Good luck with your papers.
Remember, look at the RUBRIC! It’s what I grade with.
Also remember – no class on Wednesday.
Instead, fill out an evaluation form: http://my.gwu.edu/mod/evaluations.
Also also remember to get some sleep during the next couple of weeks. Seriously.
These meetings will take place in Gelman Library on the Foggy Bottom campus, room 458. Go to the fourth floor, take two steps out of the elevator, turn right 90 degrees, walk in a straight line. Stop just before you hit glass. Turn your head left 45 degrees. That is room 458.
Be ready to talk about where you are with your paper. I’ll try to help you figure out what you can/can’t or should/shouldn’t attempt to do. This is a low-stress meeting, but come with ideas!
Monday, April 22
2:30 – Nick
2:40 – A.J.
2:50 – Christoph
3:00 – Parker
3:10 – Marwa
3:20 – Connor
3:30 – Alex J.
Wednesday, April 24
2:30 – Alicia
2:40 – Alex E.
2:50 – Tim
3:00 – Chris
3:10 – Stephen
3:20 – Zach
3:30 – Jordan
3:40 – Elliot
For Friday, write a review about your Game of Choice HERE!
Remember to address the four aspects we talked about:
Immersion – Mechanics – Narrative – Flow
Also don’t forget to go to Ames 106 on Monday for the library workshop!
Here are the things I would like you to read for Wednesday.
ACTUALLY READ THEM! They are not long, and they are not dense.
I figured since Skyrim has been a recurrent subject of discussion, we would stick to it.
Links:
Common Sense Reviews for Parents
Think about the audience of these pieces and which game elements they focus on.
Also read this for some context: eHow – How to write a game review
See you Wednesday.
Using your Game Of Choice (GOC), describe the beginning of the game. Is it a tutorial? Does it give you any instruction? Is it terrifying nothingness?
Describe the goings-on in detail and attempt to answer any or all of these questions – Why is this how the game starts? What function does this serve? What is the game telling me, the player? How are diegetic/ non-diegetic elements used? How effective is all of this?
This weekend, you are tasked with a quest.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the Pop Culture Association/ American Culture Association Conference will be held at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel in Woodley Park, and you will be there.
Your assignment is to attend a panel in the “Game Studies” section of the conference. You may attend any other events you wish, but you MUST attend at least one Game Studies panel.
By Sunday @ 5:00pm you will post (here) the name of a Game Studies panel you attended, and give a brief synopsis of one of the papers in that panel. You may attend my presentation, but you may not use it for this assignment.
The link to the conference schedule is to the left on the blog. You will have to select “Game Studies” from the drop-down menu.
To get there, take the Red line to Woodley Park/ Zoo stop. The hotel is right there. It’s really big. You’ll see it.
Due before 5pm on Friday, March 22nd.
Post your thesis statement and two outside scholarly sources you are using for the paper (in the comments).
The sources should be in MLA bibliographic style.
That’s it.
Here is your promised reminder.
For Wednesday, be ready to discuss:
1) your working thesis – this is a serious thesis statement that you are planning to base your second paper around, but you are not stuck with it.
2) at least one outside scholarly source that you plan to use for the paper.
You wil each individually share these with the class. It will be fun! We’ll help each other out.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so let me remind you what’s on the agenda for Monday.
We will talk about two articles:
Learning and Identity: What Does it Mean to Be Half-Elf?, by James Paul Gee
and
Playing at Being: Psychoanalysis and the Avatar, by Bob Rehak.
You should have read them by now, but even so, you should revisit them. The Rehak piece in particular is tough.
We will also talk about research and possible thesis statements.
See you then!
Don’t forget, today we are not meeting in our normal room.
We are also not meeting in the library.
Today’s workshop will be in Ames Hall, room 106.
Ames Hall is the building with the café in it, and room 106 is through the front door and to the right.
See you there.
Writing About Video Games 