Video Games as Virtual Realities
Admission Ticket: Week 2 ISP 101, Prof. Robin Burke Winter 2005 Due: 1/12
Objective: Experience state-of-the-art computer graphics and interactivity for the consumer market. What to do: Read the first four chapters of Essential Virtual Reality Fast. Select one of the first-person action computer games listed below, and play the game for at least one hour in the CTI Game Lab (Room 707). (You may also play at home if you have the requisite hardware and software, but for PC games, you should have a high-end graphics card.) Write a two-page (300-500 word) reaction paper describing the game as a virtual reality experience. o What VR technologies (as defined in the text) did the game employ? o Did you feel a sense of immersion being "in" the game world? o How interactive was the experience could you do the things that you wanted to do in the game world? Did you find the controls easy or difficult to use? o How "real" was the game world? Did the objects and characters (including your own avatar) move and react in expected ways?
Discussion Leader: In addition to the readings above, read Hecker, C. "Physics in Computer Games" Communications of the ACM, 43 (7). Link available from the course web site. What to turn in: Turn in a hard copy of your admission ticket at the beginning of class on 1/12.
Games: All available in the CTI Game Lab (Room 707). For lab hours, see http://defrag.depaul.edu/. Bring your DePaul ID. America's Army Battlefield 1942 & The Road to Rome Contra Shattered Soldier Doom 3 Half-Life Half-Life 2 Halo Halo 2 Star Trek: Elite Force Star Trek: Elite Force 2 Tribes Tribes 2 Tron 2 Unreal Tournament 2004 Wolfenstein Enemy Territory XIII PC PC PS/2 PC PC PC XBOX XBOX PC PC PC PC PC PC PC XBOX

GAM 224 Strategies in Game Design
Mondays 5:45-9:00 Room: TBA Professor Robin Burke Office: CS&T 453 Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00-4:00 pm and by appointment Phone: 312-362-5910 Email (preferred): rburke@cs.depaul.edu

Description

This course approaches the study of computer games from three angles: first, as examples of media that can be analyzed and critiqued for their thematic elements, formal structure, plot and interactive appreciation; second, as complex software artifacts subject to technological constraints and the product of a laborintensive design and implementation process; and three as a cultural artifact with behaviors and associations comparable in import to other popular art forms. Student will study the principles of game design and use them both to analyze existing games and to develop their own original game ideas. Students will also learn about the process of game development, starting from the game's narrative concept and moving to consideration of a game's components: the representation of the player, of artifacts, the virtual world that contains them and the interaction between them and the player.

Prerequisites

Course Text
Rouse, R. Game Design: Theory and Practice. Wordware Publishing. 2001. Other readings handed out in class or available on-line

Other requirements

Students may need a memory card or other storage media for their game analysis project.

Resources

Students in the class will have access to the CTI Computer Game Lab. Some assignments will require that student use specific games available in this lab. Students performing assignments will have priority for the use of the lab, except during "development team" hours. See http://www.defragdepaul.edu/ for information on lab times. Please remember that the lab is staffed by volunteers be understanding. You will be required to give provide your student ID when checking out game hardware and/or software. The course web site will be an important resource for all aspects of the course: http://josquin.cti.depaul.edu/~rburke/courses/w05/gam224/ The schedule listed below may change during the quarter: the web site will contain the most up-to-date information.

Assessment

Student progress will be assessed through a combination of regular homework assignments, short reaction papers for each game genre, an individual project analyzing a particular game, a group game design project, and participation both in the class generally and as a discussion leader. Homework 15% Genre study papers 10% Game Analysis Project 25% Game Design Project 25% Group Leader 15% Participation 10%

Genre Study

An important component of the course will be the critical study of game genres. Each week, we will study a different game genre, beginning with Arcade and Action games in week 3. Each student will be required to spend at least one hour during the week playing a game of that genre, as assigned by the professor. The gameplay experience will be written up as a one-page reaction paper, which must be submitted in class. Students without their game reaction papers will get no credit for course participation for that day.

Discussion Leader

The first part of each class will be devoted to game genre discussion. We will meet in small groups with group leaders, discussing the key elements of the genre, and then work as a class to come to a better understanding of the genre's appeal, capabilities and limitations. Each student will serve as discussion leader twice. We will sign up for discussion slots during the first week of class. The discussion leader will have the following responsibilities: Play and report on at least two games from the genre, Demonstrate a game during class, Lead a group discussion during class time and take notes on the group's findings, Write a 5-page genre summary paper due the week after the discussion.

Game Analysis Project

Each student will perform an in-depth analysis of a single game title resulting in a mid-term paper due on 1/31. The following are required: Substantial play-time with the title, sufficient to master basic game play and to encounter most of the game's components. (Playing the game all the way through would be ideal but not practical for many titles.) Researching the game's community presence through FAQ files, walk-throughs, fan sites and other documents. Researching the game's genesis and history, the developers of the game and their prior titles, any articles published on the game's technology or development experiences. (Game Developer Magazine is an excellent source. The full run of the magazine is available on-line as an e-journal through DePaul Library in the ProQuest Computing database.) The midterm paper should be 8-10 pages, approximately 2000-2500 words. All references used should be cited including on-line works and the game itself.

Game Design Project

Students will work in teams to develop a new game design. This will be an outgrowth of game design activities throughout the course. Teams will be formed during week 5 and there will be design milestones throughout the rest of the quarter, culminating in a concept document submitted during finals week.

Weekly Schedule

1/3: Introduction Reading: Rouse, Ch. 1 & 2, Crawford, Ch. 1. Squire, K. "Cultural Framing of Computer/Video Games" Game Studies 2(1).
1/10: Guest Lecture: Robin Hunicke, Northwestern University The game industry latest trends. 1/17: Design Principles and Examples Genre: Arcade / Action Reading: Rouse: Ch 3, 4, 5, 6. 1/24: Gameplay and Modeling Genre: Strategy / Simulation Reading: Rouse, Ch. 7, 8, 9 & 10 Frasca, Gonzalo. "Sim Sin City: some thoughts about Grand Theft Auto 3" Game Studies 3(2). 1/31: Narrative and Character Genre: Role-playing Reading: Rouse, Ch. 11, 12, 13, 14 Midterm paper due 2/7: Game Design Documentation Genre: Action / Adventure Reading: Rouse, Ch. 15, 16, 17, 18 2/14: Level and Artifact Design Genre: Sports / Racing Reading: Rouse, Ch. 19, 20, 21, 22 2/21: Playtesting and Design Evaluation Genre: Fighting Reading: Rouse, Ch. 23 2/28: Game Criticism: Violence Genre: First-Person Action Reading: Anderson, C. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions ". On-line. Jenkins, H. "Lessons from Littleton: What Congress Doesn't Want to Hear About Youth and Media". Online. Kent, S. "Manhunt to Mortal Kombat: The Use and Future Use of Violence in Games". Game Developer Magazine. 3/7: Game Criticism: Gender Genre: Children's Reading: Cassell and Jenkins, "Chess for Girls? Feminism and Computer Games". Ch. 1 in From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. 3/14: Final project due

Policies

Students are expected to attend all classes and participate in in-class exercises. Class will start promptly. Students are individually responsible for material they may have missed due to absence or tardiness. Most assignments will be submitted to the Course On-Line site. Do not submit assignments by email. All assignments should be completed and submitted by class time on the due date. Late assignments will be accepted up to two days after the due date with a 10% penalty per day. The final project and midterm paper may not be submitted late.
Assignments (except for designated group assignments) must represent a student's individual effort. While students are permitted to discuss assignments at the conceptual level, under no circumstances should students share specific answers (electronically or otherwise).

Domain Description

GAM 224 is included in the Liberal Studies program as a course with credit in the Arts and Literature Domain. Courses in the Arts and Literature Domain ask students to extend their knowledge and experience of the arts by developing their critical and reflective abilities. In these courses, students interpret and analyze particular creative works, investigate the relations of form and meaning, and through critical and/or creative activity to come to experience art with greater openness, insight, and enjoyment. These courses focus on works of literature, art, theatre, or music as such, though the process of analysis may also include social and cultural issues. Students who take course in this domain choose three courses from such choices as literature, the visual arts, media arts, music, and theater. No more than two courses can be chosen from one department or program.

School Policies

Online Instructor Evaluation Course and instructor evaluations are critical for maintaining and improving course quality. To make evaluations as meaningful as possible, we need 100% student participation. Therefore, participation in the Schools web-based academic administration initiative during the eighth and ninth week of this course is a requirement of this course. Failure to participate in this process will result in a grade of incomplete for the course. This incomplete will be automatically removed within seven weeks after the end of the course and replaced by the grade you would have received if you had fulfilled this requirement. Email Email is the primary means of communication between faculty and students enrolled in this course outside of class time. Students should be sure their email listed under "demographic information" at http://campusconnect.depaul.edu/ is correct. Plagiarism: The university and school policy on plagiarism can be summarized as follows: Students in this course, as well as all other courses in which independent research or writing play a vital part in the course requirements, should be aware of the strong sanctions that can be imposed against someone guilty of plagiarism. If proven, a charge of plagiarism could result in an automatic F in the course and possible expulsion. The strongest of sanctions will be imposed on anyone who submits as his/her own work a report, examination paper, computer file, lab report, or other assignment which has been prepared by someone else. If you have any questions or doubts about what plagiarism entails or how to properly acknowledge source materials be sure to consult the instructor. Incomplete: An incomplete grade is given only for an exceptional reason such as a death in the family, a serious illness, etc. Any such reason must be documented. Any incomplete request must be made at least two weeks before the final, and approved by the Dean of the School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems. Any consequences resulting from a poor grade for the course will not be considered as valid reasons for such a request.

Game Syllabus

Arcade/Action Asteroids Battlezone Berzerk DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution PC / MAME PC / MAME PC / MAME PS/2
Defender Eye Toy: Play Frogger Fuzion Frenzy Gauntlet Ice Wars Katamari Damacy Mechassault Metroid Zero Mission Midway Arcade Treasures Missile Command Pac-Man Q*bert Space Invaders Star Wars Super Monkey Ball 2 Tetris Worlds Tron Wario Ware, Inc. Strategy / Simulation Age of Empires Age of Empires: Rise of Rome Black & White Deluxe Edition Chessmaster 9000 Civilization 3 Evil Genius Full Spectrum Warrior Pikmin 2 Railroad Tycoon 3 Rise of Nations Star Trek: Armada Star Trek: Armada 2 The Sims 2 The Sims: Double Deluxe Warcraft 2 Warcraft 3 Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne Role-Playing Tales of Symphonia Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Deus Ex Diablo 2 Battle Chest Fable Final Fantasy X Action / Adventure Enter the Matrix Grand Theft Auto III Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Grim Fandango
PC / MAME PS/2 PC / MAME XBOX PC / MAME PC PS/2 XBOX GBA GC PC / MAME PC / MAME PC / MAME PC / MAME PC / MAME GC XBOX PC / MAME GC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC GC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC PC GC XBOX PC PC XBOX PS/2 PS/2 XBOX PS/2 XBOX PC
Metal Gear Solid 3 Myst 10th Anniversary DVD Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Prince of Persia: Warrior Within Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy Resident Evil: Outbreak Sly 2: Band of Thieves Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Suffering Thief: Deadly Shadows Zork 1-3 Sports / Racing ATV Offroad Fury 2 Burnout 2: Point of Impact Deer Hunter ESPN NFL 2K5 Fight Night 2004 F-Zero GX Madden 2005: Collectors Edition Midnight Club 2 MLB Slugfest 2004 MVP Baseball 2004 NBA Ballers NBA Street Vol. 2 NFL Blitz Pro NHL Hitz Pro Project Gotham Racing 2 Red Card 2004 Sega GT 2002 SSX 3 Tony Hawk Underground 2 Fighting Dynasty Warriors 4 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Soul Calibur 2 Super Smash Bros Tekken 4 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Street Fighter Anniversary Collection First-Person Action America's Army Battlefield 1942 & The Road to Rome Contra Shattered Soldier Doom 3 Half-Life 2 Halo Halo 2 Star Trek: Elite Force Star Trek: Elite Force 2
PS/2 PC XBOX PS/2 PS/2 PS/2 PS/2 XBOX PS/2 PS/2 XBOX XBOX PC PC PS/2 PS/2 PS/2 XBOX XBOX GC PS/2 XBOX GC PS/2 PS/2 PS/2 GC GC / XBOX XBOX XBOX XBOX PS/2 PS/2 XBOX GC GC GC PS/2 XBOX PS/2 PC PC PS/2 PC PC XBOX XBOX PC PC
Star Wars: Battlefront Tribes Tribes 2 Tron 2 Unreal Tournament 2004 Wolfenstein Enemy Territory XIII Children's Advance Wars Backyard Baseball Classic NES: Donkey Kong Classic NES: Legend of Zelda Classic NES: Super Mario Bros I Spy Spooky Mansion Deluxe Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor Pokemon FireRed Railroad Tycoon 3 Simcity 3000 Sonic Advance 3 Super Mario Advance 4 Zoo Tycoon: Complete Edition Zoombini's Island Odessey