DAC 204Introduction to Game Design
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Arts
- Subject
- Digital Arts Communication
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 7 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 3 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course explores the fundamentals of game design. It focuses on the essentials shared by all games that are fundamental for a game designer working in any medium, from sports to board games to computer and video games. Although the focus of the course is on designing, prototyping, and testing non-digital games, digital games will be discussed in class to provide students with a broad theoretical and conceptual understanding of the field of game design and development along with practical exercises to train for creating a game.
Prerequisites
- Students must be in level 2A or higher
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4024 | 25 / 27 | M 14:30–17:20 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 3690 | 0 / 27 | M 14:30–17:20 |
| LEC 002 | 7489 | 0 / 27 | F 11:30–14:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1409 | 20 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
59% liked it48% easy28% useful
From 22 ratings and 10 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Quite possibly one of the worst courses I took in all of university with one of the worst professors possible. Chris Alton is a complete mess of a professor who puts in the least possible effort to teach the class while also marking extremely hard for what should be a bird course.
The course consists of 3-hour long classes of which the professor just leaves 30 mins early every class (assuming he actually comes to class which he just randomly didn't for one week). Of those classes an additional 2 were randomly made online the day before, and of the remaining classes 3 were just "work periods" with no teaching. Classes that had any sort of "teaching" could have been summed up in about 15…Apr 2025 · didn’t like it · 4 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
If I had a dollar for every time Chris Alton annoyed me, I wouldn't have to worry about employment. There is a 15% participation grade to this course but I'd rather tank it than to engage with him. He speaks to us as if we're elementary school kids, and complains when there aren't enough hands raised to his vague questions. Even when you do answer his question, he often has a very specific answer he's looking for, and his response is usually condescending. His classes consist of him just rambling about niche topics that are sorta specific to his interests, which is okay if it weren't for the fact that the way he presents the material that is very boring and easy to tune out. The assignments…
Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
As has already been stated by many of the reviews, I really don't recommend taking this course with Christopher Alton. He manages to take such interesting topics and turns it into the most boring slog of a class. I thought previous reviews were exaggerating, but this might be one of the worst classes I've taken at Waterloo.
Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
I would not recommend taking a class with this Chris Alton. There are no rubrics for any assignments, and grading feels careless and inconsistent. Every major project is a group project, which becomes a huge issue if your group members don’t contribute, since he does not grade students individually. This approach comes across as lazy and unfair, especially when individual effort is clearly different within groups. Expectations are never clearly explained, yet grading is harsh. The material itself is very basic and largely common knowledge. When designing board games, the content covers exactly what you would already expect, such as playtesting and simple correlations, without much depth.
Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
The instructor for this course, Chris Alton, is someone I would not recommend taking a class with. While the course itself has interesting content, the professor is extremely unorganized and inconsistent when it comes to grading, feedback, and overall course delivery.
There is no rubric for any assignment because he claims rubrics are “not fair,” or some other nonsense, yet the instructions he provides are vague, incomplete, or unclear. This results in students guessing what he’s looking for, and he will mark you down for things that were never stated or explained. You’re encouraged to be creative and come up with your own ideas, but your grade may be lowered if your idea is not something…Dec 2025 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
14 posts and comments in 11 threads mention DAC 204, May 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Winter 2024
How’s DAC 204(intro to game design)? 2 points, 0 comments
Fall 2022
Trash Winter Schedule 12 points, 5 comments
“Just complaining: winter schedules came out today, and i got none of the electives i wanted to do. Instead the 3 core courses i have are all on a monday and tuesday, and somehow any other elective i …”
u/kpp344: “Quest + UWFlow will solve this for you in no time. Check offerings on quest. Check reviews on UWFlow. Profit”
u/Intelligent-Day2425: “do DAC 204!!!! Couldn't enroll last term due to too many people, and now there's too little people LOL You can get an override from the DAC coordinator”
Spring 2021
Anybody interested in taking DAC 305 (game design course) 17 points, 12 comments
“I’ve already signed up, but apparently more students are needed or else the course won’t reach the minimum student count to run. …”
u/Tester821: “Is this a coding heavy course? A writing heavy course? What are the other DAC courses that you've taken? I'm interested in learning more”
u/goose-with-a-knife: “… I took DAC 204 which is kind of a precursor to this course, and the final project was to make a board/card game which was rlly fun, though i does depend on your group i suppose. …”
u/QuantumElectroD: “Do you need DAC 204 to understand this course? If not I will take it as I am on waitlist for DAC 204.”
Winter 2021
DAC Courses 0 points, 2 comments
u/waternude: “I asked the department for an override and it went through no problem (CS student into DAC204). Priority is given to DAC minors, of course, but tbh there aren't many of them.”
u/QuantumElectroD: “Thank you so much, I also want to take DAC 204 in future.”
Fall 2020
Elective recommendations? 3 points, 11 comments
“Looking to pick a type C (humanitities) CSE for my 2A eng term. any suggestions for courses you've taken and really enjoyed, or passionately despised?”
u/Wyntyress: “DAC 204 (Game Design) ENGL 335 (Creative Writing Workshop)”
Spring 2020
Digital Design Course 1 point, 4 comments
“Are there any Design courses that are specifically about Video game design or 3D modeling? I've been looking through some DAC and Art courses but I'm not actually in Arts so idk if I'm looking in the …”
u/Wyntyress: “DAC 204 is about board game design, and introdues foundational concepts for all types of game design. DAC 305 is about digital video game design. I recommend taking both.”
u/Wyntyress: “You dont have to be in DAC to take them. You can get it overridden by the prof of the course. Just email them a vouple months before the term to get it sorted out. Im im ENG and I took DAC 204”
Winter 2020
DAC 204: The Engineer 8 points, 0 comments
Fall 2019
What’s an elective course that you found super enjoyable? 31 points, 41 comments
“It doesn’t have to be a bird course. Just any course you didn’t have to take but ended up liking it.”
u/SantiMusella: “DAC 204 - Intro to Game Design. You literally just design games for the entire term. It was amazing and the only course that I've actually enjoyed thoroughly.”
Spring 2019
Any good courses for someone in Math who is interested in Game Dev/Design? 6 points, 5 comments
u/SantiMusella: “It can be a math course or a non math. I've taken DAC204 and plan on taking DAC305. Other then these I haven't found any "game dev/design" courses on the calendar, so I thought of asking here :)”
Fall 2017
Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments
“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”
u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”
u/Jackhofmann: “… 770 CS 798 CS 846 CS 848 CS 854 CS 858 CS 886 CS 898 CT 601 CT 603 CT 606A CT 606B DAC 202 DAC 204 DAC 305 DAC 308 DEI 612 DEI 613 DEI 614 DEI 623 DRAMA 100 DRAMA 102 DRAMA 206 DRAMA 220 DRAMA 221 DRAMA 243 DRAMA 246 DRAMA 300 DRAMA 306 DRAMA 316 DRAMA 361 DRAMA 379 DRAMA 386 …”
Spring 2017
Is there a program you are currently not enrolled in that you would enjoy taking out of interest? 15 points, 66 comments
“For example; you're in CS but would like to take Religious Studies out of curiosity, or a language class to learn a language particularly close to you, etc...”
u/QuoteMaker_: “I actually wrote down a list of cool non-CS courses I want to take if I ever have the time: ENGL 306A (Intro to Linguistics) ENGL 335 (Creative Writing Workshop) PSYCH 253 (Social Psychology) PSYCH …”
u/acagamic: “What about DAC 204: Introduction to Game Design? ;)”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them