January 8, 2008 Archives

A workbook for recent readings (Jerz, Crowther and Woods, Plotkin, Douglass) will be posted in the usual spot.

A single assignemnt, in a single word processor file (uploaded to Turnitin.com).  The assignment has two parts, each worth 20. For each part, write an essay (200 words) based on a "close playing" of the game.

• Part 1: September 12.
• Part 2: Madrid.

Pages 126-141 of the 10MB file, "Command Lines: Aesthetics and Technique in Interactive Fiction and New Media" http://jeremydouglass.com/cv/dissertation.pdf

In either case, there is a gap between vision and the world, between the code as we assumed it was and the code as we discover it must be. (140)

Consider the above comment along with my comment (from the second lecture) that all art is constrained. Looking at the way a text game forces you think a certain way can remind us that all games that seem "natural" to us only seem that way because we already think the way that the game encourages us to think. All games persuade us to jump through hoops, by offering rewards. Not everyone feels the rewards offered by interactive fiction are worth the work required, but the same can be said of every game genre, and beyond games, the same can be said of novels, opera, camping, weight-lifting, and pretty much any human activity that someone, somewhere on the planet, enjoys.

http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=hsfc7fnl40k4a30q

This link will take you to a page about Andrew Plotkin's interactive fiction game "Shade."

Try clicking on "Play Now" in the upper right corner (you may need to click "Show me How" as well) and following the directions.

If that doesn't work, try this online version.

1. Read about the first third of "Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave," up to the paragraph marked 21.
2. If you love computer programming, you might enjoy looking through the analysis of the computer code. If coding doesn't thrill you, you can skip ahead to the photo tour that starts at paragraph 59. 
   
3. Either way, read the final paragraphs, from section 75-87.

Photopia (Adam Cadre, 1998)  [Whoops, these links actually go to a different game, 9:05.  That's the game I want you to look at.] The following links take you to different versions of the same game; any one that works for you is fine.

1. MS-DOS (download and run this version on your Windows computer)
2. Frotz for various computers
   

Galatea (Emily Short, 2000

1. Web Browser
2. Frotz for various computers
   

A few years ago, film critic Roger Ebert announced that he does not consider video games to be an art form. Here, he has (at the bottom of the page) a thoughtful exchange with a reader.

I'd like you to look beyond whatever gut-level reaction you might have, in order to address the reasons why Ebert is predisposed to think the way he does. What lenses color his perception of video games? What lenses color your own perception, contributing to your own take on the subject?  Where are some assumptions that Ebert and his questioner make, and how can we usefully challenge those assumptions in order to learn more about the debate? (Note -- this isn't about making your opinion look good by mocking people who hold different opinions; this is about looking for paths to agreement, on the assumption that we come closer to truth by examining multiple different answers to a question, rather than trying to "win" by calling the other guy names.)

What is the Online Portfolio Assignment?

The online participation portfolio (I'll also refer to as a blogging portfolio) is your opportunity to draw my attention to specific examples of your best online participation, in a framework that identifies what you thought was most valuable about each contribution.
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Some people contribute best when they write a smaller number of longer pieces, while others work best by giving a constant stream of briefer statements.  Some students find that the act of writing a blog entry helps them make sense of the material (so they post early), while others feel they only have good things to say after they have had the chance to see what their peers have to say first.