Concepts in Game Studies/COM265

Concepts in Game Studies/COM265 Meets 3:30p-4:45p, Mondays and Wednesdays in LT209 Professor Brett Phares, LT136A Contact: Brett.Phares@marist.edu Office Hours: M and TH 11a-12p, 2-3p; W 2:30-3:30p Delicious bookmarks Overview This course examines the emergence and development of the digital game as a major force in 21st century media. The course will focus on diverse areas including the historical, cultural and social impact of digital games, technical aspects of game design and production, and business aspects of the digital game industry. While students will play digital games, the course will emphasize the analysis, interpretation and production of digital games. Different tools will be used to create an environment that will help students to see what goes into game development, why some games are published, what the survival rate is of a title and of a career. For grading, see Assessment. Learning Outcomes In this course, students will: 1.Learn about the history of digital games and the workings of the digital game industry. 2.Become familiar with theories and approaches to the understanding and interpretation of digital games. 3.Become conversant with the debates surrounding digital games. 4.Apply media theories to digital game production and play. 5.Develop critical and technical skills in the evaluation and production of digital games. 6.To gain appreciation of digital games as an expressive and communicative medium; to move beyond play towards literacy. Required Text Understanding Video Games: The Essential Introduction (Paperback), by Simon Egenfeldt-Nielson (Author), Jonas Heide Smith (Author), Susana Pajares Tosca (Author), Routledge; 2008 [UVG] Nintendo Wii Flash Game Creator's Guide, by Todd Perkins, McGrawHill, 2008 [Wii] An account at ning.com; for secondary backup, use iLearn's Drop Box and/or USB 2.0 Flash Drive, min. 1GB. or DVD-RW All weekly activity will follow the same general plan Students will start each week with lecture and discussion on different aspects of digital games; students may present a game genre, students will play the title and then enter their experiences into their Tumblr blog [blog]. The second half of the week students will work on the practical side of game studies, learning different software applications to create and modify digital assets (images, 3D models, animation and sound), and gain experience in the pre-production process of game development, in generating ideas, storyboarding, and prototyping game ideas. Schedule, see above First class: Introductions, class rules and goals Our compulsion: Why do we play games? Account creation at ning.com, gametap.com, igda.org and GameCareerGuide.com Read Chapter 1 “Studying video games” UVG and Chapter 1 “Flash Fundamentals” and complete all exercises and post to Drop Box in ilearn; top five games. Other resources Chapter 1 from Unit Analysis by Ian Bogost PDF “Theory of Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi	blogs Tim Ian John Keith Jim Nick Interview 2007 with John Zurhellen from Rockstar

Concepts in Game Studies/COM265
Meets 3:30p-4:45p, Mondays and Wednesdays in LT209

Professor Brett Phares, LT136A
Contact: Brett.Phares@marist.edu
Office Hours: M and TH 11a-12p, 2-3p; W 2:30-3:30p
Delicious bookmarks

Overview
This course examines the emergence and development of the digital game as a major force in 21st century media. The course will focus on diverse areas including the historical, cultural and social impact of digital games, technical aspects of game design and production, and business aspects of the digital game industry. While students will play digital games, the course will emphasize the analysis, interpretation and production of digital games. Different tools will be used to create an environment that will help students to see what goes into game development, why some games are published, what the survival rate is of a title and of a career. For grading, see Assessment.

Learning Outcomes
In this course, students will:
1.Learn about the history of digital games and the workings of the digital game industry.
2.Become familiar with theories and approaches to the understanding and interpretation of digital games.
3.Become conversant with the debates surrounding digital games.
4.Apply media theories to digital game production and play.
5.Develop critical and technical skills in the evaluation and production of digital games.
6.To gain appreciation of digital games as an expressive and communicative medium; to move beyond play towards literacy.

Required Text
Understanding Video Games: The Essential Introduction (Paperback), by Simon Egenfeldt-Nielson (Author), Jonas Heide Smith (Author), Susana Pajares Tosca (Author), Routledge; 2008 [UVG]

Nintendo Wii Flash Game Creator's Guide, by Todd Perkins, McGrawHill, 2008 [Wii]

An account at ning.com; for secondary backup, use iLearn's Drop Box and/or USB 2.0 Flash Drive, min. 1GB. or DVD-RW

All weekly activity will follow the same general plan
Students will start each week with lecture and discussion on different aspects of digital games; students may present a game genre, students will play the title and then enter their experiences into their Tumblr blog [blog]. The second half of the week students will work on the practical side of game studies, learning different software applications to create and modify digital assets (images, 3D models, animation and sound), and gain experience in the pre-production process of game development, in generating ideas, storyboarding, and prototyping game ideas.

Schedule, see above
First class: Introductions, class rules and goals
Our compulsion: Why do we play games?
Account creation at ning.com, gametap.com, igda.org and GameCareerGuide.com
Read Chapter 1 “Studying video games” UVG and Chapter 1 “Flash Fundamentals” and complete all exercises and post to Drop Box in ilearn; top five games.

Other resources
Chapter 1 from Unit Analysis by Ian Bogost PDF
“Theory of Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

blogs
Tim
Ian
John
Keith
Jim
Nick

Interview 2007 with John Zurhellen from Rockstar