Game Narrative and Literature

Reading and Writing Assignment

This week I am asking you to read a short story published in 2015, Fresh Prince of Gamma World by Austin Grossman,  Grossman is an author and a game designer.  

Like many short stories, this narrative implies much but doesn't explain very much it doesn't absolutely have to.  That is the writing economy of a short story. 

After reading the story and thinking about it, I want you to post a response to the discussion section of this course's canvas page. I will set up a discussion area on which to post your response.

In your response I would like you to address directly the following questions, that is, I would like you to write a specific answer to each of these questions:

1. What is your reaction to the text you just read?
2. What connections did you make with the story? Discuss what elements of the story with which you were able to connect?
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium? What medium would you choose; what changes would you make?
4. Gaming is, at the very least in part, a narrative medium.  What do you think is the relationship between the gaming and the concept of literature?

You can wait until after the class zoom-in at 3:30, Monday afternoon, Eastern U.S, time to post your written part of the discussion.  I expect your answers to each question to be reasonably developed, that is a substantial paragraph in length answering each question.  We will discuss these questions during our class Zoom-in which I expect to last an hour to 90 minutes.  I will send you a link to the Zoom-in to your email, or you can access the meeting through your canvas page for this course.  There is now a section for Zoom near the top of the menu on the left side of the canvas course area that will take you directly to the zoom meeting.

Just FYI in case you have tons of free time, here is a link to one of the classic theoretical works about humans and gaming.  At some point anyone in gaming, CA, VR or Visual Studies should read this work:

Text of Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga

If you want to read a novel that is very influenced by game structure and in this case, the elements of table top gaming, try reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.  It is an excellent fantasy novel the author will let you read for free starting here:

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/warbreaker-prologue/


Syllabus Revision For the Rest of the Semester

We have just four classes left in the semester and because I have just come on and we have to adapt the class to online participation, I am making the following changes:

I have scheduled four zoom sessions starting at 3:30 Eastern US time and going for an hour to 90 minutes.  Please be there if you can.

Grades for this course will be based on participation in four assignments, one a week for the next four weeks.  These assignments are meant to explore the key goals of the Literature and Media Studies area which are to give you several experiences of reading text and creating some opportunities for you to engage in a conversation with and about the texts you read.

Here are the final four assignments:

April 13: Game Narrative and Literature--Read Fresh Prince of Gamma World and answer the specific questions for the story on the Course Blog.  Zoom discussion of the short story and Gaming narrative in general. Post your written discussion on the Canvas discussion section. 

April 20: Reading Multimodal Narrative--Read  My Favorite Thing is Monsters. Post your written response on the Canvas discussion section. Zoom discussion about this work and Graphic Novels.

April 27: The Medium is the Message--Read The Medium is the Massage. Email me a .png of a page you make to add to the book that includes an contemporary insight into media.  Discussion about Media theory during Zoom session.

May 4: Media Curation--Choose a streaming series you think is overlooked and exceptional in quality, well worth watching during social distancing.  Write a statement about its qualities on the Disscussion section of Canvas. Include where it can be streamed.  Just major streaming services please--Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Britbox or Disney Plus for example, although free streaming services like Shout! can be included.  You will also have to respond to the final grade questionnaire and return it by email. Please avoid discussion or curation of widely viewed material.  The idea is to curate work beyond the popular.

Final Grades:  The last four projects will not be graded individually but must be completed to show your continued participation in the class.  An absence will be given for each incomplete assignment.  Students who have not completed their required presentation must still give via recorded presence.  This can be done by video or narrated powerpoint.  Your presentation must be submitted before the final week of class and must be mounted on google docs or similar available platform and link sent to the instructor so it can be included on the Course Blog.

Because of the complications fusing the different parts of the semester together to determine the final grade, final grades will be issued via conference.  I will send out a questionnaire to all students in the class to survey their total participation.  As part of that questionnaire students will be asked to indicate what the think is the appropriate grade to receive in the class, on the scale of A to F including pluses and minuses.  You will then be asked why you think that is the appropriate grade and to explain that in writing.  This is similar to the evaluation process most employer's do in evaluation employee performance.  Generally, students and employees are very accurate in their self-evaluations.  I will engage in further discussions with any student with whose self-evaluation I am not in agreement. This method will allow for the student to incorporate their performance in the class for the entire semester.

This semester, any student has the right to ask their final grade to be on a pass/no credit basis.  You have to petition the school registrar to do this.  Your adviser can help you.  I cannot grant you pass/no credit status. The advantage to this is that your performance in the class will not effect your grade point average one way or the other. Your performance will still have to meet the criteria for passing the course and you will still conduct a self-evaluation but only to determine your pass/no credit status.

Any questions please contact me by email or bring it up during our Zoom discussion.  I look forward to talking to you in virtual person on Monday.