Course Overview/Lesson Outline

 

1. General Introduction

   Discussion of gaming in general. I'll introduce my background and explain my assumptions on you as a student.

   Game:

   Reading: Rules of Play, Foreword, Preface, and Chapter 1

2. Game Terminology & Definitions

   Game:

   Reading: Rules of Play, Chapters 7 and 8

3. Archive

   Part of the purpose of this lesson is to familiarize you with resources for games. Discussion of academic discussions of the archive (Derrida and Archive Fever) along with pragmatic concerns for the archive. Questions on what games should be saved? Why? What can be lost without it being an issue? iPod controller precursors, important, so is that an acceptable loss? Henry Lowood’s library collection, Deadmedia.org, and the ELO’s Acid-free Bits.

   Game:

   Reading:

   Project 1 Due

    

4. Game Paratexts

   Discussion of supporting game paratexts: walkthroughs, blogs, sites, wikipedia, and more. These are to help you, but they constitute part of gaming on their own.

   Game:

   Reading:

5. Game Journalism

   Discussion of game journalism online and in print media, including a discussion of what stories work in which venues.

   Game:

   Reading:

6. Game Studies

   Discussion of game studies' development and where it is now, along with a discussion of the fields that game studies builds from.

   Game:

   Reading:

7. Non-digital Gaming History

   Discussion of gaming's history, including the history of play, gaming, gambling, technology, the military, simulations, HG Wells, Toy Theaters, board and card games, chess, dice, table-top RPGs, and more.

   Game:

   Reading:

8. Digital Gaming History

   Computer games, console games, games on handheld platforms (iPod, phone, PDA, gameboy, PSP).

   Game:

   Reading:

9. Digital and Non-digital Gaming Fusion

   Mixed-media games like ARGs – youtube, unfiction, board games with DVDs.

   Game:

   Reading:

10. Games and Education

    Games for education, games that can be used for education, simulation, testing Lesson Plans.

    Game:

    Reading:

11. Serious Games

    Game:

    Reading: First Monday article by Ian Bogost

    Project 2 due.

     

12. Game studies and Game Design

    Discussion of why knowledge of both matters, including discussion of critical code studies.

    Game:

    Reading:

13. Games and LawDiscussion of the relevance of  law  to virtual worlds in terms of goods, taxes, work, commons, and player rights.

    Game: Second Life

    Reading: Julian Dibbell from Play Money and readings from State of Play

     

14. Working within Constraints

    Discussion of our constraints and gaming's general constraints (platform, game genre, intended audience).

    Game:

    Reading:

15. Game Design Segment

    Discussion of paper prototyping and other fast prototyping methods.

    Game:

    Reading: http://alistapart.com/articles/paperprototyping

16. Game Studies Critical book review segment

    Outlining

    Game:

    Reading:

    Project 3 due.