IMS 445, August 29th

TODAY1. Icebreaker2. Syllabus– any questions?3. Reminders of things you need to do4. Fantasy Football and a Game of Tweets5. Major assignment 1: Skill Set Portfolio6. Discussion and activity: Ludology and

Narratology7. Homework

Every day for the first few weeks, we will do an icebreaker to start class and help us to get to know each other. Today’s question is an easy one: who is your favorite video game character and why?

SyllabusYou should have read over the syllabus and all of the course activities for today. So this is just a slide to hold the screen while I ask if you have questions and we address them.

So… any questions? Don’t be shy!

Reminders. For this week, you need to:1)Play Pacman, Donkey Kong, and one other game2)Write your Google+ post about playing those games3)Write your two Tumblr posts4)Set your fantasy football draft order

Skill Set PortfolioI want to now discuss your skill set portfolio assignment. I’m going to alt-tab over to the website and display the assignment while we talk about it.

Alt-tab time!

For today, I had you read an article by Gonzolo Frasca. For those of you with a game studies background, the material was probably review, but if you are new to it, one of the key things you need to know about the landscape of game theory (at least as relates to video games) is the split between narratology and ludology.

Narratology A narrative perspective of gaming expects a narrative structure (linear, story-based) akin to a novel. Think of a game like Final Fantasy 7, where there are characters with developed stories, cut-scenes, and while there is some flexibility in some cases, there is an actual narrative arc. The game begins and ends because of a story.

Ludology embraces games as rule-sets. A ludus has a set of rules, and that defines how the game works. For example, you cannot move a knight on a chess board diagonally because the ludus has already dictated that it moves in that “L” shape.

Activity Pair up, or form groups of 3. In your groups, I want you to construct four paragraph-or-less definitions. In your words:1) A game, from the perspective of a narratologist2) A game, from the perspective of a ludologist3) A game, if we make them compromise and work together4) A game, in your group’s words

Email me your responses: alexanp3

With our remaining time, are there any questions?

Remember your play activity, your tumblrs, and the fantasy football stuff.

HomeworkFor next week, read: “The Game, the player, the world” by Jesper Juuland“Good Games, Good Learning” by James Paul GeeStart work on your skill portfolios.

See you Tuesday!