Throughout the term, we will do a variety of exercises in class. Some of these are short writings, thought experiments, games, and discussions. These in-class exercises are essential to our collaborative exploration of game culture. As long as you participate fully in them, you will usually get full credit. In-class work may not be made up (so if you miss class, you miss this work).
Each week, you will be assigned a reading for the course. Aside from the reading responses you will write (see below), several of you will be assigned to lead the class discussion for that week's reading. When a group leads a discussion, they should say a few introductory remarks (no longer than five minutes) to orient the discussion, and should distribute a handout to the class. Each group is responsible for leading two discussions.
Game Culture Watch: 100 points
Each month,
several of you will be assigned as "bloggers" for our collaborative
blog, Game Culture Watch. You will be responsible for covering two
blogs and posting each week. Those of you not assigned as "bloggers"
each month will be "commenters", responsible for conversing with one
another and commenting on the posts made by the bloggers.
Game Journal: 100 points
As part of this course, you will select a video game
to complete.
Each week, you should post at least one entry on your personal blog
about your experience playing the game. These journal entries can
explore your joys, frustrations, problems, tricks, or just
observations. Ideally, you will begin drawing connections between the
games and the texts we're reading in class. While your contributions
may vary drastically, you should aim to write 200-300 words per week
about your game. Note: you should be finished with your game
somewhere around the 13 week mark. After that time, you may write
more entries about your game, but they will not affect your "game
journal" grade. If you finish your game early, you may select another
game from the list to play, or you may re-play and/or elaborate on your experiences
playing your assigned game.
Reading Responses: 100 points
For each reading, you will write a short response. These short writings are meant to
do two things. On weeks when we have two readings, you may do one response to the two readings. First, they prepare you for class by "priming" your mind to discuss
the text. Second, they show me that you did the reading. You should follow a four-part format
for all readings:
The game analysis project draws on the skills explored in the first
and second levels of the course, using interpretation and semiotics to
explore the messages hidden in texts. Your game analysis will examine
a game for its socio-cultural contexts, offering detailed explanations
of the game and highlighting its messages. Your project will suggest
how the game functions within its cultural milieu and how the game
might be changed or revised to fit its milieu better. (You will
receive more detailed instructions and a grading guide when this
project is assigned.)
The final project asks you to engage with the ideas and conversations we've had during the bulk of the semester, applying the knowledge you've discovered in the first three levels of the course to a new presentation. The project gives you several different ways to engage with the ideas we've discussed and encourages you to consider how they interconnect and inform your understanding of culture and its relationship to games.
