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'''Technical Communication 498: Digital Games''' 
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{{education-course}}

= Teachers =

=== Instructors  ===

* [[Your Name Here]]

=== Guest speakers ===

* ''Name of guest here''

= Course Background Information =

== Location ==

''Name the school or other location where the course was taught''

== Classification ==

''See: [[Areas]] for classifing for your course.''

'''Primary classification:'''


'''Secondary classification:'''


== Student background needed ==

''Talk about what educational background students need, if any''

== Course prerequisites ==

''(describe the course's prerequisites in terms of skills that students need to know)''


== Time periods ==


''Describe how the class was spread out over time, for example:''
* ''Over what length of time was the course taught?''
* ''How often did the class meet and how long were the classes??''

= Course Structure =


== Course description ==

The overall question driving this course is how to create a satisfying gaming
experience. This question can be approached from multiple dimensions and, in fact,
must be approached from different perspectives in order to be addressed
effectively. To that end, then, this course is envisioned as an interdisciplinary
investigation into digital games. The students in this course are upper division
undergraduates and graduate students from a range of disciplines including
technical communication, computer science, political science, education, art,
women’s studies, communication, informatics, bioinformatics, and more. As such,
the quarter will be an opportunity to see how games are perceived in areas familiar
and unfamiliar. We will spend time working out some definitions and a common
vocabulary to meet the challenges of interdisciplinary conversations (and to keep
the overall annoyance factor down). Key skills to bring to the class are going to
include curiosity and patience. A sense of fun will be tolerated.

The course covers many topics, including social and cultural elements of games, 
games as a global commodity, games as instigators for technical innovation, and 
emerging gaming areas such as mobile games.

The course will include readings, hands-on activities, presentations, the opportunity 
for students to pursue topics of their own interest, and a group final project. Class 
meeting time will be split between a regular classroom and a computer classroom. 

Instruction will include presentations by guest speakers from local game 
companies. In addition to regular class time and class assignments, students will be 
expected to spend time outside of class familiarizing themselves with some of the 
games that will be covered in the course. 

The schedule below includes most but not all course readings. You should expect 
one or two additional articles most weeks; the syllabus will be updated on the 
website with these new readings which will often be available online or via the 
library.

== Course learning objectives ==

At the conclusion of the class, students will be able to:
* Describe the importance of games as an area of the software market.
* Describe the importance of games as a cultural artifact, especially with 
respect to other entertainment genres.
* Describe the importance of games as a driver of technological innovation.
* Describe how societal norms are reflected in game design.
* Evaluate different gaming populations and make design recommendations 
appropriate for those (potential) players.
* Describe how game-playing patterns reflect social codes and mores.
* Identify and explain core principles of online interaction and communication.
* Describe issues of identity and representation within games and game-playing 
communities.
* Describe the global scope of the games market and its implications for 
cross-cultural diffusion.


== Week by week topics ==

'''Week 1: January 5'''
Topics: Introduction to class; The Politics of Design

Readings:
* Winner, "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" 
* Nissenbaum, "How Computer Systems Embody Values" 
* Getting Gamers etc. from User Experience (handout in class)
* P. David Lebling, Marc S. Blank, and Timothy A. Anderson, "Zork: A  Computerized Fantasy Simulation Game," IEEE Computer 12 (April 1979):  51-59. At http://www.csd.uwo.ca/Infocom/Articles/ieee.html
Game: Zork

'''Week 2: January 12'''
Topics: Genres of Virtual Environments (Games, CSCW, Distance Education, 
etc.); Definitions (so we can have fewer frustrating conversations this quarter)

Readings:
* DFC Intelligence, Business of Games
* Jones, "Let the games begin: Gaming technology and entertainment among college students."
* ISDA, Essential Facts on Video Game Players 2003 Sales Demographics and  Use Data. 
* Genres, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_video_game_genres-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_video_game_genres] 
* Ellis, Gibbs, Rein, "Groupware: Some Issues and Experiences"
* Herbsleb, Atkins, et.al., "Introducing Instant Messaging and Chat in the Workplace"
* Kyng, "Designing for Cooperation: Cooperating in Design"

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#1

Game: Zork con\'t, LamdaMOO or LinguaMOO

Movie: Avatars Offline

'''Week 3: January 19'''

Topics: Identity in Virtual Environments; The User Experience of Gaming; Design 
Decisions

Readings:
* Turkle, from Life on the Screen 
* Taylor, "Intentional Bodies" 
* Filiciak, "Hyperidentities: Postmodern Identity Patterns in Massively
* Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games" in The Video Game Theory Reader
* Norman, from The Design of Everyday Things - not required as of Jan. 11, 2005.
* Bartle, "Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDs" 
* Robert Axelrod, From The Evolution of Cooperation
* Unit 1 of Rules of Play \*strongly recommended\*

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#2

Game: MUDs continued

Guest Speakers: Colin Maclay, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard 
University; Chris Coward, Director of the Center for Internet Studies, UW

Show and Tell, Jan. 19: Ario (Katamari Damacy and Grand Theft Auto: San 
Andreas for Playstation)

'''Week 4: January 26'''

Topics: Gender, Race, and other Audience Considerations; Issues for Designers; 
Avatars and In-Game Representation

Readings:
* Taylor, "Multiple Pleasures"
* Kerr, "Women Just Want to Have Fun"
* Kolko, "Erasing @race"
* Consalvo, "Hot Dats and Fairly-Tale Romance: Studying Sexuality in Video
* Games" in The Video Game Theory Reader
* Optional: Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto"

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#3

Game: Counter-Strike

Movie, Jan. 25: War Games

'''Week 5: February 2'''

Topics: Commodification of Culture; Questions of Player Rights

Readings:
* Taylor, "Whose Game is this Anyway?" 
* Koster, "Declaring the Rights of Players" 
* Dibbell, "The Unreal Estate Boom"
* Bartle, "Pitfalls of Virtual Property"
* Castronova, "Virtual Worlds: A First-hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier"

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#4

Game: Rise of Nations

Guest Speaker, 3 p.m.: Erik Johnson - Project Manager, Valve Software. Erik 
began his career as a shoe salesman and later moved up to selling used cars. 
Deciding that the car business wasn\'t for him either, he took a job with Sierra Online 
in the QA department. As one of Sierra\'s testers for Half-Life, Erik spent a lot of time 
over at the Valve offices and was eventually offered a job with Valve as shipping 
manager. Erik\'s responsibilities include localization, testing, managing the build 
process, creating demos, and shipping products.

Show and Tell, Feb. 1: Derek and John

'''Week 6: February 9'''

Topics: Games as Learning Tool, Informal Learning via Games

Readings:
* Postigo, "From Pong to Planet Quake: Post-Industrial Transitions from Leisure to Work"
* Holland, Jenkins and Squire, "Theory by Design" in The Video Game Theory Reader
* Kiesler and Sproull, "Pool Halls, Chips, and War Games: Women in the Culture of Computing"

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#5

Game: Zoo Tycoon (optional: Flight Sim)

Movie, Feb. 9: The Last Starfighter

'''Week 7: February 16'''

Topics: Rule-making, Power and Control in Online Games 

Readings:
* Talin, "Managing Deviant Behaviors in Online Worlds" - optional
* Morningstar & Farmer, "The Lessons of Lucasfilm\'s Habitat" 
* MacKinnon, "Punishing the Persona: Correctional Strategies for the Virtual Offender"

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#6 (not required as of Feb. 12, 2005); Interim Final

Project Report

Game: Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna

Show and Tell, Feb. 16: Catherine (Stepmania) and Karla (Revolved)

'''Week 8: February 23'''

Topics: Presence, Immersion, Interactivity

Readings:
* Janet Murray, from Hamlet on the Holodeck
* McMahon in The Video Game Theory Reader
* Grodal in The Video Game Theory Reader
* Crawford in The Video Game Theory Reader

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#7

Game: Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna

Guest Speaker, 3 p.m.: Doug Lombardi - Director of Marketing, Valve Software. 
After years in the music industry, Doug decided to get a real job. Then he came to 
his senses and made the decision to get into the gaming industry instead. During his 
time in gaming, he has worked on the launch of websites, magazines, and games. 
As Director of Marketing at Valve, he helps manage and coordinate third-party 
relations, marketing and press activities.

Guest Speaker: Tony Leamer, Marketing/Distribution, RealArcade.

Movie, Feb. 22: Tron (canceled as of Feb. 22, 2005)

'''Week 9: March 2'''

Topics: Games as Driver of Technological Innovation, Input Devices

Readings:
* Dyck et. Al., "Learning from Games: HCI Design Innovations in Entertainment Software"
* Paiva, et.al., "SenToy: An Affective Sympathetic Interface"
* Parker and Maumback, "User interface augmentation: vision and sound"
* Starner, et.al., "MIND-WARPING: Towards Creating a Compelling Collaborative Augmented Reality Game"
* Ouyoung, et. Al., "A Low-Cost Force Feedback Joystick and its Use in PC Video Games"
* http://www.seanstewart.org/beast/intro/
* http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/12/wo_jenkins120304.asp?trk=nl

Assignments: Play Diary entry \#8

Guest Speakers: Microsoft team from "The Beast"

Movie, Mar. 2: ExistenZ

'''Week 10: March 9'''

Topic: Final Project workshop

Finals Week: March 14, 6:30-9:30

Final Projects due at 6:30. Class presentations and guest speaker.

Guest Speaker: Mark Selander





= Analysis of learning methods =


== What worked ==

Please discuss what techniques worked well


== What didn't work ==

Please discuss what techniques didn’t work as well as you had hoped



[[Category:Courses]]


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