RTF 331P Syllabus: Video Game Culture + Criticism (Spring 2017)

Tuesday/Thursday, 9:30-11:00 am (BMC 3.206)

Professor: Dr. Suzanne Scott • suzanne.scott@utexas.edu • @iheartfatapolloOffice hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30am-1pm in CMA 5.144 or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Morgan O’Brien • morgancobrien@utexas.edu • Meetings by appointment

Course blog: https://rtf331spring2017.wordpress.com/Course twitter hashtag: #RTFgames

COURSE DESCRIPTION:Games have always been an integral part of our culture, and studies of culture have long been fascinated by our propensity for play. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the inception of the video game industry and arcade culture, this course is centrally concerned with identifying the pleasures of play and engaging with the cultural and academic discourses and debates that surround video games and game culture. While video games have proven themselves as a dominant industrial force within over the past decade, the stigmas and social anxieties that circulate around video games persist. Consequently, one of the primary goals of this course is for students to both become conversant in these critiques and proficient in speaking back to them, acquiring the vocabulary to discuss and analyze the rules that govern our engagement with video games, and our experiences playing them. To this end, in addition to discussing video game aesthetics and mechanics, we will have themed weeks on war and gaming, gender and gaming, and game-based learning. In addition to course assignments analyzing gameplay and considering the representation of video games in film and television, students will be required to collaboratively design and theorize a game as their final project. No player or programming skill set is required for this project, just a willingness to learn through (and about) video games.

COURSE GOALS: To become conversant in the core theoretical concerns of video game studies To develop skills in analyzing interactivity and play To consider how our cultural understanding of video games is shaped by media

representations To collaboratively design a game that mobilizes course concepts and critically engages

game culture

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:Details on all your course assignments, including instruction handouts, submission guidelines, and due dates, can be found under the “Assignments” tab of our course blog, and are also linked under the “Assignments” tab of our course’s Canvas site. I would encourage (nay, insist) that you plug all these due dates into your personal calendars now, to help manage your workflow. In addition to their readings and assignments, students should be expected to spend at least 1 hour per week playing assigned games for the course.

Your final grade for the course will consist of five elements/assignments, enumerated below:First, your attendance and active participation (10%) is central to the class’ success and to your success in the class. If you have a legitimate reason for missing class (e.g. religious holiday, illness, family emergency), please email the TA with as much advance warning as possible. Time will be allotted to discuss your response to the readings and games, but you’re encouraged to post any additional material you come across that you think might be relevant to the class (blog posts, videos, articles, etc.) to our course blog. This will earn you participation credit, so it’s a good option if you’re not comfortable speaking up in class. You can also send me comments and links via Twitter @iheartfatapollo, using our course hashtag (#RTFgames).

You will be tested on the course materials (including readings, lectures, and gameplay) once during the semester. This Exam (20%) will cover content from weeks 1-11, and will be comprised of short identifications and essay questions. In addition to the exam, you have three major assignments: a series of play journal blog posts (you will select 4 of 5 options, each post is worth 5% each, for 20% total and because this is a writing flag course, you will have the option to rewrite ONE of these posts), a 5-7pg paper analyzing the representation of video games in other media forms, such as film and television based on a list of options provided to you (20%), and a group game design project (30%) which will involve collaboratively prototyping and presenting a game to critically engage some component of game culture or design, and authoring a design document. More detailed instructions for all of these assignments are available on our course blog and in Canvas.

All assignments must be handed in on time, and turning in assignments late will be detrimental to your grade. For each week an assignment is late, you will be docked one full letter grade. All assignments must be completed to pass the course. Exceptions will be made and extensions will be given only for medical or family emergencies (provided you can offer documentation).

Grading breakdown: Attendance/Participation = 10%Play Journal = 20%Representation Paper = 20%Exam = 20%Game Design (Group) = 30%

Grading Scale: A = 100-94 A- = 90-93 B+ = 87-89 B = 84-86 B- = 80-83C+ = 77-79 C = 74-76 C- = 70-73 D = 60-69 F = 0-59

REQUIRED READINGS: Readings are listed below on the course schedule; assigned chapters and articles are to be read before class, and you should be prepared to discuss them and pose relevant questions. The weekly readings are available in our course text (see below), on the course’s Canvas site, under “Files” OR will be linked directly through the syllabus. You can download and print out each article at your convenience, along with other course documents. PLEASE NOTE: Online/linked readings will NOT appear on Canvas, so double check the syllabus each week to ensure you’re completing all of the readings. We have one require book for this course, which is available at the bookstore:

Tracy Fullerton, Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (3rd Edition). CRC Press, 2014.

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PLAY REQUIREMENT:In addition to your readings, many weeks of this course also require 1 hour of play, to be completed BEFORE you arrive in class that week. Some weeks, the entire class will play the same game, and in others you will get to select a game to play from the list provided. Games marked with a * can be checked out from Prof. Scott, and I have an Xbox 360 and PS3 that can be reserved for play in my office by appointment. System information is provided for all other games. I have endeavored to select a range of games that you can get a good sense of in a short interval of play (hence no Mass Effect, for example, which requires a lengthy avatar set-up), and have tried to keep costs to a minimum for students. Please see me during office hours if you have any concerns about this component of the course.

WRITING FLAG:This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HONOR CODE:The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.

SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY:The University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonest damages both the student’s learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work-career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. For more information on scholastic dishonesty, please visit the Student Judicial services Web site at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week 1 • Introduction to the Course + Arcade CultureTuesday, 1/17 Course Overview + Cohort IntroductionsThursday, 1/19 From Arcades to ConsolesRead: - Richard Rouse III, “Game Analysis: Centipede”Play: - Any classic arcade game listed on the course blog (see play journal #1)Due: - Play journal #1 [due 1/22 by 8pm]

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Week 2 • PlayTuesday, 1/22: Work/PlayRead: - Johan Huizinga, “Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural

Phenomenon”

Thursday, 1/26: PlayersRead: - Fullerton, pgs. 55-71Play: Papers, Please (Steam)Due: - Play journal #2 [due 1/29 by 8pm]

Week 3 • Rules + MechanicsTuesday, 1/31: Rules Read: - Fullerton, pgs. 72-90

Thursday, 2/2: MechanicsRead: - Miguel Sicart, “Defining Game Mechanics”Play: One of the following: Portal 2*, Street Fighter IV*, Braid (Steam), VVVVVV

(Steam), Limbo (Steam).Due: - Play journal #3 [due 2/5 by 8pm]

Week 4 • AestheticsTuesday, 2/7: Game Sound (Possible Guest Speaker, Journey composer Austin Wintory)Read: - Karen Collins, “Gameplay, Genre and the Functions of Game Audio”

- Interview with Austin Wintory

Thursday, 2/9: The Poetics of PlayRead: - Simon Niedenthal, "What we talk about when we talk about game

aesthetics" Play: Journey* Due: - Play journal #4 [due 2/12 by 8pm]

Week 5 • Ludology vs. NarratologyTuesday, 2/14: Environmental StorytellingRead: - Gordon Calleja, “Experiential Narrative in Game Environments”

- Fullerton, pgs. 105-120

Thursday, 2/16: Transmedia SupersystemsRead: - Henry Jenkins, “Game Design as Narrative Architecture”Play: One of the following: Bioshock*, South Park: The Stick of Truth*, L.A.

Noire*, The Last of Us*, The Walking Dead*, Kingdom Hearts*, Red Dead Redemption*, Gone Home (Steam), Her Story (Steam), Firewatch (Steam)

Due: - Play journal #5 [due 2/19 by 8pm]

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Week 6 • Pervasive Games and VR TechnologiesTuesday, 2/21: Pervasive Games & ARGsRead: - Markus Montola, “Games and Pervasive Games”

Thursday, 2/23: VR and Augmented Reality GamesRead: - Yuri Antonio Gonçalves Vilas Boas, “Overview of Virtual Reality

Technologies”

Week 7 • Casual and Serious Games Tuesday, 2/28: Casual and Social GamesRead: - Jesper Juul, “A Casual Revolution”

- Ian Bogost, “Cow Clicker: The Making of an Obsession”

Thursday, 3/2: Serious Games, Persuasive Games, and GamificationRead: - Ian Bogost, “Procedural Rhetoric”Play: Kim Kardashian Hollywood (iPhone/iPad or Android phone/tablet)

Week 8 • MMORPGs Tuesday, 3/7: MMORPGs and Virtual WorldsRead: - T.L. Taylor, “Gaming Lifeworlds: Social Play in Persistent

Environments” - Edward Castronova, “Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and

Society on the Cyberian Frontier”

Thursday, 3/9: Screening: The Guild Due: Video Game Representation Paper [3/10 by 10pm]

Week 9 • Spring Break (No Class)Tuesday, 3/14Thursday, 3/16

Week 10 • Video Game Spectatorship Tuesday, 3/21: Game commentators and/as celebritiesRead: - Esther McCallum-Stewart, “Diggy Holes and Jaffa Cakes: The rise of the

elite fanproducer in video-gaming culture”- Danny Wadeson, “Gamertube: Pewdiepie and the YouTube Commentary Revolution”

Thursday, 3/23: Video game spectatorship (Guest lecture: Morgan O’Brien)Read: - Gifford Cheung and Jeff Huang, “Starcraft from the Stands: Understanding

the Game Spectator” - Kyle Orland, “Twitch Plays Everything: How Livestreaming is Changing Game Design”

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Week 11 • Gender + Gaming Tuesday, 3/28: Tropes vs. Women: (Re)considering RepresentationRead: - Helen W. Kennedy, “Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo? On the

Limits of Textual Analysis” - Jennifer deWinter and Carly Kocurek, “Rescuing Anita: Games, Gamers, and the Battle of the Sexes”

Thursday, 3/30: Game Culture and #gamergateRead: - Mia Consalvo, “Confronting Toxic Gamer Culture: A Challenge for

Feminist Game Scholars”

Week 12 • War/Games + Exam Tuesday, 4/4: War Games, Virtual Torture, and the War on TerrorRead: - Marcus Schulzke, “The Virtual War on Terror: Counterterrorism Narratives

in Video Games”

Thursday, 4/6: ExamDue: - Sign up for game design groups via googledoc [4/9 by 8pm] NOTE: If you do not sign up for a group you will be assigned to one

Week 13 • Game Design (Unit I)Tuesday, 4/11: The Role of the Game Designer [Guest: Paul Toprac, GAMMA Program]Read: - Fullerton, chapter 1 “The Role of the Game Designer”

Thursday, 4/13: The Design Document Read: - Fullerton, chapter 14 “Communicating Your Designs” Due: - Co-Authored Game Pitch to blog [4/14 by 8pm]

Week 14 • Game Design (Unit II)Tuesday, 4/18: Conceptualization and DevelopmentRead: - Fullerton, chapter 6 “Conceptualization”

- Fullerton, chapter 13, “Stages and Methods of Development”

Thursday, 4/20: Prototyping Read: - Fullerton, chapter 7 “Prototyping” Due: Sign up for presentation date via googledoc [4/20 by 8pm]

Week 15 • Game Design (Unit III) Tuesday, 4/25: PlaytestingRead: - Fullerton, chapter 9 “Playtesting”

Thursday, 4/27: Fun and Accessibility (with a side of criticism)Read: - Fullerton, chapter 11 “Fun and Accessibility”

Week 16 • Group Game Project PresentationsTuesday, 5/2: Game Presentations (Group 1)

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Thursday, 5/4: Game Presentations (Group 2) Due: PDF of Design Documents and contributor statements [5/7 by 10pm]

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