Calendar and Readings

Required Texts

[JH] = Hunter, John. World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. ISBN: 9780547905594. [Preview with Google Books]

SES # TOPICS READINGS/MATERIALS
1

Introduction

Interviews

Hunter, John. Teaching with the World Peace Game. TED Talk. TED.com. March, 2011.

  
2

Why Games?

What are they are good for?

 [JH] Through chapter 3.
3

Screening

World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements. Directed by Chris Farina. Color, 60 min. 2010.

  
4

Play Flag game

[JH] Part 1 reading response due

  
5

Survey of the field, purposeful games list

Homework: Play Game from List, Write Short (2 page) Game Assessment Paper

[JH] Finish reading before class.

Mitgutsch, Konstantin, and Narda Alvarado. This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader."Purposeful by Design? A Serious Game Design Assessment Framework." (PDF - 3.0MB) Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games. ACM 121–28.
6

Guest Lecture: Sasha Costanza-Chock, Assistant Professor of Civic Media, MIT, Comparative Media Studies

[JH] Part 2 & Mitgutsch reading response due

  
7

Game Assessment Paper due

Present response to game you played

Homework: Develop Game Concept

  
8 Game Speed Dating–come with preliminary game concept

Homework: Refine Game Concept

  
9

Workshop: Building Prototypes

Homework: Finish Prototype

  
10

Playtesting Prototypes

Homework: Short Paper about Prototyping Experience

  
11 Develop World Peace Game Projects  
12 Workshop: World Peace Game Project

Rubbermuck. "Ian Bogost on Serious Gaming." March 7, 2011. You Tube. ABC Fora. Talk. X-Media Lab, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTK2oIJx8Po

Sicart, Miguel. "Against Procedurality." Game Studies 11, no. 3 (2011).
13

For and Against Procedurality

Bogost and Sicart reading response due

  
14 Workshop: World Peace Game Project Linderoth, Jonas. This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader."Beyond the Digital Divide: An Ecological Approach to Gameplay." (PDF - 4.3MB) Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association 1, no. 1 (2013).
15

Affordances of Digital / Non–digital

Linderoth reading response due

  
16 Workshop: World Peace Game Project  
17 Workshop: World Peace Game Project (cont.)  
18

Project Check–in

Alpha Presentations

  
19

Guest Lecture: Eric Gordon, Executive Director, Emerson

College Engagement Lab

GamesforChange. "Keynote: Eric Zimmerman." June 26, 2013. You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRVa2Q5bq5o

Buy at MIT Press Flanagan, Mary. "Introduction to Critical Play," "Critical Computer Games," and "Designing for Critical Play." In Critical Play: Radical Game Design. MIT Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780262518659. [Preview with Google Books]
20

Art Vs. Purpose

Flanagan & Zimmerman reading response due

  
21 On Narrative  
22 Present World Peace Games Projects  
23 Student Taught Class  
24 Student Taught Class (cont.)  
25 Student Taught Class (cont.)  
26

Wrap–up and Retrospective

Long reflection paper due