Difference between revisions of "Syllabus"

From Big Urban Games
Jump to: navigation, search
(Class 6 (4/16/2007))
(Class 1 (3/5/2007))
Line 38: Line 38:
  
 
*'''Gabe Lloyd'''
 
*'''Gabe Lloyd'''
**[http://diametrik.net/BUG/assignments/gabe/NROG.pdf 'Scrundle']
+
**[http://diametrik.net/BUG/assignments/gabe/NROG.pdf 'GEMDAS']
  
  

Revision as of 05:09, 4 May 2007

Class 1 (3/5/2007)

In class

  • Introduction
    • workshop format: syllabus overview
    • info-sharing and communication tools: wiki, listserv, del.icio.us
  • Why BUGs?
  • Presentation of BUG case studies
    • Big Urban Game, PacManhattan, Conqwest, Superstar Tokyo, Mogi-Mogi, Cruel 2 B Kind, Identity, Uncle Roy All Around You
    • game context (what occasion, what location)
    • gameplay (rules, who played, objective)
    • implementation (technology, infrastructure, additional components)


Assignments

1. GAME 1: NROG (New Rules, Old Games)

Ghettopoly.jpg

  • Quick one-page analysis of the existing game vis-a-vis its
    • Rules - What are the rules? What components (game board, pieces) are used?
    • Gameplay - How do you play it? What are you supposed to do? What types of strategies, offensive/defensive/etc., are developed?
    • Experience - What do you feel playing it? Does it encourage conflict/tension? Or cooperation? Why is the game fun (or not)? What are key dramatic, pivotal moments in the game?
  • Create a new game based on the existing game
    • How are the above criteria altered after your intervention?
  • Prepare a short presentation that includes
    • your analyses of the new game you've created
    • a concise, one-page documentation of your NROG (see examples)
    • be prepared to play the game in the following class (we'll set aside 20 minutes for presentation and play).



Resources

  • Rules of Play, Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
    • Ironclad (p. 286-297), commissioned game by Frank Lantz
    • Chapter 9: The Magic Circle, p.93-99
  • General Suggested Reading/Reference:
    • Unit 1: Core Concepts, pp.28-105
    • Unit 2: Rules, pp.116-285
    • Unit 3: Play, pp.298-487
  • New Rules for Classic Games, R. Wayne Schmittberger
    • Chess remixes, p.185
    • Go remixes, p.58
    • Scrabble remixes, p.87
    • Chinese Checkers remixes, p.8
    • Risk remixes, p.48

Class 2 (3/19/2007)

In class

  • Recap of Class 1
  • Play / critique NROGs
  • Discussion of Urban Site Analysis
  • Discussion of GAME 2: SSUG (small somewhat urban game)


Assignments

URBAN ANALYSIS

Situationists nakedcity.jpg

  • Each group will pick a urban feature of New York to analyze
  • Scale of the 'site' can vary: a particular block, blocks, landmark, neighborhood, street, one borough, all five boroughs, etc.
  • Focus on a set of salient data points of your site, for example:
    • S (block): location of mailboxes or phone booths, pedestrian behavior, traffic patterns
    • M (neighborhood): arrangement of streets, deployment of bldg numbers, building heights
    • L (Manhattan): locations of Starbucks, a particular subway line, real estate values, zoning patterns
    • XL (metropolitan New York): MTA subway routes, interborough traffic patterns, borough/ethnic identities, zip codes
  • Record/map/examine the the data you find: How does the urban infrastructure influence behavior around the site? What dynamic systems (rules, forces, and movement patterns) are at work? How is your site physically defined?
  • Diagram and record this information into a single drawing or physical model
    • documentation should be abstract and diagrammatic
    • this will be presented in class 3

Resources

  • The Good Life, roundtable discussions
    • 'The Fun City,' p.49
    • 'The Connected City,' p.65

Class 3 (3/26/2007)

In class

  • Technology / media survey presentation
    • tools, the state of the art
    • techniques
    • GPS, ubiquitous computing, mobile tech, open mapping protocols (google/yahoo maps)
  • Presentation of Urban Site Analysis


Assignments

  • GAME 2: BUG (big urban game)
  • Create a game by distilling the Urban Site Analysis into a gamespace
    • design a game around what you have examined during your site analysis, using scale, data points, dynamic systems as gameplay elements
  • Prototype
    • outline the gameplay using symbolic pieces for players and for key urban elements used in the game
    • to the greatest extent possible, test the gameplay out on the gameboard
  • prepare a basic Design Brief for the incomplete game for presentation
    • take a look at Tom Sloper's template here for a general basis.



Resources

  • On-line listings and resources (as collected in our wiki's Readings and Resources section)
  • Rules of Play, Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
    • (if you haven't already read this ...) Ironclad (p. 286-297), commissioned game by Frank Lantz
  • General Suggested Reading/Reference:
    • Unit 1: Core Concepts, pp.28-105
    • Unit 2: Rules, pp.116-285
    • Unit 3: Play, pp.298-487
  • The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, Salen and Zimmerman, eds.
    • Tools for Creating Dramatic Game Dynamics (pp.438-459), Marc Leblanc
    • Game Design as Narrative Architecture (pp.670-689), Henry Jenkins

Class 4 (4/2/2007)

In class

  • Guest presentation: Frank Lantz

"Play/critique/evaluate BUGs

Assignments

  • Continue to design / develop / playtest / refine BUG

Resources

Class 5 (4/9/2007)

In class

  • Guest presentation: Carlos Gomez de Llarenna, architect, new media artist, and co-creator of Node-Runner, a BUG based around open wifi networks in the city.
  • Play/critique/evaluate BUGs

Assignments

  • Continue to design / develop / playtest / refine BUG

Resources

Class 6 (4/16/2007)

In class

Assignments

  • Continue to design / develop / playtest / refine BUG
  • Discuss Final Review: present or play BUGs? Played by class, or members of GSAPP?

Resources

Final Review (TBD)