| SM2259 / SM6311 Play and Games Studies | ||||||
| Schedule Semester A 2005-2006 | ||||||
| Lectures | Tutorials | |||||
| Sept 15 | Introduction. Defining play and games. Play and the Magic Circle . | Sept 26 | The formation of games. malfunction of the magic circle. Play game #1, #2 & #3. Briefing: 'I See Where You Are in Central'. Explain Assignment 1. |
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| Sept 22 | Games as formal systems: definition, characteristics, and types of rules. Core Mechanic and Metaphor. Conflict and Co-operation in Games / New Games Movement | |||||
| Sept 29 | The Typology of Games ( Ch. 2, Man, Play and Games) | Oct 2 (Sun) | Play and document ．I See Where You Are in Central・ (PDA game) | |||
| Oct 3 | Analyze four types of g ames. 2 video clips (1x playing with puppy, 1x playing with child) ; 1 bodily games: Hopscotch | |||||
| Oct 6 | Play as self-imposed constraints: potential literature and others (Bordwell on Ozu, Cortazar, etc.) | Oct 10 | Self-imposed Constraints: Dogma 95. | |||
| Oct 13 | Play as Cultural Resistance and Critical Reappropriation. | Oct 17 | drift with SMS and cell phone. | |||
| Oct 20 | Case Studies: The History of Skateboarding Bakthin and the Carnival. | Oct 24 | Special Microwave session. | |||
| Oct 27 | Play and Research about Everyday Life: Drifting and the Situationists | Oct 31 | psy.geo.CONFLUX | |||
| Nov 3 | More on the Situationists; RPG | Nov 7 | Discuss ．I See Where You Are in Central・. Create a temporary magic circle outside Garden Cafe (an example in everyday city space). |
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| Nov 10 | Narrative Games: Detective Fiction; Games, Frames, and Information: G. Bateson and Erwin Goffmann. | Nov 14 | Critique Session: In-class Presentation of Assignment 3. | |||
| Nov 17 | Game Theory (I) | Nov 21 | A demonstration of the Prisoner・s Dilemma. Quiz: Probability. |
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| Nov 24 | Game Theory (II) | Nov 28 | Discuss SM2259 game. | |||
| Dec 1 | Toys and Culture | Dec 5 | Bring your favourite toy and give a short presentation about it (in terms of the concepts covered in this course). | |||
| Key Reference: | ||||||
| Roger Caillois. Man, Play, and Games. London: Thames and Hudson, 1962. Johan Huizinga. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. Boston: Beacon, 1955. * the e-copy of this book can be accessed via cityu ebrary. Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge and London: MIT Press, 2004. |
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| Assessment: 100% course works | ||||||
| Assignment 1: Design a game that subverts the magic circle. Write: a one-page description of your game AND a half page analysis of how the game subverts the magic circle. | 5% | Due 16:00, Oct 10. | ||||
| Assignment 2: Create a game that cuts across at least 3 categories of games that Caillois classified. Students are encouraged to work with all 4 catergories. Individual Assignment. Submit a text + image report. | 20% | Due 15:00, Oct 28. | ||||
| Assignment 3: Take a metaphor game and analyze what the game would be without the metaphor. Try to remove the metaphor and replace it with another metaphor without changing the rules of the game. Refer to the Identity of a Game (P.134-135, Rules of Play). Group Assignment (Max. 4 students each group). Due Nov 11, in-class presentation on Nov 14. | 20% | Due 15:00, Nov 11. | ||||
| Assignment 4: Develop a game-related project. Choose from one of the following topics: (1) Play and Everyday Life, (2) RPG, (3) Toys. Other new proposals are possible. Individual Project. Hand in a written report and a 10 mins video documentation. | 40% | Due 12:00, Dec 12. | ||||
| Attendance | 5% | |||||
| Discussion and Participation | 10% | |||||
| Any questions or comments please contact: Hector (smhect@cityu.edu.hk) , Justin (ctwong@cityu.edu.hk) or Wesley (smwesley@cityu.edu.hk). Last updated: Nov 24, 2005 |
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