Assignment Descriptions

Project 1 (2 weeks)

Research Project Report: Games, Networks, Interaction, Community and Culture.

Think about the way that new technologies are changing the way we operate as a society. How has the advent of social networks, text messaging, massively multiplayer online games altered the way we communicate and relate to one another? From language to politics to our own concept of ourselves, how far do you see it going?

Present your Research in class as an Oral Report. Utilize visuals during your talk such as PowerPoint slides, short video clips and or real-time demos. Be sure to cite examples and references. The presentation must be 5min long for an individual. Add an additional 3min per person for groups. (i.e. a three person presentation should be roughly 11min) Turn in your presentation files and additional assets at the end of class.

Project 2 (2 weeks)

Flash Game: A Persistent Environment

Create an asynchronous game or environment. Think about what information you want to remain consistent between visits. If multiple people visit the site at the same time, what happens? Can they communicate with one another? indirectly? What common gaming tropes can be played up or given a new twist?

For this assignment you must master passing variables in and out of Flash. In class we will discuss setting up an Apache server and utilizing PHP for the reading and writing of data. The use of mySQL or other databases will be accepted but will not be covered in lecture. Groups are optional. The Online Game Environment will be presented and critiqued in class. The Flash FLA and all other files associated with the project will be submitted in an organized fashion at the end of class.

Project 3 (2 weeks)

Documentary Video: A Game within a Game.

Game environments contain rule structures which all players agree on. In digital spaces these rules are imposed and enforced by the limitations of world itself, the player’s agreement becomes superfluous. Explore an online world and create your own rule set within it. These rules can either act as an addendum the current rules of the game space or act to subvert them. In this assignment the definition of game is broad, it can be any virtual environment, social platform or shared space. Forming groups is strongly encouraged.

Document the game you crated as video or machinima. Besides visually documenting the game in action, your video must also explain the game system that you created, what inspired its inception, and what the results of your imposed creation were. The quality of the documentation will be graded along with the project itself. Students will present the Game they created as well as their video documentation on the assigned due date. The video should be roughly 4min, edited in a professional manner and submitted at the end of class.

Final (4 weeks)

Flash Game: A Simultaneous Multi-User Environment.

Create a multi-user Flash game environment utilizing the Adobe Flash Media Server. Think about everything we have studied thus far. The way users interact in a persistent shared space. What are the dynamics in large virtual communities? How does that change with scale? How does one address the problems that arise when multiple users share the same interface? How do you harness the collaboration that can occur when users interact with one another not just the software itself?

The Final Project is meant to be a collaboration of 2 to 4 students. As work on the project progresses, weekly updates will be presented by team members.

Working Demo: Basic mechanics and functionality are in place. Lacking art assets and ui design is ok at this point.

Beta Release: The project is done but rough. Many bugs and design problems may still persist. Feature Freeze.

Final Release: The project is complete and ready to ship. The work is cohesive and exemplifies a professional level of development. All assets are incorporated and outstanding bugs no longer exist.

Documentation: Create a small website documenting your final project. Include images text and video. The site needs to operate as testament that communicates your work to others after your code has been depreciated and no longer functions.

The Documentation and Final Project will be presented and submitted on the final day of class. There will be much rejoicing.