Game Aesthetics

Readings
Games as an Aesthetic Form from The Beauty of Games by Frank Lantz (on canvas)
The Squalid Grace of Flappy Bird by Ian Bogost

Assignment:

Part. 1
Find a game from more than 10 years ago that intrigues you.
It can be digital or analog, it can be a sport or a less formalized form of play.

Research its history and the cultural context that created it.

Part. 2

You will have to present an aspect of the game that relates to your interests and practice.
It can be a mechanic, a question it raises, something you find thematically rich or problematic.
Try to present something that “we” don’t already know.

Draft your presentation as an informally written text.

Part 3:
Compile your finding in a Pecha Kucha slide presentation – 20 slides 20 seconds each.
You can also prepare a 6 min video and present over it. Teams of 1 or 2.

Resources

Some historical research is recommended, playing the actual thing is required.

You can get an emulator like openemu
…and download ROMs from kinda sketchy sites like this
Or emulate online from archive in the section arcade or console

You can capture game footage with OBS or with the OS capture tools.

The obscurity requirement is not super strict, just don’t pick a classic (pac-man, space invaders, mario, street fighter etc).

Feel free to include visual material that is not the game itself (images of the cabinet, flyers, related pop culture…).