DAC 305Designing and Evaluating Digital Games
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Arts
- Subject
- Digital Arts Communication
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course introduces fundamental design skills for two-dimensional interactive video games and provides the theoretical knowledge of the emotional and cognitive effects of video game play. Students will understand the importance of user experience assessment for video games as part of iterative design and development. Students will learn to theorize, design, prototype, and test digital games with a special focus on exploring the impact that video games have on human experience.
Prerequisites
- Earned at least 0.50 units from DAC
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 7984 | 18 / 25 | Th 14:30–17:20 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 4000 | 0 / 25 | Th 14:30–17:20 |
| LEC 701 | 1563 | 15 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
80% liked it63% easy63% useful
From 5 ratings and 4 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Course is probably fine but Chris Alton is not. Do not take this course with him. His lectures are bad. Each class he rambles about one or two oddly specific and not-particularly-useful concepts with no breadth or direction. His assignment structure is bad. He assigns two lengthy, formal, group-based, and incredibly generic assignments. Many smaller assignments would be better for a game design course. That would mean more chances to practice rather than writing 10 pages as a group on a bafflingly boring prompt only to get a bad mark regardless because... His marking is bad. He has no rubrics. He claims that marking games is too unique and subjective to fit a rubric, acting like he is doing…
Aug 2026 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
took this with chris alton and he's really nice but kind of a tough marker, couldn't get anything higher than an 80. there aren't any distinguishable rubrics, which makes it hard to tell what's needed for a higher mark. he also enforced online classes, which were fine to me but can be sudden as nothing indicates that this course will have online portions. if you've taken dac204 before, or are just familiar with game design, many things are applicable and straightforward in terms of general practices, it's only different in that you and your group of 5 have to actually code and make a digital game rather than an analog board game. that being said, it's like many other DAC courses where…
May 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
I'm mixed on this one, because it has been an incredibly insightful course, however the prof that I had dealt with groupwork drama so poorly and with so much bias, I basically got traumatized as a result and now think of it poorly. You're basically forced to do groupwork in this class so there's a chance you're dealing with idiots like me, or people like a person I had to work with.
My prof I had wasn't in the selection here, but Chris Alton was probably a pretty chill prof for many, but he ended up forcing many to have online classes which I wasn't a big fan of - and dealt with our group's drama with so much bias, and basically I got treated like trash - even though I was our number one…Apr 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
For people who think DAC 305 is a continuation of DAC 204, it's not, and thats ok! This one has more of a focus on video games and user experience research. It really makes you think about the games you play and how you play them. I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot about user experience, not just in games but in anything really!
May 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
14 posts and comments in 12 threads mention DAC 305, April 2016 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.
Spring 2024
Auditing DAC 305 5 points, 2 comments
u/echoi_0130: “… However, I believe DAC305 (Designing and Evaluating Digital Games) is a crucial course for me, and there are no other classes scheduled during that time, so I am planning to audit it. Here are my questions: 1. Has anyone audited this course (or other DAC courses)? …”
Fall 2022
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/Dino-Amadeus: “Are DAC 305 hard?Or is that easy 90s?”
Spring 2022
DAC 305 override 5 points, 4 comments
u/Overcomplacent: “Is it possible to take this course as a CS student who hasn't done any other DAC courses, and also for anyone who took this course, how was it?”
Fall 2021
is there any game design related course in waterloo 0 points, 9 comments
“i am in cs. my ultimate goal is to work in a good game company and have fun with my job. Coding is cool, but not something I think i am gonna dedicate myself into. …”
u/Blaster167: “Now they do with DAC 305”
Spring 2021
Anybody interested in taking DAC 305 (game design course) 17 points, 12 comments
u/goose-with-a-knife: “I’ve already signed up, but apparently more students are needed or else the course won’t reach the minimum student count to run. I think a large deterrent is that people think you need to be in the DAC minor or have DAC credits already, but it’s very easy to get an override if …”
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/Tester821: “That's true. DAC 305 requires 1.0 units in DAC as a prerequisite though, so I don't think I can take it. Good luck to your course enrollment OP!”
Winter 2021
does a major in communication studies and a minor in digital arts communication give me valuable knowledge on being a UX designer? 5 points, 11 comments
“let me know if this belongs in a megathread. i originally wanted to get into marketing but i've recently found UX design. …”
u/Lil-Shiro: “… Some UX focused courses you might wanna bookmark are: DAC 305- Design and User Experience of Interactive Games DAC 309- User Experience Design DAC 400- Digital Design Research Project BET 350- Customer Experience Design I suggest also looking into and participating in …”
ARBUS AND UX 6 points, 5 comments
“can an Arbus student take UX courses or are they exclusive to GBDA? I’m having trouble finding info online pls help!”
u/Lil-Shiro: “… Some similar courses: DAC 305- Design and User Experience of Interactive Games DAC 309- User Experience Design DAC 400- Digital Design Research Project If you’re not in arts BET 350 (Customer Experience Design) is also worth looking at, I haven’t taken it but the course …”
Can non-GBDA students take GBDA courses? 1 point, 5 comments
“I'm going into my fourth year and I recently took an interest in digital design and I want to take GBDA courses so I can sort of transition into UX/UI design. …”
u/Lil-Shiro: “… Just in case you might be in arts: DAC 305- Design and User Experience of Interactive Games DAC 309- User Experience Design DAC 400- Digital Design Research Project If you’re not in arts BET 350 (Customer Experience Design) is also worth looking at, I haven’t taken it but the …”
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 :)”
Spring 2018
DAC minor? 4 points, 4 comments
u/okiwawa: “DAC 305 is a very fun game design course. You get to learn the basics and to work with Unity. It's a bit stressful because with group work in this class (since it's a small number of people like maybe 20?) you might get a few people in your group who don't wanna put in the work. …”
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: “… 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 DRAMA 400 …”
Winter 2016
Does Waterloo offer any courses related to game design/graphics? 0 points, 7 comments
“Other than the CS 488 course of course. Also, i found this image on the website …”
u/valryuu: “… - DAC 305 Design for Interactive Games: This course introduces fundamental design skills for two-dimensional interactive media, with special attention on video games. …”
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