About the Course
I. Objectives and Rationale
This class has two main purposes, one theoretical, the other practical. The first is to build an intellectual perspective for interactive communication by exploring its social and cultural dimensions: to see what we are doing with interactive media, and why. The second is to provide a basic competence for authoring and applied design with one powerful tool, Adobe Flash/ActionScript, so that students may use this tool effectively for software prototypes and experiments in design. The two objectives are deeply connected. This is not simply a software training course; neither is it a book-based seminar. Ideas from the readings should inform design practice, and practical exercises are meant to invite thoughtful application of concepts.
This class addresses interactive design, and is therefore primarily concerned with code. It is not a class in visual design or linear presentation, but rather explores the creative space inaugurated by post-print, computational media. You will be expected to develop projects that meaningfully engage possibilities of response, or model unpredictable behavior. To do this, you will need to write code.
HOWEVER: no prior experience in programming, scripting, or Flash development is assumed. The course begins with fundamentals and does not venture much beyond the first levels of scripting. Since its scope is scripting, not programming, assignments are confined to limited, small-scale projects. Novice coders, and those who feel challenged by logic or math, have nothing to fear.
II. Assigned Texts
- Perkins, Todd. ActionScript 3.0 for Adobe Flash CS3 Professional. Lynda.com/Peachpit Press, 2007.
- Bogost, Ian. Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press, 2006.
- Maeda, Jon. Maeda@Media. Universe Press, 2001.
All three books should be available in the U.B. Bookstore. Order online if not.
III. Assignments and Grading Scheme
- Home Page Setup (5%)
- In the first week of class, you will produce a simple Web page to serve as index for future assignments. You will upload this page by FTP to your account on the student server. See the Assignment page for more details.
- Labs (50%)
- Coursework includes five hands-on labs, each worth 10% of your final grade. You will have most of the class period to apply your Flash knowledge to a specific design task. There should be enough time to complete the basic task within the class. However, you may continue to work on the lab on your own until the due date, which is typically a week or two later. Completing the basic lab assignment is worth a B. To earn a higher grade, you should extend or revise the basic project. Each lab assignment will come with suggested extensions. You are always welcome to invent your own.
- Game Analysis (15%)
- Study one of the casual games on Ferry Halim's Web site, www.orisinal.com. Describe the game play and its elements. In specific terms (but without writing any code), indicate the features you would have to program to duplicate the game.
- Final Project (30%)
- Create a prototype for a casual game, information utility, or art project using Flash and ActionScript 3.0. Write a discussion of this project indicating its communicative or experimental purpose, ideally in relation to some concept put forward by Bogost or Maeda. Project and discussion count equally toward the grade.
IV. Submission and Deadlines
Except in case of illness or legitimate emergency, the following rules apply:
- All assignments are due at the beginning of the class meeting listed on the syllabus. You may not use class time to complete an assignment, except when specifically allowed. "Due" means accessible from your index page on the student server.
- I WILL NOT ACCEPT REMOVABLE MEDIA (e.g., floppies, Zips, CD-ROMs). Likewise, files not properly linked may not count even if they are on the server in some form. Failure to follow naming requirements and other technical specifications will lower your grade.
- Unless I grant an exception, work submitted more than two weeks after deadline may not receive any grade higher than B.
V. Software and Lab Policies
You are not required to buy software for this course. However, I strongly recommend a personal copy of ADOBE FLASH CS3 PROFESSIONAL. The re-seller Journey Education Marketing offers an academic discount for the current version of Flash at about $250. The U.B. Bookstore can usually match or beat this price.
FLASH CS3 PROFESSIONAL is the standard software for the course. I do not support other versions. OLDER VERSIONS OF FLASH (8.0 and earlier) DO NOT SUPPORT ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0, and therefore may not be used.
Students who do not own Flash CS 3 Professional may use PCs maintained by the School of Information Arts and Technologies during public-access periods. Hours will be announced. These hours will be limited, so you are better off investing in a personal copy.
No Macintoshes are available in IAT labs; however, Flash is well supported across platforms, so you should be able to work on a Mac at home with few if any problems. Do note that you will not be able to transfer files if your storage medium uses an Apple-only format.
Students from Integrated Design and Publications Design may wish to use the Graphics Lab in the School of Communications Design. However, I cannot guarantee that software in that lab is compatible with standard software in this course.
VI. Class Web Site
The class Web site is an important resource. If you do not have an Internet connection at home, use a public access computer to check this site at least once a week. I regularly post updates, news, and other useful information. In order to reduce paper consumption, I will post some essential material ONLY to the Web site. (For convenience, lab handouts will be distributed on paper.)
VII. Appropriated Material and Intellectual Property
You may borrow graphics, sounds, and other media elements from free distributions on the Internet, or from professional sources such as stock photo and audio CDs. However, you are responsible for integrating borrowed material successfully into your work. Crude, low-quality material will limit your results. Also be aware that while students are generally allowed to borrow for academic projects, professionals have no such privilege. Copyrighted materials must always be paid for in the commercial world.
Meanwhile, you should look at the code and architecture of multimedia projects whenever you can. Imitation is encouraged, as is borrowing, with some limitations. You may adapt other people's code on three conditions:
- You acknowledge any relationships in notes submitted with the assignment.
- You understand borrowed code well enough to assure that it works without detectable hitches. Problems caused by poorly integrated code are your responsibility.
- You extend, modify, or recontextualize any borrowed material in some identifiable or significant way. Projects representing trivial modifications of borrowed code will receive no grade above B.
VIII. Getting in Touch
Please take note of the special limitations on my time during the months of February and March, 2008.
My office is 113-B in the Academic Center. Hours this spring are Thursdays 5:00 - 7:00 PM., with other days (except Monday) available by appointment. Reach me by phone at 410/837-5301 or by e-mail at smoulthrop@ubalt.edu.
I receive a large volume of mail daily, and generally do not read mail over the weekend. Current students have first priority for response, but for urgent matters, please use the phone and/or voicemail.
IX. Other Policies
A complete statement of general academic policies can be found on my Web site. They apply to you. Please read them.
X. Course Name
The name of this course was officially changed years ago to "Interactive Multimedia." For reasons no one understands, it is still listed in the registration system as "Multimedia for the Internet." I am not responsible for this confusion.
|