Syllabus

September 3

• Introduction
• Syllabus Overview

September 10

• Research in Play: Educational Board Games
• Good Video Games and Good Learning - James Paul Gee

Board Games Analysis Questions

1. What is this game attempting to simulate? Is the simulation successful?
2. Is the game easy or difficult to start? What is the learning curve on play?
3. What might you learn from playing this game?
4. Where has the simulation been sacrificed for playability?
5. Imagine that you are designing a digital simulation of a similar concept. What would you model differently? How would the game experience, learning, and simulation change?

Your group's board game write up is due, by email, at the end of class.

September 17

• Research in Play: Early Computer Games
• Games of the Eighties
• Sierra Games on Sarien.net
• Choose a game for your analysis paper

Oregon Trail Analysis Questions

1. What is this game attempting to simulate? Is the simulation successful?
2. Is the game easy or difficult to start? What is the learning curve on play?
3. Where has the accuracy of the simulation been sacrificed for playability?
4. What are the unintentional consequences of playing this game? What do you, or did you, learn that is inaccurate?
5. Compare the experience of playing Oregon Trail to that of traversing the website. Which gives you a more realistic experience of the trail? How would you make such a judgment?

Early Games Analysis Paper
For your first project, prepare a 3 to 5 page paper and a short (5 minute) presentation on an early computer game. Pick a simulation or "serious" game from before 1993. Research the game, through play and through reading fan or scholar produced materials, and cite your references within the paper. Consider using Virtual Apple, Moby Games, and Home of the Underdogs as starting points. Your game can come from the world of consoles or computers, but be able to use visuals and video of play as part of the presentation. Your paper should consider the significance of the game as a representation of a real world subject, problem or vision. What was the purpose of this game? What are the unintended consequences of the gameplay? Why has the game survived in popular culture archives? What did it contribute to its genre or to the heritage of games and simulations?

September 24

• Introduction to Adventure Game Studio
• AGS Tutorial

October 1

• Final Project Planning Day
• Early Game Presentations
• First Game Analysis Due

October 8

• Rest of Early Game Presentations
• Marc Prensky on Digital Natives
• James Paul Gee on Games and Learning
• Mark Bauerlein on Literacy
• Introduction to Game Research (Civilization)
• 100 Learning Game Resources
• CivWorld
• Simulating History
• Midterm Review

October 15

• No Class! Take Home Essay Midterm
• Midterm Exam as PDF: Exam Due October 18th at 6pm

October 22

State of Educational Games
• Introduction to Scripting
• Video Games and the Future of Learning - Shaffer, Squire and Gee
• In Class: Building a Timeline

  To set the stage for the rest of the semester, and for your own game design projects, we are building a class timeline of landmarks in simulation. The completed timeline will be posted on the class website and will be a starting point and resource for your remaining papers. With your group, build a list of events from your assigned era.
  
  Format your list as follows:
  
  Year (Month, Date if available). Heading of event. Link to a relevant website or article related to the event.
  
  A few things to look for:
  
  Complex simulations or the launching of virtual worlds
  Popular educational games, particularly for previously untapped markets or skill-sets
  New interfaces and discussions of their potential
  Advances in medical or emergency simulation
  Major political or social events and correspondent “serious games”
  Game viruses and discussions of games as simulations for the movement of disease
  Games published as entertainment being put to use in the classroom or to other educational uses
  Early and recent attempts at augmented or alternate reality gaming
  Choose a game for your second analysis paper: this game should relate in a clear way to your own final project.
  

October 29

• Research in Play: World of Warcraft
• WoW in School Wiki
• WoW is the new "third place" - Mike Schramm
• Using WoW to teach children values - Robin Torres

November 5: No Class!

• Final Project Work Day: Email a progress report on your group's status by Friday, Nov 6th.

November 12

• Modern Game Presentations in Pecha Kucha format
• Second Game Analysis Due:

  For your second paper, look at a game that is related in some clear way to your final project. The game does not need to be identical in purpose to your planned game, but it should have some significant elements in common with your project.
  
  As you examine this game, think about how it executes those elements. Do not concern yourself with whether or not the game is "good." You are not writing a game review. In a three to five page paper, set the stage for your project design with specific references to the design decisions made in the game you are examining. What is your unique moment in your game design? How will you branch away from the games that have gone before you?
  
  Pay special attention to your intention with this game. Did the game you examined achieve its goals? How will your game create a compelling educational or simulation experience? What elements of reality will you sacrifice for gameplay, and what aspects are essential to creating meaning for the player?
  
  The use of secondary sources is essential to this paper: these may be comments on the game you are examining or more general articles on the concept of learning and simulation games that seem particularly relevant to your topic. Cite at least five sources in your text and include source details at the end of the document.
  
  Your paper should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, and is due at the beginning of class. Each member of your group is responsible for their own paper using a different game for analysis.
  
  It should be accompanied by a presentation that can either be a group or an individual endeavor. If the presentation is made as a group, it will follow the 6 minute, 20 slide model--if the presentation is made as an individual, it will be 3 minutes, 10 slides. In either case, the first half of the presentation should be devoted to the games you examined and what you learned from their design decisions, and the second half should explain your concept and point of departure from earlier models. Note that all members must speak to receive a grade. Remember to examine the models carefully and plan for a timed presentation using only visuals--no video!

  November 19
  

  • Augmented Reality
  • At the Dawn of the Augmented Reality Industry - Bruce Sterling
  • Tinmith Augmented Reality
  • Yelp IPhone AR

  November 26

  • Thanksgiving -- No Class!

  December 3

  • Final Thoughts
  • In Class Review of Projects in Progress
  • Future Games Analysis Due

    For your final paper, consider a trend or problem in simulation, educational media, or virtual worlds in "non-entertainment" applications.
    
    Pick something that is of personal interest to you and envision how our uses and solutions for it might change in the future. Acknowledge the role that both changes in technology and changes in social systems might play in shaping this future application. Use the timeline to build your argument from past evidence.
    
    This paper does not require the use of secondary sources. You should not be reading or repeating the views of others, but instead should reflect on the theme of your choice using your own thought process. Present an arc: observe the present situation, explain the arc of change you anticipate, and convince me of your vision of the future.
    
    Your paper should be in Times New Roman, 12 point, between 3 and 5 pages, and is due at the beginning of class.

  December 10: Final Projects Due!