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CS-803 (B) RGPV B.Tech

Game Theory with Engineering applications (GTEA)

The official syllabus is free to read, no account needed.

Syllabus, notes and important questions for CS-803 (B)

Syllabus units

Topics as the official RGPV syllabus lists them.

Unit 1 Overview 9 topics
  • What is a Game
  • Game Design Schema
  • Game Design fundamentals
  • Engineering application of game theory
  • Design Process: Iterative design
  • Commissions
  • Design & Testing of the Board Game
  • Introduction to meaningful play
  • Two kinds of meaningful play – discernable & integrated
Unit 1 notes
Unit 2 Semiotics and Design Meaning 5 topics
  • Introducing design
  • Design & meaning
  • Semiotics – a brief overview
  • Four semiotic concepts
  • Context shapes interpretations
Unit 2 notes
Unit 3 Systems and Interactivity 10 topics
  • Introduction to Systems
  • Elements of a System
  • Framing Systems
  • Open & closed systems
  • Introduction to Interactivity
  • A multivalent model of interactivity
  • Interaction & choice
  • Choice molecules
  • Anatomy of choice
  • Space of possibility
Unit 3 notes
Unit 4 Defining Games and Primary Schemas 6 topics
  • Defining games – overview of digital games
  • Magic circle
  • Primary Schemas – conceptual framework
  • Primary Schemas – rule
  • Primary Schemas – play
  • Primary Schemas – culture
Unit 4 notes
Unit 5 Rules and Case Studies 12 topics
  • Defining rules
  • A deck of cards
  • Quality of rules
  • Rules in context
  • Rules on three levels – Operational
  • Rules on three levels – Constitutive
  • Rules on three levels – Implicit
  • Identity of a Game
  • Specificity of Rules
  • Rules of Digital games
  • Case Studies – Tic Tac Toe
  • Case Studies – Deck of Cards
Unit 5 notes
Read the full syllabus

Exam insights

Counted from 9 past CS-803 (B) papers.

Marks asked per paper, by unit

  • Unit 1 Overview 12 marks
  • Unit 2 Semiotics and Design Meaning 9 marks
  • Unit 3 Systems and Interactivity 10 marks
  • Unit 4 Defining Games and Primary Schemas 13 marks
  • Unit 5 Rules and Case Studies 8 marks

Average marks of the questions from each unit in one paper. You answer only some of them, so the total is more than the paper’s maximum.

Asked again and again

  1. Define the concept of a \textbf{Magic Circle} in digital games and illustrate its boundaries with a diagram.

    Asked 4 times: 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025

  2. Explain the three levels of game rules (Operational, Constitutive, Implicit) with examples from a card game.

    Asked 3 times: 2021, 2023, 2025

  3. Describe the iterative design process for board games, highlighting the role of play‑testing at each iteration.

    Asked 3 times: 2020, 2021, 2023

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