Lecture topic:
SuperHeros:
Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) is a
Marvel Comics super hero/super villain
associated with the X-Men and Avengers.
A mutant, Quicksilver originally possessed
the superhuman ability to move and think at great speeds, making him Marvel's
counterpart to DC Comics' The Flash. He often commented that the rest of the
world seemed to him to operate in slow motion, which may explain his impatient,
arrogant temper.
Superhero
–noun, plural - Superheroes
a hero, esp. in children's comic
books and television cartoons, possessing extraordinary, often magical powers.
A figure, especially in a comic
strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as
fighting evil or crime.
Superhuman
adj : above or beyond the human or
demanding more than human power or endurance; "superhuman beings";
"superhuman strength"; "soldiers driven mad by superhuman
misery" [ant: subhuman]
What are they and why do we seem to
want them?
Are we “post-human”? No longer
human?
SuperHero Ultimate Alliance trailer
A Short History: Comic Book Cultures
The
50-Greatest Female Characters in the History of Video Games
_________________________________
Digital Games and the Military:
Amusing ourselves to death: “killer
entertainments”
the military industrial complex and
gaming:
Games are:
* interactive & participatory
(not passive)
* Immersive: physically, spatially
* playful
Play:
v. played, play•ing, plays
v. intr.
1. To occupy oneself in amusement,
sport, or other recreation: children playing with toys.
2. To take part in a game: No minors
are eligible to play.
b.To participate in betting; gamble.
3. To act in jest or sport: They're
not arguing in earnest, they're just playing.
4. To deal or behave carelessly or
indifferently; toy.
5. To behave or converse sportively
or playfully.
6. To act or conduct oneself in a
specified way: play fair; an investor who plays cautiously.
7. To act, especially in a dramatic
production.
8.Music. To perform on an instrument:
play on an accordion.
b.To emit sound or be sounded in
performance: The band is playing.
9.To be performed, as in a theater
or on television: A good movie is playing tonight.
10. To be received or accepted: a
speech that played poorly with the voters.
11. To move or seem to move quickly,
lightly, or irregularly: The breeze played on the water.
12. To function or discharge
uninterruptedly: The fountains played in the courtyard.
13. To move or operate freely within
a bounded space, as machine parts do.
ludic space
French ludique, from Latin ludus:
of, relating to, or characterized by play, playful
Pretend
Suspension of disbelief
Two contrasting ideas about Play:
Play creating culture
Homo Ludens "Man
the Player," the play element of culture, written in 1938 by Dutch
historian, cultural theorist and professor Johan Huizinga. It discusses
the importance of the play element of culture and society. Huizinga uses the
term "Play
Theory" within the book to define the conceptual space in which
play occurs. Huizinga suggests that play is primary to and necessary (though
not sufficient) condition of the generation of culture.
He believes that "play-instinct"
emerged very early in human prehistory - in fact, he sees it as one of humanity's primary instincts, one which provides the fundament for other elements of society, such as
religious ritual, war, and poetry. He has an esthetic approach to
history, where art and spectacle play an important role. He was held in
detention by the Nazis where he died in 1945.
The Ambiguity of Play
by Brian Sutton Smith, a
Play shows us the dark
underbelly of the world
Catharsis and inoculation
against the dangers of reality
Symbolic side of human
culture
A child gets the chance to
make mistakes
Adaptation, teaching
skills
Introducing us into certain
communities
Fate, power, communal identity,
frivolity, the imaginary, the self
The Oxymoron of “Virtual
Violence”(J. Baudrillard)
Jenny Terry: Killer
Entertainments: Conditions and Consequences of Remote Intimacy. The project
theorizes remote intimacy by tracing the relationship between entertainment
technologies and militarism in the
The technology brings its military
weight to creators
Are
we constructing our game characters or are they constructing us?
Screenings:
Gamer Revolution
Visiting artist:
Paolo
Pedercini social impact games
From
Sun Tzu to XBox (Introduction)
by Ed Halter
Extra
readings if you are super interested:
Theaters of War: the
Military-Entertainment Complex
By Tim Lenoir
and Henry Lowood
Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time by Clive Thompson New York Times article
Studio skills:
Flash basics, animation,
roto-scoping, morphing
* Do the basic tutorial in the
application, then See:
* Layer
& Animation explained in Flash
* Designing
and Animating Characters in Flash 8
* Lots of Flash Tutorials http://www.developal.com/tutorials/tutorials252.html
* Some Flash games http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/games/
* some characters http://www.nectarine.com.au/2005site/site.html
* Techniques from Waking Life: http://toolfarm.com/tutorials/wakinglife.html
* See: Flash superhero movie about
Flash haha seriously
http://jeanphiblog.media-box.net/download/flash8toons/toons.swf
Project:
Create your own, original new
superhero and make a short animation using Flash.
Task:
Create an original super hero
character with a short bio and description of superpowers. It can be a
roto-scoped character who moves in any way including transforming or morphing.
Deliverables:
An original superhero character
animation (minimum of 3 second (12 fps) 36 frame done in Flash. A short (1 to 2
paragraph) bio which names and describes the superhero powers and
characteristics of your character.
Grading Criteria:
1. Assignment completed on-time
2. Adherence to the size and file
format specifications
3. Appropriate use of flash
animation
4. Exploration and application of
creative tools in creating flash animation
5. Quality and clarity of class
presentation
6. Quality of Inventiveness,
expression, and imagination in your animated flash superhero
(If you know Flash well, then
challenge yourself to making your superhero interactive!)