Xenoludology stakes out a new creative domain at the nexus of game design and art-making.The course introduces students to the principles of ludology — the study of game design — and to the history and psycho-cultural roots of gameplay itself. Class projects take form as exhedra: unique, playable art constructs (additive sculptures, stabiles, assemblages, +).Students immerse themselves in ideation and research, prototyping and playtesting as they develop two course projects: an artfully divergent reinterpretation of an ancient abstract game (Royal Game of Ur, Sennet, Mehen, Hnefatafl, etc); and an entirely original exhedron of their own imagining.The course makes use of prototyping and fabrication tools while also placing a premium on handicraft and creative reuse of everyday materials.Xenoludology coalesces a rare blend of speculative thinking, user experience design, additive sculpture, and lusory invention — forever shifting the bounds of gameplay in the process.Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studios extend a student's cross-school experience from Core Studio up into their upper division years. 3 units of Interdisciplinary Studio are required of all majors and must be completed in the junior or senior year. This advanced level studio is thematic in nature. Technical demonstrations are paired with thoughtful readings, seminar discussions and ambitious projects. Collaboration, experimentation and presentation skills are developed in concert with critical thinking.

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