Social Media and Games

By now, you should be comfortable with the class game space and ready to try some more advanced and collaborative missions. There are a few new elements at play, including achievements both open and hidden until they are discovered. It’s also now possible to embed content from YouTube, Flicker, and many other sites directly into your posts by including the URL. There are more questions waiting to be answered in your profiles based on ideas suggested throughout the week, and a topic for suggesting new ranks and other changes to the game structure.

This week’s mission closes at 5:30pm on February 10th.

Step One: Reading Quiz

The first Reading Quiz will be open for the first fifteen minutes of class. You can complete it online: make sure to sign in first so that your responses will be associated with your identity. Future reading quizzes will be available in this same space every week at the opening of class meetings. Multiple choice quizzes will be automatically graded: short answers, like today’s quiz, will be graded later and returned.

Step Two: In Class Discussion

• Defining the Social Game: Considering the definitions found in the readings and your definitions throughout the week, let’s agree on a definition of “Social Game” so we know what it is we’re looking at. Be prepared with examples.
• Gin, Television and Facebook
• Watch: The Social Network trailer

Step Three: Battle of the Light Alliance and the Dark Alliance

Members of the Dark Alliance: you know Facebook is evil. That’s why it’s such a perfect platform for you—and for all the people making money off of addicts through micropayments, and buying and selling private information, and generally turning the network into a harvest for corporate feasting. So, prove it: create a forum within your Dark Alliance group and gather evidence of Facebook’s evil and the ways social networks can be dangerous places.

Members of the Light Alliance: you know technologies aren’t bad—only the people who use them.  Gather evidence of Facebook’s potential to create social change. Look at memes that show connectedness with political issues, games that encourage greater community and attention to the world, and other signs that Facebook is a force for good in the world. Create a forum within your Light Alliance group and gather evidence of Facebook’s positive abilities.

Not affiliated with either side? Either form a splinter team and announce yourselves and your stance or choose a side!

Elect two representatives to speak for your side in a debate on “The New Social.”

Step Four: At Home Tasks

Choose at least three of this week’s tasks:

• There’s a new link category for Memes: add your favorite “safe for school” meme to the list with an explanation of its appeal.
• Discuss the shift from “audience” to “participant” in terms of your own experience with social spaces on the COSC 407 forum. Consider how games and social media have made even passive experiences (like watching a TV show such as Lost) into interactive ones. How does this change our expectations of traditionally passive experiences?
• Create your own LolCat around a social media or games theme. Submit it to icanhascheezburger.com and show us your work–you can even give the LOL Builder a try. While you’re at it, think about the appeal of an archive like this. Why has the LOLCat phenomenon been so persistent?
• What are examples of tools that allow people to move easily from the role of consumer to producer? Are there any free production tools you use regularly that have allowed for new social communities or content produced by amateurs? Tell us about them on the COSC 407 forum.
• Challenge Task: Clay Shirky points out that new tools allow anyone to publish. One such tool is xtranormal, a program for going from “type to video” that allows for a new type of YouTube hit. Try out the xtranormal tool and create a video that addresses social games in some way. You might stage an imaginary debate between a hardcore gamer and a social gamer, or envision a rehab session for  a Farmville addict. Got the start of an idea but not the time to build the video on your own? Find a collaborator or two and create it together.
• Propose an achievement or mission for the ongoing class game: if proposing a mission, make sure it relates to either this week’s readings or an upcoming theme.

Welcome to COSC 407: Social Media and Games! Are you ready to play your way though this class? This introductory mission will introduce you to all the aspects of our shared space. We’ll be walking through the first steps in class and setting the foundation so you can continue at home.

Every week, a new mission will be posted here. Some parts will be required, and others will be optional: the more optional challenges you complete, the better your ranking will be and the further you’ll progress.

Step One: Create your Alias

In order to join the team and, together, unlock the future of social games, you’ll need a new identity. Pick an alias (NOT your real name) and sign up for an account using the interface to the right. Remember to keep good track of your username and password, as all the missions you contribute to this semester will be associated with this username. Make sure to note your alias on the registry distributed during class.

Step Two: Complete your Dossier

Upload an avatar and fill out your profile. Remember to choose an avatar appropriate to the class environment that reflects your creative mindset.

Step Three: Join the Class Teams

There are two essential groups for class missions. The first, COSC 407, is the hub of forum activity discussing readings and class content. The second, Metagame, is the place to design the class game as we go. Make sure to join both groups and consider subscribing to one of the email digest options to keep up with content throughout the semester. When you form project teams later in the semester, you’ll also form groups to create and report on your progress.

Step Four: Find a Friend

In the unfortunate event that you miss class, according to our class policies, you’ll need to find out what you’ve missed from a classmate. Find out a friend’s user name, or meet someone new, so you’ll have someone to contact if you need a hand. Use the friendship request tool to make the connection. (Again, remember to keep your public conversation at the user name level! You never know who might be watching to learn your plans…)

Step Five: Add a Game Link

Check out our Links Directory, a place to exchange links to interesting resources and games that can point us towards the future of social games. Add a link to your favorite social game by choosing “Create a Link.” Remember to add the URL and a representative image. If a game you like is already listed, vote it up using the “Thumbs up” icon so other visitors will know it’s worth a look. (You can use the voting system on any site content to draw attention to an insightful forum post or indicate contributions that are off-topic or don’t add to the conversation).

Step Six: Suggest a Profile Field

Got a suggestion for a profile question for the site? Can you think of something that would give you a valuable or interesting insight into other students’ ideas? Suggest a profile field in the Metagames Profile forum.

Step Seven: At Home Tasks

Pick one (or more) of this week’s options:

• After reading this week’s assigned texts, join the COSC 407 forum discussion: what makes a game social?
• You’ve already added a link to a favorite game: but why did you choose it? Let us know on the COSC 407 forum discussion: a few of our favorite (social) games.
• Clay Shirky writes that we have more free time than ever–but how do you spend yours? Try installing RescueTime, an automated tool for tracking time usage on the computer. Use it throughout the week and report on your experiences in the COSC 407 forum discussion: finding our cognitive surplus.