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Assignments/Due Dates
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Course
Assessment/Measures: Assignments:
please see assignments website for more
detail
1. Personal Game Archeology
& Analysis
due Aug 28
Archeology
and analysis of personal gaming preferences from:
a. childhood and
b. today as an adult.
Research and present a short power
point or html presentation and demonstration of your favorite game/toy as a
child and why it was your favorite, and your favorite game/toy as an adult
and why. Include a brief history of the origins of each game, and why this
is/was a compelling game experience for you. Include references in your
presentation—web links, documentation, the socio-political context of the
game/toy you have chosen and its use.
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2. 3. 4. 5. Indy Pangaea Mobile Game Temporary
Team Based, due in 3 parts
Working
collaboratively in temporary teams,
(ideally creating a balanced team consisting of the following talents: visual
artist, programmer, engineer, sound composer & designer, manager) you
will do in-depth research into existing mobile/hand held games. After meeting with the client, Ralph
Brill, your team will then design, create and produce an original workable
game prototype for Project Pangaea and the parameters of the IAT International
Appalachian Trail Project for client review and possible (paid) inclusion
into the IAT Project for further development.
Each person in the group must detail their contributions throughout the
process.
2. Research and Idea Sketches
due Sept 4
Power Point Research Presentation on Existing Mobile
Games/Technology: power
point research presentation on existing mobile, hand held, and locative games
that include environment, trail
hiking/biking, art, educational, commercial and social media games. This
presentation should cover your team’s explorations into the technical,
philosophical and theoretical aspects of mobile game design, development,
production and distribution.
Deliverables:
Research
findings in Power point presentation with references, links
and
Preliminary Sketches of Original Game Designs: After researching, discussing and
understanding the history of Pangaea and the IAT (International Appalachian Trail) (The
director will come to class Sept 11) and using your own experience and
previous research on what games/toys were engaging to you from the Game
Archeology & Analysis study, temporary teams create an original game based on the parameters of Project Pangaea
and the International Appalachian Trail to excite and engage people to get
out and experience the trail, the countries, the people, nature,
international travel and relations, fresh air, good health, food and drink,
and life beyond the computer. This could be an educational game, an
environment game, a cartography game, a puzzle game, a geocaching game
(finding hidden things in the woods, or on the trial), a commercial game, a
social media game, a tween or teen game, a college age game, young 20’s,
30’s, young family game older person’s game, etc. Do your market research see
what is already out there, then create your own original ideas.
(Original ideas
are more important than polished graphics and optimized code for this part of
the study.)
Deliverables:
* concept ideas and sketches
* storyboards
* GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT TEMPLATE rough
out ideas as they develop, refine and build over the course of the project
* Game Structure
template
* Answer Ernest
Adams Game Design Philosophy Questions:
- What dreams does the game fulfill?
- What is the player going to do?
- What are the physical,
intellectual, emotional, economic and ethical spaces of the game world?
* List of technical information and methodologies of production: any
necessary software, SDKs, and APIs, etc. needed.
Readings: due Sept 4
*
your research readings and
* http://civictripod.com/ The Civic Tripod for Mobile and Games: Activism, Art and Learning
Released in IJLM Volume 3 :: Issue 3 / MIT Press
* Experimental
gameplay project - How to Prototype a Game in Under 7 Days
*create a short, one page, printed reaction paper
to each of
the above
Optional Extra Credit Readings for Masters and Ph.D. Students:
* Homo Ludens: A study of the Play
Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga
* Man, Play, and Games by Roger Caillois
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3. Workable game prototypes
Due Sept 11
Prototypes or games in an
embryonic state, something between a developed idea and a full game. Think of
them as short studies or experiments. They should be playable or, at the very
least, the mechanics should be evident. You can choose any tools and
techniques you find most adequate to develop your ideas.
Readings: due Sept 11
*
your research readings and
* On the Edge
of the Magic Circle Understanding Role-Playing and Pervasive Games, pages
101 to 137 by MARKUS MONTOLA
*create a short, one page, printed reaction paper
to each of the
above
Optional Extra Credit Readings for Masters and Ph.D. Students:
* Learning to Play
or Playing to Learn - A Critical Account of the Models of Communication
Informing Educational Research on Computer Gameplay by Hans Christian Arnseth
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4. Refinement of games
Due Sept 18
prototypes
are now refined based on class feedback and further research and technical
development
Readings: due Sept 18
*
your research readings
Optional, but interesting, info on revenues from indy
mobile apps:
http://gizmodo.com/5667845/the-trainyard-story-or-how-to-make-a-smash-hit-iphone-app
http://thegamebakers.com/money-and-the-app-store-a-few-figures-that-might-help-an-indie-developer.html
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGalindo/20130306/187977/
http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-game-revenue-sales/
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5. Completed
polished indy game
Due Sept 25
Presentation and client review
Readings: due Sept 25
*
your research readings
* Play as Design by Brenda Laurel
Play as Design by Eric Zimmerman
*create a short, one page, printed reaction paper to each of the above
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Final Project
Experimental Game Trajectory
working with permanent
teams from this point out
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6.
Prototype 1 Concepts Informal presentation
due Oct 2
Deliverables:
First ideas about your game
Please include the following: These are all ITERATIVE and will be changed and perfected
as your ideas unfold.
* Concept ideas and sketches
* storyboards
* rough Game Design Document GAME DESIGN
DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
reflecting the progress as your refine and reiterate your game
* Game Structure
template
* Answer Ernest
Adams Game Design Philosophy Questions:
- What dreams does the game fulfill?
- What is the player going to do?
- What are the physical,
intellectual, emotional, economic and ethical spaces of the game world?
* List of technical information and methodologies of production: any necessary software, SDKs, and APIs,
etc. needed.
Please remember that your completed game project is an innovative, original,
purposeful work which goes beyond conventional style gaming paradigms and
shows depth of creative goals, sensitivity to social issues, and quality of
interaction. The game must be functional, or at the very least demonstrate
some dynamic game play with a high end trailer illustrating the core game
play concepts, and it must be accompanied by a completed, (web ready,
standalone) game design document and a well-designed poster.
Readings:
due Oct 2
* From Sun
Tzu to Xbox: War and Video Games by Ed
Halter
* Baudrillard
and Hollywood: subverting the mechanism of control and The Matrix by Jim Rovira
* The Oxymoron of Virtual
Violence, J. Baudrillard
*create a short, one
page, printed reaction paper to each of the above
Optional Extra Credit Readings for Masters and Ph.D. Students:
* Origins of FPS by Galloway
* Lenoir-Lowood_TheatersOfWar
See: Oct 2 Film Directed by Alan Schneider with a talk
with film theorist Ed Halter
http://empac.rpi.edu/events/2013/fall/door-ajar/film
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7. Phase I Proposal Formal Group Presentation
due Oct 9
team meetings with
Game Industry Experts
Deliverables:
rethink and refine your
project based on your resonation of the feedback your team received in class
previously:
* concept ideas and sketches
* storyboards
* GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
with blocked out time
frame of production
* Game
Structure template
* list of technical information and
methodologies of production: any necessary
software, SDKs, and APIs, etc. needed.
* produce new work and progress on
your game assets including design, art, programming, etc.
Readings:
due Oct 9
* Complete
Freedom of Movement: Video Games as Gendered PlaySpaces
by Henry Jenkins
*create a short, one
page, printed reaction paper for the above
*create a short, one
page, printed reaction paper for each
Optional Extra Credit Readings for Masters and Ph.D. Students:
* The Construction of Experience: Interface as Content David Rokeby
*Everything
But the Words: A Dramatic Writing Primer for Gamers
by Hal Barwood
* Storytelling in Action by Bob Bates
* The Rhetoric of
Video Games by Ian Bogost
* Materials for an
exploratory theory of the network society by Manuel Castells
* Delightful Identification & Persuasion: Towards an Analytical
and Applied Rhetoric of Digital Games by Steffen P. Walz
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8. Phase II Reiteration Informal presentation
due Oct 16
Midterm assessments
(please upload all perfected work to drop box for evaluation)
Deliverables:
* produce new research, work and progress on your game
assets
* present a creative statement including treatment, narrative, more refined
story board, and at least 5 citations of games/ websites/readings/
literature/ films that have influenced your team’s research
* Reality check on scope of project, schedule,
including individual responsibilities and deadlines, more refined game design
document, (conceptual geography, maps, scenarios, trainers, strategies,
symbolism, scoring, rules, etc.)
Reflect all work to date in your GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT TEMPLATE
as a working evolving document
Readings: due
Oct 16
final project research readings
Optional Extra Credit Readings for Masters and Ph.D. Students:
* A Game of One’s Own: Towards a New
Gendered Poetics of Digital Space by Tracy Fullerton, Jacquelyn Ford Morie, and
Celia Pearce
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9. Phase III Game Prototype Formal Group Presentation
due Oct 23
Deliverables:
*
gameplay experiments showing clear proof of concept
* evidence of progress
incorporating critical feedback, polishing and refinement of content, assets,
methodology, and delivery system
* definitive schedule for entire project which will be used as clear
milestones for further project development
* your team’s progress of the above reflected in your evolving game design
document including game overview sheet, answers to the philosophical question
section, and schedule. Please print and hand in prior to your team’s
presentation in class.
Related
Readings: final project research readings
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10. Phase IV Game Content Informal presentation
due Oct 30
Deliverables:
* evidence of refinement and progress
on your team’s project in design, development, gameplay and depth of research
Related
Readings: final project research readings
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11.
Phase V Refinement & Formal Group Presentation
due Nov6
Deliverables:
* Refinement and progress on your team’s project for pre-review and three week trajectory for individual team work
Related Readings: final project research readings
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12. Phase VI Further Refinement & Informal Group Presentation
due Nov 13
Deliverables:
* Refinement and progress on your
team’s project based on critiques
*
Play Testing Plans due
* Printed Project Posters 34” x
24”
Instructions for Printing your Poster at the
VCC (Voorhees Computing Center) on the RCS Public Plotters:
You need to configure your computer with the proper drivers in order to print
to the plotter
http://dotcio.rpi.edu/services/printing/plotting-rcs-public-plotters
and for general info: http://helpdesk.rpi.edu/update.do?catcenterkey=78
The plotter paper is 36 inches wide, but the actual content space
is 34 inches. So your document should be 36 wide, but have an inch of
whitespace on either side.
The minimum height is 24 inches, but I would recommend the same
amount of padding there. If your poster is vertical you can of course rotate
it to fit into this space for the lowest cost. File formats: .jpg or even a .png file works from a well configured computer, but to
ensure success you should make a PDF. You can possibly use Photoshop and output
your file as a PDF or use Illustrator
(proven to work very well) (it
is on the VAST lab computers if you don't have it), create a document
36" by height + 2", then use File->Place to insert your
document. You can then do "Save As" and switch the file type to
PDF.
If your computer is not configured you can physically take the PDF file to
the VCC and open it in Acrobat (or Reader? whatever
it's called these days). Switch the printer to vcpltg for glossy ($0.25 more per foot,
not bad for the shiny effect). I think the checkboxes are something like:
"Automatically select paper size"
"Allow use of custom sizes"
Select both of those and the rulers in the preview should update to be
your document's size. Then you should be able to send it.
The
printouts show up rolled in the racks on the right side of the VCC building, near the glass-enclosed classroom on that
side. In general, they will put obviously bad printouts up without saying
anything, but you can get a refund if there was a problem on their end by
going to the help desk.
Print soon as other students across
the campus will be vying for this printer soon.
Related Readings: final project research readings
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13.
Phase VII & Formal Group Presentation
due Nov 20 (second
to last class)
* Your printed project summary in
.doc format with summation image
* Play Testing Summary results and
Recommendations
* preliminary
high quality edited high def. 1920
x 1080, H264 mp4 video trailer of game play. Please include your title,
overview, interaction, gameplay and credits. This video will be used to judge
whether your game gets into the competition.
* order
all gear for Gamefest in advance for April 26, 2014
Related
Readings: final project research readings
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14. Thanksgiving Break Enjoy,
but polish up your work
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15. Phase VIII Formal
Group Presentation LAST CLASS
due Dec 4 (last
class of the semester)
All
perfected work due this day.
NO EXCEPTIONS
Please ensure that all work is spell checked
All work must
be printed and also submitted on a labeled DVD :
*
Your Final Project and all elements including all art, programming code,
files, etc.
* Printed and digital posters
* Printed and digital Final Game Design Document
* Printed and digital project summary in .doc format with summation
image
* Printed and digital final user Evaluation Testing Summary and Recommendations
* High quality edited high
def. 1920 x 1080, H264 mp4 video trailer of game play. Please include your title,
overview, interaction, gameplay and credits. This video will be used to judge whether
your game gets into the Gamefest competition.
Gamefest will be April 26, 2014
* Place all your work from the
semester onto your DVD including all short studies, reading and event
reactions.
* Also ensure all work is uploaded
to the class dropbox.
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