{"id":5,"date":"2017-11-27T15:55:39","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T15:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/?page_id=5"},"modified":"2018-03-27T15:19:09","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T15:19:09","slug":"syllabus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Syllabus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring 2018<\/strong>
\nProfessor: Paolo Pedercini
\nCourse number: 60359 –\u00a0Carnegie Mellon University \u2013 School of Art
\nClassroom: CFA 303
\nTime:\u00a0 Tuesday & Thursday 9:30AM – 11:20AM CFA 303<\/span>
\nOffice: CFA 419A \u2013 4th Floor
\nOffice hours: By appointment
\nEmail address: paolop [at] andrew [dot] cmu [dot] edu<\/p>\n

This hybrid seminar course combines games studies, game criticism, and research-based art to examine the history, contexts, and frontiers of play.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Digital and analog games will be approached through a variety of lenses: games as culture, systems, technologies, commodities, etc.
\n<\/span>While not geared toward the technical development of videogames, the coursework will include creative projects beyond writing and discussion. The goal is to provide conceptual tools to enrich your design\/art practice and tackle a variety of\u00a0academic topics in a playful but rigorous way.<\/span><\/p>\n

LEARNING OBJECTIVES<\/h1>\n

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:<\/p>\n

* Situate\u00a0gaming cultures in their cultural and technological contexts.<\/p>\n

* Critically analyze games and their ideological and expressive features.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Design their interactive works with a better understanding of the historical, industrial, and artistic discourse in the field.<\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER<\/h1>\n

* Being passionate about games might help but please keep in mind this is not a class for sharing our love for video games. We\u2019ll try to approach the subject critically and focus on cutting-edge developments at the margins of the mainstream game industry.<\/p>\n

* Coursework is\u00a0almost entirely comprised by readings\u00a0but being in an art school you will be require\u00a0to produce\u00a0some creative output, not only response papers.<\/p>\n

* If you are just interested in making games, consider taking my Experimental Game Design class in Fall 2018 instead. It has a different focus each\u00a0year and includes critical\u00a0studies too, although much more oriented toward game design.<\/p>\n

STRUCTURE AND EXPECTATIONS<\/h1>\n

Readings: <\/strong>we’ll have a structured discussion for each set of readings. You are expected to post a short response and bring your notes to class to get the conversation going. Reading responses are not mere summaries nor reviews – I don’t care if you enjoyed the reading or if you were annoyed by the tone of the writer.<\/p>\n

Assignments:<\/strong>\u00a0the assignments are related to the readings and should be executed after them.<\/p>\n

Social media:<\/strong>\u00a0this course meet in short sessions, you can survive without social media or email.<\/p>\n

SCHEDULE<\/h1>\n

Week by week plan. It’s still in progress, units may shift and change.<\/p>\n

Games and Play<\/h3>\n

\"games-play\"<\/p>\n

Homo Ludens<\/span><\/i> for the People by Mattie Brice
\n<\/span>Play and Ambiguity<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>The Ambiguity of Play<\/span><\/i> by Brian Sutton-Smith
\n<\/span>Hearts and Minds<\/span><\/i> GDC keynote by Frank Lantz<\/span><\/p>\n

Activity:<\/b> Roger Caillois\u2019 elements of play workshop<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> Find three artifacts (newspaper articles, news reports, academic talks, scholarly publications, advertisements etc) that embody, or relate to, three different rhetorics described by Brian Sutton-Smith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Games as Culture<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-culture\"<\/p>\n

Board Games<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Critical Play<\/span><\/i> by Mary Flanagan
\n<\/span>Why Did Ancient Egypt Spent 3000 Years Playing a Game Nobody Else Liked<\/span><\/i>? by Christian Donlan
\n<\/span>Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight<\/span><\/i> by Clifford Geertz<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> Research a non-digital game, a sport, or a form of play and present it in relationship with the cultural context that generated it. It must be pre-20th century. Format: 20×20 Pecha Kucha slide presentation. Groups of 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

Games as systems<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-systems\"<\/p>\n

Games as Emergent Systems<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Games as Cybernetic Systems<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Rules of play <\/span><\/i>by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
\n<\/span>Places to Intervene in a System<\/span><\/i> by Donella H. Meadows
\n<\/span>Allegories of Control<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture<\/span><\/i> by Alexander Galloway,<\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/b> SimCities and Sim Crises<\/span><\/p>\n

Activity:<\/b> The Fishing Game<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignments:\u00a0<\/b>Analyze a real world system according to Meadows\u2019 basic framework.
\n<\/span>Perform a systemic\/cybernetic analysis of a game, identifying feedback loops, and discuss how they affect the experience of the game.
\n<\/span>Expand a reference from Galloway. <\/span><\/p>\n

Games as technology<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-technology\"<\/p>\n

Spacewar, Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums<\/span><\/i> by Stewart Brand
\n<\/span>Analog (on Katamari Damacy)<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Gamer Theory<\/span><\/i> by McKenzie Wark
\n<\/span>Videogames are disappearing<\/span><\/i> from B<\/span>est Before: videogames, supersession and obsolescence <\/span><\/i>by James Newman<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> find an obscure, possibly overlooked game from the \u201870s or \u201880s, and make a video analysis (critical let\u2019s play).<\/span><\/p>\n

Feb 13 – Feb 15<\/span>
\n<\/span>Paolo is away
\n<\/span>Screening: <\/b>King of Kong
\n<\/span>Screening:<\/b> Indie Game: The Movie<\/span><\/p>\n

Games as Industry<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-industry\"<\/p>\n

Immaterial Labor<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Games of the Empire <\/span><\/i>by<\/span> Nick Dyer-Witheford
\n<\/span>Welcome to the Club <\/span><\/i>by Anne Krueger
\n<\/span>You Can Sleep Here All Night: Video Games and Labor<\/span><\/i>, Ian Williams
\n<\/span>The problem with videogames<\/span><\/i> by Anna Anthropy<\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/b> Indie revolution and Indiepocalypse<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> find an obscure, possibly overlooked, independent game from the last 10 years, and write a short piece of game criticism around it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Games and addiction<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-addiction\"<\/p>\n

Mapping the Machine Zone<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Addiction by Design<\/span><\/i> by Natasha Dow Sch\u00fcll
\n<\/span>Chasing the Whale: Examining the ethics of free-to-play games <\/span><\/i>by Mike Rose
\n<\/span>Loot Boxes Are Designed To Exploit Us<\/span><\/i> by Heather Alexandra<\/span><\/p>\n

Activity:<\/b> visit to the Rivers Casino TBD<\/span><\/p>\n

Debate:<\/b> gambling, free to play, loot boxes: moral panic or not? You\u2019ll be divided in two groups (you might end up arguing a position you do not personally agree with).<\/span><\/p>\n

Games as Spectacle<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-spectacle\"<\/p>\n

Jocks <\/i>Without<\/i> Borders<\/i>\u00a0by\u00a0Vickie Osterweil
\nAt Play on the Field of Ghosts\u00a0<\/i>by\u00a0James Bridle
\nCam Girls who stream on Twitch<\/i>\u00a0by Merritt Kopas<\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> in teams of 3, become spectators of a game you are not already intimately familiar with, try to understand it deeply and prepare a quick guide for its appreciation (any format is allowed).<\/span><\/p>\n

Games and Metagames<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"subversive-play\"<\/p>\n

About, Within, Around, Without, A Survey of Six Metagames<\/span><\/i> from <\/span>Metagaming <\/span><\/i>by Stephanie Boluk and Patrick Lemieux<\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/b> Subversive Play <\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment:<\/b> Critical play: mis-play a game of your choice by acting against the intention of the designer or by exploring\/exploiting the limits of its system. Try to achieve an aesthetic goal or provide insights on the game itself. Any documentation format is allowed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Games and Escapism<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-escapism\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Time For a New Kind of Power Fantasy<\/span><\/i> by Leigh Alexander
\n<\/span>The Digital Ruins of a Forgotten Future<\/span><\/i> by Leslie Jamison
\n<\/span>Voyeur Reality<\/span><\/i> by Kathryn Hamilton<\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/b> Stranger Playthings – Virtual Reality and counterculture<\/span><\/p>\n

Games as art<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-art\"<\/p>\n

The Secret (Art) History of Games <\/span><\/i>by<\/span> John Sharp
\n<\/span>One Falls for Each of Us: The Prototyping of Tragedy <\/span><\/i>by<\/span> Brenda Romero
\n<\/span>Cuphead and the Racist Spectre of Fleischer Animation <\/span><\/i>by Yussef Cole
\n<\/span>Proteus: A Trio of Artisanal Game Reviews <\/span><\/i>by<\/span> Ian Bogost<\/span><\/p>\n

Debate:<\/b> Are games art, and how so? You\u2019ll be divided in two groups (you might end up arguing a position you do not personally agree with).<\/span><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/b> The Great Art Upgrade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Assignment: <\/b>Imaginary curator. Select some games or playable artifacts to exhibit in a hypothetical show, write a curatorial statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Games and social change<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-social-change\"<\/p>\n

Gaming can make a better world<\/span><\/i>, TED talk by Jane McGonigal
\n<\/span>Apocalypse postponed. Discourses on video games from noxious objects to redemptive devices by <\/span><\/i>Marco Benoit Carbone, Paolo Ruffino
\n<\/span>Gaming the System: The Political Potential of Play<\/span><\/i> by Colleen Macklin<\/span><\/p>\n

Game Futures<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"games-future\"<\/p>\n

Manifesto: The 21st Century Will Be Defined By Games <\/span><\/i>by Eric Zimmerman & Heather Chaplin
\n<\/span>Slouching Toward Relevant Video Games<\/span><\/i> by Brie Code
\n<\/span>The Natural: The Trouble Portraying Blackness in Video Games<\/span><\/i> by Evan Narcisse
\n<\/span>Queering human game relations<\/span><\/i> by Merritt Kopas, Naomi Clark<\/span><\/p>\n

Final project:<\/b> video essay. It can be nonfiction, creative, performative (a recording of a talk or a machinima), confessional etc… as long as it\u2019s informed by rigorous research.<\/span><\/p>\n

Screening\/references:
\n<\/span>The Unbearable Now: An Interpretation of The Witness<\/span><\/i> by Electron Dance
\n<\/span>Everything But the Clouds<\/span><\/i> by Patrick Lemieux
\n<\/span>Goodbye Uncanny Valley<\/span><\/i> by Alan Warburton
\n<\/span>Who gets to be a Civilization <\/span><\/i>by Kyle Kallgren
\n<\/span>Feminist Frequency, Tropes vs. Women in Video Games<\/span><\/i> by Anita Sarkeesian
\n<\/span>Native Representations in Video Games<\/span><\/i> by Elizabeth LaPens\u00e9e
\n<\/span>The Council on Gender Sensitivity and Behavioral Awareness in World of Warcraft<\/span><\/i> by Angela Washko
\n<\/span>Vanishing Point: a Visual Essay<\/span><\/i> by Zoya Street
\n<\/span>Music Object, Substance, Organism <\/span><\/i>by David Kanaga
\nGame Maker’s Toolkit Series<\/em>\u00a0by Mark Brown<\/span><\/p>\n

GRADING<\/h1>\n

30%\u00a0Assignments
\n10% Written readings responses
\n30%\u00a0Class discussion
\n30%\u00a0Final project<\/p>\n

POLICIES<\/h1>\n

* Attendance: three or more unexcused absences result in the drop of a letter grade.<\/p>\n

* Absences: you are responsible for what happens in class whether you\u2019re here or not. Organize with your classmates to get class information and material that you have missed.<\/p>\n

* Participation: you are invited, encouraged, and expected to engage actively in discussion, reflection and activities.<\/p>\n

* Assignments: late assignments are only accepted with permission of instructor. You lose 10% of your points per day late up to a max of 7 days late.<\/p>\n

* Tardiness: 1st tardy = free.
\nLess than 10 minutes late = 1% grade reduction.
\nOver 20 minutes late = absence (unless justified).<\/p>\n

INCLUSIVITY STATEMENT<\/h1>\n

It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. It is my intent to present activities that accommodate and value a diversity of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture.
\nI will gladly honor your request to address you by your preferred name and gender pronoun. I commit to make individual arrangements to address disabilities or religious needs (e.g. religious events in conflict with class meetings). Please advise me of these preferences and needs early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my plans and records.
\nDebate and free exchange of ideas is encouraged but I will not tolerate harassment, i.e. a pattern of behavior directed against a particular individual with the intent of humiliating or intimidating.<\/p>\n

CONTENT\/TRIGGER WARNINGS<\/h1>\n

Being in an art school, you should expect to be exposed to content that challenges your moral, ethical, and aesthetic values. In case of extremely graphic content I will warn the class in advance, but if you have a history of PTSD please let me know privately if there are types of content that are known to act as trauma triggers for you.<\/p>\n

STRESS CULTURE<\/h1>\n

Collaborative work and projects also fulfilling other classes’ requirements are encouraged as long as it makes sense, and the other professors agree.<\/p>\n

Official university language:<\/em>\u00a0Take care of yourself. Do your best to maintain a healthy lifestyle this semester by eating well, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol, getting enough sleep and taking some time to relax. This will help you achieve your goals and cope with stress.<\/p>\n

All of us benefit from support during times of struggle. You are not alone. There are many helpful resources available on campus and an important part of the college experience is learning how to ask for help. Asking for support sooner rather than later is often helpful.<\/p>\n

If you or anyone you know experiences any academic stress, difficult life events, or feelings like anxiety or depression, we strongly encourage you to seek support. Counseling and Psychological Services (CaPS) is here to help: call 412-268-2922 and visit their website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.cmu.edu\/counseling\/<\/a>. Consider reaching out to a friend, faculty or family member you trust for help getting connected to the support that can help.<\/p>\n

DISABILITY ACCOMODATIONS<\/h1>\n

If you have a disability and require accommodations, please\u00a0email Catherine Getchell<\/a>, Director of the Office of Disability Resources\u00a0or call her office at\u00a0412-268-6121<\/a>. If you have an accommodations letter from the Office of Disability Resources office, I encourage you to discuss your accommodations and needs with me as early in the semester as possible. I will work with you to ensure that accommodations are provided as appropriate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spring 2018 Professor: Paolo Pedercini Course number: 60359 –\u00a0Carnegie Mellon University \u2013 School of Art Classroom: CFA 303 Time:\u00a0 Tuesday & Thursday 9:30AM – 11:20AM CFA 303 Office: CFA 419A \u2013 4th Floor Office hours: By appointment Email address: paolop [at] andrew [dot] cmu [dot] edu This hybrid seminar course combines games studies, game criticism, … Continue reading “Syllabus”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycours.es\/playfultheory2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}