The final project can take a form to be agreed upon in consultation with the professor. A few possible forms include:
- A traditional or digital research paper, 10 to 12 pages long (Times 12 New Roman double spaced), involving further research and thought on a concept from class. This research paper should include at least 8 sources from outside of the class texts. You should address a narrow thesis: make sure that your topic is not too broad to be expanded upon within the space of a paper! If you choose to do a research paper, consider creating it in a form where it is designed for web access and uses linking and imagery to expand upon your topic. In either case make sure to follow your argument through to a developed conclusion.
- A game design document, approximately 10 pages long (single spaced with images and diagrams — industry format), with an informed “future games” idea. As this is not a a game design class but a conceptual class, don’t think about creating the guidelines for a game you would be building now. Instead, consider one of the areas we’ve looked at where you can see industry changes on the horizon. This might mean looking at mimetic interfaces, augmented reality, casual games, tablets, player-generated content, artificial intelligence and meaningful interactions, or another area of interest to you. Your game design document should focus on an informed movement from your chosen aspect: research the current state of the art and construct a game concept that extends it in a way that makes sense for the future. You do not need to include a formal works cited but should list at least 8 “inspirations” that guided you in constructing the concept. Your document might also include illustrations or diagrams to explain your concept.
- A blog, kept over the course of the rest of the semester, further investigating an issue from class. If you decide to blog, you should be pursuing a topic of substance and keeping up with the current news and discussion surrounding that area. There must be an overall theme that unifies your content! Your posts, when complete, should have substance equivalent to a research paper–to accomplish this, you should be blogging at least twice a week. Each blog post should include at least 1 or 2 sources from current news, related research, or class texts. Your final post should reflect on what you’ve learned over the course of the blog and include your conclusions about the topic you have chosen to address. Your blog should not be on the class site: wordpress.com is recommended. Even if you are not creating a blog yourself, please visit the blogs of other students to comment.
- An art project expressing a clear relationship with class content that develops its own statement. This art project might take the form of a video or other expressive narrative form. The art project must stand on its own and present a thoughtful reflective view on games and simulations. It should be accompanied by a 5-6 page artist’s statement that references at least 8 “inspirations” including creative and critical sources. An art project must deliver the same impact as a longer paper: suggested forms include comics, interactive or hypertextual fiction, or video.
For all projects:
A Level Work: Will clearly propose, through either creative or analytic means, a new way of constructing the relationship of games to society. This original idea will be clearly grounded in an understanding of existing game movements and theories of future game development. A-level work will show additional research and engagement with ideas that go beyond the class requirements. For a prototype or design document, the game will be clearly original and seek to build upon new technologies in a different direction than existing models. For a creative tool, the prototype will push towards a new form of gaming and show a trajectory towards a new gaming experience. For an analytic paper or artistic project, a clear original stance and engagement with outside sources will be evident. For a blog, the overall focus will be clearly developed towards a meaningful conclusion that draws from current game design theory and practice. In all cases, work submitted will exceed expectations for presentation, design, spelling and grammar.
B Level Work: Will clearly propose, through either creative or analytic means, a new way of constructing the relationship of games to society. This idea may be somewhat derivative or not clearly grounded in outside research and knowledge. For a prototype or design document, the game will be clearly original and seek to build upon new technologies in a different direction than existing models. For a creative tool, the prototype will push towards a new form of gaming and show a trajectory towards a new gaming experience. For an analytic paper or artistic project, a clear original stance and engagement with outside sources will be evident. For a blog, the overall focus will be clearly developed towards a meaningful conclusion that draws from current game design theory and practice. In all cases, work submitted will demonstrate sufficient presentation, design, spelling and grammar.
C Level Work: An attempt has been made to demonstrate a new idea, but the idea is not fully-formed or may not have been well implemented. The project shows some grounding in outside research and knowledge. For a prototype, the result might show the promise of the idea but not contain sufficient engagement with forward-looking technology and development concepts. For an analytic or artistic project, the focus is unclear or poorly developed. Presentation, design, spelling and grammar are lacking.
D Level Work: The project is of insufficient scope or relevance to class content. An attempt was made to meet the requirements for the project, but the result might be unfinished, unplayable or overly derivative. Presentation, design, spelling and grammar may be poor.
Failing Work: Work is not submitted by the deadline or fails to include most required content.