Expanded Cinema

Examines the history of expanded forms of cinematic narrative and interactivity within an intermedial context that includes games, environments and computers. Explores the relation between cinema and games, including non-linear modes of storytelling in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

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Kahoot! | Play this quiz now!

Play a game of Kahoot! here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

Here’s a link to the review quiz we played in class. Happy studying. 

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FILM 3840 Gamification Summary

Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal PART 1 - Conor Larsen Chapter 1: What Exactly is a Game? McGonigal opens the book by listing the four defining traits of a game. The goal is the specific outcome that players work to achieve and gives them a sense of purpose. The rules place limitations on ...

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Serious games presentation

A link to our Prezi on serious games http://prezi.com/m3pqtdvt_tpq/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

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More proposal info

Hi everyone, For this third year course I’ve assumed that most of you had experience crafting proposals, but I did receive two requests for more information, so here are some additional guidelines, beyond what we’ve discussed in class. These are adapted from undergradresearch.northwestern.edu/proposal-writing and other classes I’ve taught.I am happy to discuss your work further tomorrow. PROPOSAL should include:

 The questions you hope to answer – if you have a focused thesis statement, all the better… but having preliminary questions at this stage is still ok • How your project relates to this class and to other work that has already been done on the topic.

Your plans for answering these questions. • Particulars and details that show you are well prepared and likely to complete this project – a bibliography, filmography and/or list or artistic works that relate to your project, are inspiring you as you work, thinkers and artists who are helping you to frame and answer your questions or providing background information about the wider topic

Why is this paper or creative project needed? Tell me why your general topic is important and fits with this class and convince me that it’s a great idea! What do you need to tell me so that I can understand the value of what you want to do and why you are enthusiastic about it?  Tell me about the work and ideas that are inspiring you and what has already been done and how your project fits in. I may have ideas and suggestions for you, but you should also leave me thinking, "Yes, I can’t wait to for you to hand this in so I can find out more!"

For research-creation projects: Are you qualified to undertake it? • For a third year course, I am assuming you have the foundational capacity to write a research essay. But for a creative project in a class that is not teaching these skills it can be a bit trickier - based on your project plan, talk about your existing skills and experience (if you’re proposing a film short and you’re a film production major and technical issues pose no barrier, just tell me that • If you don’t currently have a required skill, describe how you will get it in time to successfully complete your project and/or what your work around will be. For example, if you want to make a game prototype, tell me about your technical/design/writing skill set and gaming background. If you have never worked in a game engine, it will be better (and maybe would in any case for an undergraduate half course ;) to tell me how you will make a paper prototype… or concept videos (see above – will this be easy for you?)  

BOTH research papers AND creative projects require a working bibliography - who are you thinking alongside? who inspires you? how does your work fit with other things people are saying/making/writing? 

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Derval, Jessica and Khalil's presentation write up

Part One Tracey Fullerton’s model for game design revolves around what she calls a “playcentric” approach. What does a playcentric approach to game design look like? - The designer is “an advocate for the player,” always focused on gameplay foremost, rather than graphics and aesthetics. A designe...

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Saw this on Facebook, thought it was interesting that it mixed the two together

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There are no boundaries to the possibilitites of a game. While conceptualizing and prototyping can be an overwhelming task, because of ambiguity, the games we grew up loving had a very real shot at being something totally different. This post seemed quite interesting, because the ideas are radical, enjoy.

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"How to talk about Video Games?" - Ian Bogost; Group#1. Anastasia Akulinina (notes)

Anastasia Akulinina

Group #1 

Presentation Questions for “How to Talk about Video Game” by Ian Bogost

Is the editing of Heavy Rain cinematic? If not, how is it different from the editing in films?

What do you think the use mise-en-scene in Heavy Rain and in games in general? What role does it play and how is it different from the cinematic use of mise-en-scene?

Does the editing in Heavy Rain bring it closer to cinema or no?

Do you think it is possible to master puzzle games such as Drop7 for a long period of time?

Why Bogost claims that puzzle games like Drop7 or Orbital that use complicated mathematical equations create the feelings of intimidation and boundlessness on the gamer’s part?

Can simulation games re-enact real life physics?

Main points:

Games don’t use cinematic editing because continuity is essential to games.

Unlike cinema that tries to cut/edit the action Heavy Rain extends/prolongs it to linger the mandate.

The lack of attention devices makes the game intimate and emotional.

Heavy Rain is brought closer to cinema due to a) low interactivity b) thematic and narrative structures c) traditional filmmaking d) long shots

Bogost discusses Drop7 in relation to mathematical sublime (a feeling of vastness and boundless as caused by something infinitely large).

The vastness of new movements is calculable for a moment until it is disrupted by the randomness of new info. New move brings new changes and equations (mastery temporary).

The puzzle games like Drop7 bring the feeling of overwhelm, vastness, abundance since it is impossible to master and present the vastness of mathematical sublime.

In 1982, first simulator was created: Microsoft flight simulator. Simulation indicate the realism of commercial simulation and the abstraction of video games.

Resistant to abstraction and celebrate boring parts of life (career modes, win-to-play)

These games use “games physics” that make them already not real.

Flight or surgeon simulator is not about performing surgery but it is about the eccentricity of all physical interactions in all videogames. Help us see the space between the reality and videogames.

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bioshock play-through transcript

Infinite is the 3rd in a trilogy of narrative games developed by Irrational Games but Published by the popular brand 2k

We are going to analyze this game according to the parameters that Bogost has set up in the first five chapters

  There are two sides to consider when it comes to game criticism; the functional, operative one (what the product is getting done what is its technical goal)  and the expressive formal side (considers the operation and the process by which you reach the end goal)

  Misconception: video games are appliances, tools that exist to entertain or distract, their only ability is to satisfy our need for leisure, that is their purpose.

  Games are not just “non descript vessels that deliver varying dosages of video pleasure”

They have characters and story lines with which we empathize

Can access an emotional level that other medias cannot; frustration, anguish, physical exhaustion, and addictive desperation

  A game critic answers questions that viewers do not yet know they have or cannot answer themselves. Ie why  cant I stop playing flappy bird even though I hate it? Is the sensation I am naming hate something else entirely?

    Grotesque

All games are grotesque, may seem like a harsh statement. It certainly applies to games such as GTAV or manhunt but take another look and most games we play depict “squalor” meaning seedy, morally wrong or underworld behaviour. Nearly if not all video games depict different levels of violence, chaos and anarchy as the main narrative driving forces.

  Infinite is no exception and on a deeper level sort of exposes this awkward need we have to experience something morally degrading, at first glance the world is designed to be the American dream world, the ideal utopian society seized in its moment of absolute innocence combined with just enough technological advancement to inspire awe. The golden age of technology fusing harmoniously with society, yet as you delve deeper and even immediately in prior scenes it becomes evident that there’s an eerie and potentially violent undertone

  Sexuality

Like miss pac man, trinity is both a heroine and a damsel in distress, a tantalizing and mysterious seductress to be reached as well as a helpful ally. She is resourceful yet fearsome. She is the center of the storyline but underneath she is only a tool to assist her male counterpart. She is narratively an experiment specimen kept literally under the watch of the male gaze yet she is feared and revered, more powerful than any other being in the game

But theres something that’s a dead give away to the problems we still experience in all forms of media. Do you notice anything about the voices of popular female game characters? Even in a game like tomb raider where a female is the main heroine he sound effects and voices are often extremely sexualized. Next time you are playing tomb raider,  bio shock or even games like Mario kart or smash brothers, close your eyes and try to imagine if that’s what a woman really sounds like when someone stabs her with a sword or she gets shot. It almost creating a pleasure is pain sort of mentality around violence against women.

      Level Control

Masocore games

-these are games that are characterized by trial and error gameplay but are split up into levels or give out achievements for each goal reached to create an overall sense of progress as well as longing to reach the next level

for example; temple run, candy crush app store games or more classically mega man, super meat boy

Bogost describes the type of structure as a way to keep the player interested while still being able to frustrate the player and create a sense of self lacking that drives the user to want to improve their performance, humiliated by immediate failure.

One of the ways infinite sets up the user to prepare for this same structure is the carnival games as well as the manual level control. You can change your difficulty setting based on your FPS experience as well as engage in what seem like non Chalont mini games but in actuality are a virtual training ground for the user to familiarize themselves with the tools of the game.

These measures ensure the game remains just below masacore level however like those games, there is no beginner or practice round once thrown into combat, it is expected that you die several time and each time you are set back to the last checkpoint.

  Controlled Chaos

Blue shell as symol of chaos and distruption perhaps unfairness within a game

Ie; potions in bio shock, possible to complete the game without them but give the player an extra advantage while also encountering opponents with powers they may not have themselves

    Flow

“ the psychological feeling of being fully involved in an experience”

a state of being in which the tasks difficulty is perfectly balanced with the users skill resulting in intense focus.

Different players have different flow zones, which sits right between anxiety that comes with too much difficulty and the alternative of boredom.

For games to reach the engage the widest possible audience it must be able to accommodate a wide variety of flow zones either through automation or deliberate player choice.

For example, bio shock includes difficulty settings that cater to an individual players previous FPS experience

One of the things put in place to try and control and alter the flow zone of the game is the navigation arrow, this eliminates the player having to pause screen and pull up a world map, taking them out of their immersive state.

Perspective and critical thinking

Scribblenauts sambo fiasco illuminated the game as an exploration into the rethinking and evaluation of how we use our words and ultimately characterize our society. Similarly but more intentionally bioshock urges the public to rethink the American dream presented in the game, the picturesque utopian society that belongs to uncle sam that has been referred to as an ideal in media for decades. Under the surface of the beautiful world is a disturbing, ignorant and violent undertone. Presenting the player with morally loaded choices, not allowing one to hide behind the forced mechanical actions of the game, forcing them to make the choice

themselves.

  Discussion questions

In bioshock do you think the navigation arrow is the best choice? Does it increase or decrease your sense of flow? What would change the way you feel ie a mini map?

  Does a high level of frustration between levels often cause you to stop playing a game? Do  you believe the training games would be useful or are a waste of time?

    “the games we find ourselves ever more devoted to are often also the ones that care little for our experience of them” infinite is not one of those games, there are conscious efforts put in place to keep the player interested but just a little desperate to get to the end of the story.

Flappy bird poses to the modern media consumer a question rather than an answer; the question that asks is a game that embraces only the latter of the philosophies enough? Does it suffice to simply play without meaning?

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the following links you to a video which will give you some insight to the chapter titled "artist as game studio" - Bogost

IndieGame The Movie: Edmund Mcmillen

Game makers aesthetic style is not commonly seen to evolve in the same way as that of other art forms. This is due to the fact that the need for commercial success overpowers aesthetic desire. A perfect example of this type of development is the Call of Duty series or common and widely popular sports games like NBA2K or Fifa. These are games that have insignificant changes to actual gameplay and little concern for narrative devices yet have created a formula and a recognizable brand that will keep turning a profit based on the changing technologies. For instance Fifa cup in the real world happens every four years, yet every single year there is a new fifa game. The game is the same price if not more every year, and its predecessors hold literally no resale value. Yet these games become such an essential part of our lives that if we do not purchase the latest version we cannot play online with our friends or perhaps the older versions are (very deliberately) not compatible with the newer console models.

However there are franchises, coupled with financial success and corporate undertaking that have evolved into more sophisticated works with specific aesthetic and experiential characteristics. Such as metal gear solid characterized by solitude, initial weakness, cinematic cut scenes and self-referential commentary. Or tomb raider, a series which evolved from a simple 2d model to deeply narrative and cinematic experiences offering an increasingly subjective view into the main characters backstory as well as characteristic and recognizable visual ques that guide the player.

 The other side of the coin is independent games, these are games that do not have the aid of large corporations to financially support the development of their work. Development kits for consoles are expensive due to their sophisticated processing requirements. These game makers for example Johnathan blow of Braid, or Super meat boy, are interested in the artistically formal and personal qualities of game making.

These games usually do not turn in a large profit to facilitate further development nor are they widely circulated in public digital venues. Journey was really the only exception to this phenomenon and that is because of its developers expert understanding of flow

Journey Gameplay

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tonight’s class

Hi everyone - i’m looking forward to our class tonight! We’ll be catching up on content AND will be discussing the final project/paper. Since we haven’t had an opportunity to do this yet you are NOT required to submit your proposal tonight (the deadline on our syllabus), though you may do so if you have forged bravely ahead. 

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Class cancelled tonight.

I am desperately sorry, but my mother’s funeral was yesterday and I am still out of town - I thought I’d be able to fly in to Toronto today to teach this week, but overestimated my capacity to return to class, so I am cancelling my classes for this week.

Next week our class will catch up by doing two presentations. We will also discuss a make-up date for the class you are missing. Thanks for your understanding.

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Project MUSE - How to Talk about Videogames

apparently the Bogost book is online! so if you haven’t purchased already, please follow this link. 

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Imagineering text - chapter one

Hi everyone, apologies for the late arrival of the reading… As stated in class, given difficulties with finding the text (back-ordered on Amazon) I am making the first chapter of the Imagineering book available here as a PDF. It would be too time-consuming to provide you with the full book… so i challenge you to read this and maybe think of other texts/theorists/examples you can bring to the conversation. see you Tuesday. http://www.yorku.ca/caitlin/imagineering_chapter1.pdf