectures and analytical exercises by me (my slides)
- Analysis on game reported as an essay
Game Project
- Two groups of students designed and developed fully playable murder mystery games with great visuals and potential to be polished great games. Tutored and taught by me.
Understanding Games
- Lectures on Roleplaying Games by Jaakko Stenros (University of Tampere) & Markus Montola (Gray Area)
- Exam on Tavinor, The art of videogames
- (alternative for this was a book exam)
Playability Evaluation
- Workshop (1 day) by Elina Ollila (NRC)
- Workshop (4 days) by Juha Huhtakallio (Kuuasema)
Petri Lankoski 
I’m new to your blog and I started to wander what is ‘playability’? I’m quite sure that I haven’t heart the term before.
That term refers to how the gameplay works in similar fashion to usability. Following texts uses the term: http://www.arts.rpi.edu/public_html/ruiz/public_html/EGDFall09/readings/Creating%20communityUniv.of%20Tampere.pdf and http://www.gamestudies.org/0501/ermi_mayra/