This course deals with effective design of interactive experiences through user testing and iterative prototyping, utilizing psychological theories of sensation and perception, motivation and personality, needs, learning, goals, belief systems, behaviors, and social influence as they pertain to interactive experiences like games, in online, offline, and immersive forms. We examine principles including visual and audio perception, emotions, cognition, personality, and the recent results in experimental psychology around psychological models explaining play behavior or motivation theories behind play. We introduce how audiences respond to play experiences based on the relationship of interactivity to learning theories, and explore visual and cultural archetypes like narratives, movies, and cartoons to distillate how people react as pertains to psychological theories, critically analyzing play behavior in game experiences. Hands on projects will prototype interactive experiences and layout full user testing workflows, taking methodology from game companies and research literature in careful evaluation processes.