IMGD 1000: Critical Studies of Interactive Media and Games

1
IMGD 1000 Critical Studies of Interactive Media
and Games

• David Finkel
• Computer Science Department
• Interactive Media and Game Development

2
Purpose of this series of talks

• To describe the contents of the IMGD courses
• To get feedback on the course content
• So well all know whats in the courses
• So new courses can be designed knowing whats in
  the current courses
• To have some general discussions about the IMGD
  curriculum

3
Catalog Description for IMGD 1000

• This course introduces non-technical studies of
  computer-based interactive media and games. The
  course develops a vocabulary for discussing games
  and other interactive media, and tools for
  analyzing them. Students are expected to provide
  written critiques using the critical approaches
  presented in the course. The games and other
  interactive media critiqued may be commercially
  available or under development.

4
Inspiration 1 IGDA Curriculum Framework
Critical Game Studies

• This interdisciplinary Core Topic combines
  approaches from history, literature, media
  studies and design. A key goal of Critical Game
  Studies is to develop and refine a critical
  vocabulary for articulating the aesthetics of
  games.

5
Inspiration 2 Courses in Film Studies

• Topics covered in a film studies course
• The Film Industry (production, distribution,
  exhibition)
• Film Form and Principles of Narrative
• Types of Films (Genres)
• Film Style
• Critical Analysis of Film

6
Show and Tell

• Film Studies Text (Bordell and Thompson)
• Game Design (Rollings and Adams principal text
  for IMGD)
• High Score (History of Electronic Games history
  text)
• Syllabus for IMGD 1000

7
A Typical Class

• Lecture on the topic of the day
• General principles
• Examples from specific games
• Possibly video clips to illustrate points
• Class discussion, with examples from games the
  students know

8
Part I of IMGD 1000

• Elements of games
• Game World
• Narrative
• Character Development
• User Experience
• Gameplay

9
Drill down into Part I

• The User Experience
• User Interface
• The Visual Element
• Audio
• Haptics
• Learning the game and help systems

10
Part II III of IMGD 1000

• Examine how these game elements are used in
  different genres
• History of Games (High Score book)
• Im not entirely happy with either of these parts
  .

11
Evaluation in IMGD 1000

• What gets graded
• Midterm
• Final exam
• Term paper analyzing a game of the students
  choice

12
Writing in IMGD 1000

• Day 1 in-class writing exercise (ungraded)
• Set the topics for the course
• Identify students with big-time writing problems.
• Weekly short papers (ungraded)
• Students choose a game for all their writing for
  the term
• Topics of the week

13
Writing in IMGD 1000 - 2

• Draft Paper (ungraded)
• Based on weekly papers, responding to comments,
  with discussion of how the individual elements
  work together
• Final Paper (graded)

14
What Id change in IMGD 1000

• Eliminate the history material
• We end up with two or three days to discuss the
  history of video games not enough.
• Perhaps should be a complete course in history

15
Changes - 2

• Do more papers
• The purpose of the weekly papers is to teach the
  students how to write an analysis
• The actually write only one paper for a grade
• Find a way to fit a second paper into the course

16
Changes - 3

• Have a common game they all play and they can all
  discuss
• In class discussion, students describe games they
  have played related to the topic of the day
• Might not be any common point of comparison
• If this were a film course, they would all have
  watched some common set of films.
• Practical difficulties

17
Changes - 4

• Have readings from the critical literature
• Lots of academic papers analyzing games
• Opportunity to get beyond textbook-level reading
• Maybe too advanced for first-year students

18
IMGD 1000 Critical Studies of Interactive Media
and Games

• David Finkel
• Computer Science Department
• Interactive Media and Game Development