Teachers

Stephanie Boluk Patrick LeMieux Associate Professor Assistant Professor English, Cinema and Digital Media Cinema and Digital Media University of California, Davis University of California, Davis [email protected] [email protected] http://stephanieboluk.com http://patrick-lemieux.com

Course Description

Rather than treat “videogames and culture” as two distinct categories that play off one another, in this large lecture and in discussion sections we will examine the community histories and material practices that have evolved alongside videogames as a mass medium, cultural commodity, and digital technology.

We will challenge the seemingly self-evident differences between play and production, leisure and labor, form and function, and freedom and control through a quarter-long investigation of the concept of “metagaming.” Metagames are the games we play in, on, around, and through videogames. From the most complex player practices to the simple decision to press start, just as there are no videogames without culture, there are no games without metagames. And although the term “metagame” has a long history–from Cold War mind games in the 1940s to countercultural role-playing games in the 1970s to collectable card games in the 1990s–the concept has taken on renewed importance and political urgency with the rise of social media, streaming video, and sharing services in the twenty-first century.

From speedrunning The Legend of Zelda to making a living playing League of Legends and ​ ​ ​ ​ from modding miniature computers in Minecraft to laundering money through Team Fortress 2, ​ ​ ​ in this class we will document and theorize histories of play through the concept of metagaming and a rigorous engagement with academic disciplines such as media studies, games studies, software studies, platform studies, and code studies. We will also put these theories into practice by close playing videogames, streaming speedruns, audio reviewing audiogames, commentating competitions, and making metagames together.

This course expands on the content and methods explored in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, ​ Spectating, Cheating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames (2017), available online at ​ https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​

Course Materials

Required Readings - All required readings are available in the Metagaming Reader on the Canvas. ​ ​ Required Games - Braid: http://store.steampowered.com/app/26800/ ​ ​ - Portal: http://store.steampowered.com/app/400/ ​ ​ - Speedrunning game of our choice - Audiogame of your choice from Audiogames.net - eSports game of your choice (different than speedrunning game)

Recommended System Requirements - Each game listed on http://store.steampowered.com/ will have recommended technical ​ ​ specifications listed for Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux (depending on if the game is compatible with each OS). Search the store for Braid, Portal, and other games ​ ​ ​ ​ you want to work on during the class and scroll down to “System Requirements” to see if your system will support them. If you own the game on console or prefer playing on console, you are welcome to play these games in whatever way you prefer.

Recommended Free Software - Twitch: http://twitch.tv/ (Mac/Win) ​ ​ - OBS: https://obsproject.com/ (Mac/Win) ​ ​ - Livesplit: http://livesplit.org/ (Win) ​ ​ - Time Split Tracker: https://revenantkioku.itch.io/time-split-tracker-os-x (Mac) ​ ​ - Wine: http://winebottler.kronenberg.org/ (For using Win programs on Mac) ​ ​ Suggested Equipment - USB Controller - Wired Xbox 360 Controller, ~$30 - Portable Hard Drive - 32GB Flash Drive, ~$10 - USB Webcam and Mic Combo - Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920, ~$65

No Computer, No Problem! - If you don't have a computer or if your computer does not meet the system requirements, you can always 1) play with a friend or another student in the class, 2) watch a detailed playthrough on YouTube, Twitch, or other video streaming sites, or 3) load the software on USB and use the computers in Art Annex 103, Mac Lab between 8:00am-4:30pm when no classes are using it or when it is staffed after hours.

Course Rules

Attendance Being on time and attending all class sessions (both lecture and discussion) is required. Being late to class or absent will affect your attendance and participation grade. If you miss a class, you are responsible for making up lost material. Read the syllabus, website, or ask a friend ​ instead of emailing either your professor or your TA to find out what was missed.

Deadlines Assignments must be handed in on time. This policy will be strictly enforced and no extensions will be permitted unless there is proper documentation (e.g., doctor’s note) or the request is made in advance. Each day late will have a third of a letter grade deducted (i.e., B+ becomes B, B becomes B-, etc.)

Academic Honesty You are expected to be familiar with and to abide by the UC Davis Rules of Academic Conduct. See http://sja.ucdavis.edu/ for more information. We will report all incidents of academic ​ ​ ​ dishonesty (plagiarism and so forth), whether intentional or not, to Student Judicial Affairs and you will receive no credit (i.e. 0%) for the assignment.

Accommodations Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact us privately to discuss his or her specific needs. In addition, the student should contact the Student Disability Center (https://sdc.ucdavis.edu) at (530) 752-3184 or ​ ​ [email protected] as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations can be ​ implemented in a timely fashion. All accommodations should have prior approval from the SDC.

Cell Phones Cell phones and other communication devices must be turned off during class—no ringing, no buzzing, no talking, no texting. Repeated incidents will affect your participation grade.

Email Before sending an email, ask yourself if it is a question already answered by the syllabus or worksheet. We prefer that students make use of office hours rather than email. If you do email ​ ​ either one of the professors or the TA, we will try to respond within 72 hours but this may not always be possible. If you email with a question that asks for a lengthy response (e.g., advice for a project), we may ask that you either visit during office hours or set up an appointment if you are unable to make those times.

Laptops Laptops, cellphones, and tablets are for class purposes only. Casual in-class surfing (e.g., ​ ​ social media, watching videos, email, texting, playing games that are not being discussed in class) will affect your attendance and participation grade.

Texts You are responsible for bringing all required texts to class. This will affect your attendance and participation grade.

Assignments

30% - Metagaming - 2.5% - Making a Metagame, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 1/23 ​ ​ - 2.5% - Writing a Player’s Guide, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 1/23 ​ ​ ​ - 2.5% - Close Playing Braid, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 1/30 ​ ​ ​ ​ - 2.5% - Close Playing Portal, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 2/6 ​ ​ ​ ​ - 5% - Streaming a Speedrun, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 2/15 ​ ​ - 5% - Audio Reviewing an Audiogame, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 2/22 ​ ​ - 10% - Commentating a Competition, due by 11:59pm on Canvas on 3/8 ​ ​ 30% - A History of Play/Playing with History - 10% - Midterm Paper, due in print in class and by 11:59pm on Canvas on 2/8 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - 5% - Peer Review, due in print in discussion sections on 3/9 and 3/12 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ - 15% - Final Paper, due in print in class and by 11:59pm on Canvas on 3/15 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 30% - Exams and Quizzes - 5% - Quizzes, at the beginning of random classes throughout the quarter ​ ​ - 10% - Midterm Exam, in class on Tuesday, 2/13 from 3:10-4:30pm ​ ​ - 15% - Final Exam, in class on Wednesday, 3/21, 10:30-12:30pm in Wellman 2 ​ ​ - https://registrar.ucdavis.edu/registration/archive/finals.cfm

10% - Attendance and Participation - Based on performance in lecture, discussion sections, and group projects.

5% - Optional Extra Credit - Please email both [email protected] AND [email protected] if you would like to ​ ​ ​ ​ demonstrate a metagame in front of the class by the end for extra credit by Friday, 1/26. We are particularly interested in small, 10-15m presentations that showcase interesting indie games (platforming, procedural generation, etc.), competitive FPS (aiming angles, pre-shooting etc.), speedrunning (clipping, zipping, sequence breaking, etc.), fighting game communities (hit/hurt boxes, tech, footsies, etc.), MOBAs (draft strats, last hitting, pulling, stacking, etc.), fanfic and cosplay (slash, shipping, etc.), and modding (asset creation, level design, etc.). You must meet with Prof. Boluk and Prof. LeMieux in ​ advance to approve your demo, discuss equipment needs, and set the schedule. Only ​ once per student!

Grading

A+ 97-100 C+ 79-77 F <60 A 94-96 C 74-76 A- 90-93 C- 70-73 B+ 89-87 D+ 69-67 B 84-86 D 64-66 B- 80-83 D- 60-63

Weekly Projects

Making a Metagame Following Brenda Romero’s or Eric Zimmerman’s introduction to game design exercises, in teams of four play a well known game like war, tic-tac-toe, rock paper scissors, heads or tails, and rolling dice. Document your team’s (or your own) understanding of the rules. Think about what might make a game popular (e.g., ease, simplicity, nostalgia, etc.) as well as what might make a game seem boring (e.g., repetition, randomness, no consequences, etc.). Next intervene in the operations of the game by making a metagame. Add new rules, new equipment, new goals, new narratives, new performances, a new title, etc. These modifications can be absurd or rational, critical or constructive but they should change the game. If there’s time, ​ ​ playtest and iterate on your metagame. Upload your final rules to the Canvas. ​ Writing a Player’s Guide In teams of four (or as a large group) take turns playing Rod Humble’s The Marriage. Play ​ ​ carefully and keep track of the different ways the software behaves. What do you observe? What do you take for granted? What happens when you click? What happens when different elements touch? What happens when the color changes? After documenting the mechanics of The Marriage, collaborate with another group to see if your team left anything off your list. Then ​ discuss why you think Humble put these mechanics in place. What is the story of The Marriage? ​ Is this a general statement on marriage or an account of a specific marriage? Given the code of the HTML5 version, how would you change The Marriage? If there’s time, make a modification ​ ​ that alters the title, colors, or mechanics of The Marriage to tell a different story. Upload your ​ ​ ​ player’s guide and modification to the Canvas.

Close Playing Braid ​ Considering Mark Sample and Ed Chang’s provocations to “Close Play” and “Critically Play” videogames, for the next two weeks we will be extending the our previous assignments to play carefully, think critically, and make metagames in, on, around, and through Braid and Portal. In ​ ​ ​ ​ teams of four pick a level of Braid that is repeated at some point of the game (e.g., Hunt!, The ​ ​ Pit, Lair, Phase, Jumpman, etc.) and take turns playing through both iterations. What are the similarities and differences? Why did Jonathan Blow choose to repeat this particular design? Considering the the hypertextual nodes in the cloudy hub-world, the painting assembled from the puzzle pieces, and the mechanics explored within the level itself, how do these levels communicate the courtly love narrative, military history, and ludic play of Braid’s intertwined ​ ​ story? Record your discussion with screenshots and upload this documentation to the Canvas. ​ Close Playing Portal ​ To continue our “Close Playing” sessions and engage more directly with the ways in which videogames are made, in teams of four play through the developer commentary of Portal. Take ​ ​ turns slowly exploring each test chamber while listening to the developer commentary together. Compare and contrast details you observed on your personal playthroughs with the ways the developers are describing the game. What did you notice on your first playthrough? Was it intended by the developers? What parts of your playthrough don’t match their expectations? Pay specific attention to those moments of repetition within a single level (e.g., Test Chamber 05, Test Chamber 07, etc.). How are these moments similar or dissimilar to the repetition in Braid? Pick a specific test chamber, and, using screenshots write a short description of how one ​ might traverse the space. Consider aiming angles, order of operations, and visual/auditory cues that would help a first time player. Upload your guide to the Canvas. ​

Streaming a Speedrun As a means to familiarize yourself with the experimental practices and techniques of the speedrunning community, this week choose a game to stream and speedrun. Begin by researching the community around a given game, practicing offline to learn how to complete all or part of it quickly, and then streaming attempts to get a personal best (PB!) using Open Broadcaster Software, Twitch TV, and a split timer of your choice. Experiment with streaming technology to see if you can produce a working Twitch TV channel similar to how speedrunners perform at http://www.speedrunslive.com/. After streaming at least an hour of attempts, archive ​ ​ your PB as an individual highlight video. Submit a URL to video documentation (either on ​ Twitch, YouTube, Vimeo, or another service) documenting your PB to the Canvas by 11:59PM on Thursday, February 15.

Audio Reviewing an Audiogame In order to engage with the audiogames community, choose an audiogame and play the game without the use of vision. You can play blindfolded, with the screen off, or without peaking, or whatever method works best for you. Write a 250 word review of your play experience. What was the name of the game, where did you find it, and who made it? What operating system, interface, and equipment did you use to play? What were the basic rules and mechanics of the game? What was your personal experience playing the game? Beyond whether or not it was easy or hard, fun or frustrating, interesting or boring, carefully detail your experience of playing the game. Consider how useful your review would be for someone interested in playing your selected game. Finally, record yourself reading the review using Open Broadcaster Software and Twitch TV. Submit URL to audio documentation (either on Twitch, SoundCloud, ​ Archive.org, or another service) to the Canvas by 11:59PM on Thursday, February 22.

Commentating a Competition To understand the complexity and community around competitive videogames, you will have two weeks to produce a collaborative commentary for 10 minutes of competitive play. Form groups of approximately four people from your discussion sections. Pick a competitive game and a specific tournament, round, match, or moment from that game that you’d like to commentate together. Research the tournament proceedings, the narrative of the competition, the competitors you’ll be discussing, and, of course, the rules and mechanics of the specific game itself. Strategize as a group--what kind of storylines and analysis would you like to share with your audience? Will one person be focusing on play-by-play or color commentary narrating what is happening on screen? Will another person be focusing on analysis of specific mechanical exploits or long-term strategies? Will someone focus on statistics and what kinds of odds are at stake in your given match? Will someone be trying to tell a story about the culture of play of a given game and how this moment fits in with the bigger picture? Prepare your stories, strategies, statistics, and other notes to help you commentate a match. While streaming the video using OBS and Twitch TV (or recording audio to splice together with a video in post production) narrate--as a team--at least 10 minutes of commentary. Roughly, it should work out that each group member speaks for at least 2 minutes and 30 seconds each though not all at the same time! Most commentaries are as playful, interactive, and conversational as much as they are analytic. Submit a URL to your uploaded video (either on Twitch, YouTube, Vimeo, or ​ another service) to Canvas by 11:59PM on Thursday, March 8.

Midterm and Final Projects

Midterm and Final Project: A History of Play, Playing with History What is the history of games? Is it a history of dates, dollars, and data catalogued on Wikipedia ​ and stored in corporate archives? Or does the history of games include the material traces of conflict minerals, the global circuits of distribution infrastructure, the labor in manufacturing plants, the memories of domestic play, and the recycling or reuse of game hardware? Moving past what Erkki Huhtamo calls the “chronicle era” of game history, in this class we will attempt to write a history of the metagame. Not a history of games, but a history of play--a story of the people who play games and your interactions with them. To write your history of play, begin with a midterm consisting of (1) Introduction, (2) Corporate Context, and (3) Community Contribution (min. 1250 word midterm due in class and on Canvas 2/8). After getting feedback, your midterm should be revised (or rewritten) as well as expanded for a final that includes (4) Your Metagame, (5) Critical Analysis, and a (6) Conclusion (min. 2500 word draft due in discussion sections on 3/9 and 3/12; final due in class and on Canvas 3/15). Your history of play should take the form of a creative and critical writing experiment that is historically, practically, and theoretically informed. This practice-based research should result in an investigation and intervention into the culture of videogames or use videogames as a platform to comment on social, political, economic, or historical events. As Richard Terrell says, “every game with metagame worth understanding deserves a devoted videogame historian” and in this course, we will be the historians and archaeologists, designers and documentarians.

Schedule

Week 1 - Magic Circles, Metagaming, and Game Theory

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “Metagaming: Videogames and the Practice of Play” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Cheating, Trading, ​ Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 10-22. ​ https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ 1/9 - Introduction - Go over course syllabus, discussion sections, and practice-based assignments. - Play and discuss the first level of Super Mario World. before exploring Mario ​ ​ ​ metagaming from Nintendo’s R&D4 to Andi McClure’s Many Worlds Emulator to Peter Greenwood’s TASBot.

1/11 - What is Metagaming? - Salen Tekinbaş, Katie and Eric Zimmerman. 2003. “The Magic Circle” in Rules of Play. ​ ​ Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 92-99. - Garfield, Richard. 2000. “Metagames” in Horseman of the Apocalypse: Essays on ​ Roleplaying, ed. Jim Dietz. Charleston, IL: Jolly Roger Games, 14–21. ​ - Poundstone, William. 1992. “Game Theory” in Prisoner’s Dilemma: John von Neumann, ​ Game Theory, and the Puzzle of the Bomb. New York, NY: Doubleday. 37-64. ​ - Play and discuss variations of the Prisoner’s Dilemma and The Evolution of Trust. ​ ​ ​ Supplemental: - Huizinga, Johan. 1949. “Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon” in Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. London: Routledge & Kegan ​ Paul. 1-27. - Elias, George Skaff, Richard Garfield, and K. Robert Gutschera. 2012. “Superstructure” in Characteristics of Games. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press, 201-211. ​ ​ Discussion Sections 1/12 - Making a Metagame in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 2 - Voluntary Rules, Involuntary Mechanics, and Allegories of Control

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “Metagaming: Videogames and the Practice of Play” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Cheating, Trading, ​ Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1-10. ​ https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ 1/16 - Rules vs. Mechanics ​ ​ - Suits, Bernard. 1978. The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia. p. 22-49. ​ ​ - McGonigal, Jane. 2011. “What exactly is a Game?” in Reality Is Broken: Why Games ​ Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York, NY: Penguin Press. ​ 19-34. - DeLeon, Chris. “Rules in Computer Games Compared to Rules in Traditional Games,” (2013), 1-11. - Play and discuss Bioshock from the introduction until the monkey wrench. ​ ​ 1/18 - Cheating, Trifling, and Spoiling

- Play and discuss Solitaire, Microsoft Solitaire, and Board Game Simulator while trying to ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ cheat, trifle, and spoil each game.

Supplemental: - Galloway, Alexander. 2004. “Allegories of Control” in Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic ​ Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ​ - Murray, Janet. 2017. “Agency” in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in ​ Cyberspace. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. ​ - Liebe, Michael. 2008. “There Is No Magic Circle: On the Difference between Computer Games and Traditional Games.” Proceedings of the Philosophy of Computer Games. https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/files/2558/digarec01_18.pdf

1/19 and 1/22 - Writing a Player’s Guide in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 3 - Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation in Indie Games

***** Solo Playthrough of Braid due at the start of class on 1/23 ​ ​ ***** Making a Metagame due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 1/23 ***** Writing a Player’s Guide due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 1/23

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “About, Within, Around, Without: A Survey of Six Metagames” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Cheating, ​ Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, ​ 23-34. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 1/23 - Games About Games - Bolter, Jay David and Richard Grusin. 1999. “Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation” in Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ​ ​ 20-50. - Garda, Maria and Paweł Grabarczyk. 2016. “Is Every Indie Game Independent? Towards the Concept of Independent Game.” Game Studies 16.1. ​ ​ http://gamestudies.org/1601/articles/gardagrabarczyk. ​ - Baio, Andy. 2011. “Metagames: Games about Games.” Waxy.org. Feb. 1. ​ ​ http://waxy.org/2011/02/metagames_games_about_games/. ​ 1/25 - Indie Games - Play and commentate Braid and/or watch excerpts from Indie Game: the Movie. ​ ​ ​ ​ Supplemental: - Murray, Janet. 2017. “Immediacy” in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in ​ Cyberspace. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. ​ - Foddy, Bennett. 2014. “IndieCade East 2014: State of the Union.” Feb. 25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XfCT3jhEC0. (Watch online. 44 min.) ​ - Anthropy, Anna. 2012. “The New Videogame” in Rise of the Videogame Zinesters, ​ ​ 93-116. - Baio, Andy. 2011. “Metagames: Games about Games.” Waxy.org. Feb. 1. ​ ​ http://waxy.org/2011/02/metagames_games_about_games/. ​ 1/26 and 1/29 - Close Playing Braid in discussion sections. ​ ​ ​

Week 4 - Perspectival Rendering, Anamorphic Games, and the Digital ASW

***** Solo Playthrough of Portal due at the start of class on 1/30 ​ ​ ***** Close Playing Braid due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 1/30

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “Stretched Skulls: Anamorphic Games and the Memento Mortem Mortis” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, ​ ​ ​ Cheating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of ​ Minnesota Press, 77-120. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 1/30 - Anamorphic Games - Friedberg, Anne. 2006. “The Window” in The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft. ​ Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 26-43. - Hansen, Mark. 2009. “The Digital Any-Space-Whatever,” in New Philosophy for New ​ Media. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 197-209. ​ - Demonstrate perspectival and anamorphic rendering using plexiglass and projectors. - Play and discuss Portal, Echochrome, levelHead, and Miegakure. ​ ​ ​ 2/1 - Rendering and Ray Tracing - Demonstrate how to program Perspectival Rendering and Ray Tracing using Unity. - Play and discuss CS:GO w/ console commands and watch “CS:GO Perspective and ​ ​ ​ ​ Angles Tutorial”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e8HZqF3cyk ​ - Play and discuss Counter-Strike, Splatoon, Portal. ​ ​ Supplemental: - Mitchell, William J. 1992. “Virtual Cameras” in The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the ​ Post-Photographic Era. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 117-135. ​ - Hart, Vaughan and Joe Robson. 2555. “Hans Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’: A Computer View of Renaissance Perspective Illusion.” Computers and the History of Art 8, No. 2. 1– ​ ​ 13. - Lehmann, Ann-Sophie. 2012. "Taking the Lid off the Utah teapot. The Materials of Computer Graphics", Zeitschrift für Medien und Kulturforschung 1. 157-172 ​ ​ 2/2 and 2/5 - Close Playing Portal in discussion sections ​ ​ ​ ​

Week 5 - Superplay, Speedrunning, and Four Types of Mechanical Exploits

***** Close Playing Portal due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 2/6

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “Hundred Thousand Billion Fingers: Serial Histories of Super Mario Bros.” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, ​ ​ ​ Cheating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of ​ Minnesota Press, 173-201. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 2/6 - Speedrunning Super Mario Bros. ​ - Newman, James. 2008. “Superplay, Sequence Breaking and Speedrunning” in Playing ​ with Videogames. New York: Routledge. 123-148. ​ - Wright, Narcissa. 2014. “On Getting Good.” Pastebin. July 24. ​ ​ - Play and Discuss collision detection, memory manipulation, and order of operation exploits in the history of speedrunning Super Mario Bros and/or watch AGDQ. ​ ​

**** Midterm Paper due in print at the start of class and on Canvas by 11:59PM on 2/8 ​ ​ ​ ​ 2/8 - Streaming a Speedrunning Demonstration - Demonstrate controller and emulator with Open Broadcaster and Livesplit/Lanfair.

Supplemental: - Lowood, Henry. 2006. “High-performance play: The making of machinima.” Journal of ​ Media Practice, Vol. 7 (1). 25-42. ​ - Consalvo, Mia. 2007. “Gaining Advantage: How Videogame Players Define and Negotiate Cheating” in Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames. Cambridge, MA: ​ ​ MIT Press. 83-106. - Koziel, Eric. 2018. Speedrun Science: A Long Guide to Short Playthroughs. Fangamer. ​ ​ 1-27.

2/9 and 2/12 - Streaming a Speedrun demonstration continued in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 6 - Alternative Interfaces, Critical Disability, and Accessibility in Games

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “Blind Spots: The Phantom Pain, The Helen Keller Simulator, and Disability in Games” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, ​ Spectating, Cheating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University ​ of Minnesota Press, 121-172. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 2/13 - MIDTERM EXAM: Tuesday, February 14 from 3:10-4:30 PM ​ ***** Streaming a Speedrun due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 2/15

2/15 - Disability and Games - Siebers, Tobin. 2008. “Introduction” in Disability Theory. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan UP, ​ ​ 1-33. - Barlet, Mark C. and Steve D. Spohn. Includification: A Practical Guide to Game ​ Accessibility. The Able Gamers Foundation. 2012. ​ http://www.includification.com/AbleGamers_Includification.pdf. ​ - Play and discuss alternate playthroughs of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. ​ Supplemental: - Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. 1997. Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability ​ in American Culture and Literature. New York: Columbia University Press. ​ - Galloway, Alexander. 2006. “Four Gamic Actions” in Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic ​ Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. 1-38. ​ - Verner, Jordan. 2006. “Can Someone Please Help Me with OoT?” Speed Demos ​ Archive. Oct. 20. ​ forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/can_someone_please_help_me_with_oot.html

2/16 - Audio Reviewing an Audiogame demonstration continued in discussion sections ​ ​

Week 7 - Community Competitions and Fighting Games

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “About, Within, Around, Without: A Survey of Six Metagames” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, Spectating, Cheating, ​ Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, ​ 51-60. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 2/20 - Competition and Fighting Games - Taylor, T.L. 2012. “Computer Games as Professional Sport” in Raising the Stakes: ​ E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ​ 35-84. - Miller, Patrick. 2014. “Everything You Need To Know About Fighting Games” in From ​ Masher to Master: The Educated Video Game Enthusiast’s Fighting Game Primer. Shoryuken. 10-33. http://shoryuken.com/2014/07/07/learn-how-to-play-fighting-games-with-our-free-beginne rs-guide-ebook/. ​ ***** Audio Reviewing an Audio Game due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 2/22

2/22 - Super Smash Bros. ​ - Play and discuss live Smash tournament/friendlies and/or watch The Smash Brothers. ​ ​ ​ ​ Supplemental: - Terrell, Richard “KirbyKid” “Metagamirng Meditations Part 1-4” http://critical-gaming.com/blog/2011/1/28/metagame-meditations-pt1.html - Witkowski, Emma and Manning, J. “Playing with(out) Power: Negotiated conventions of high performance networked play practices.” Digital Games Research Association conference Proceedings. July 3-6, 2017. Melbourne Australia. - Lantz, Frank. 2014. “Counting Frames” at EVO 2014. https://vimeo.com/100819878 ​ ​ ​ - Eastpoint Pictures. 2013. “The Smash Brothers.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSf2mgkRm7Q&list=PLoUHkRwnRH-IXbZfwlgiEN8e Xmoj6DtKM

2/23 and 2/26 - Commentating a Competition group work in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 8 - Digital Economies, Free Labor, and Gambling in Videogames

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2017. “The Turn of the Tide: International E-Sports and the Undercurrency in Dota 2” in Metagaming: Playing, Competing, ​ ​ ​ Spectating, Cheating, Trading, Making, and Breaking Videogames. Minneapolis, MN: University ​ of Minnesota Press, 207-274. https://manifold.umn.edu/project/metagaming. ​ ​ 2/27 - Dota 2 and Free Labor ​ ​ - Terranova, Tiziana. “Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy.” Social ​ Text, 63 Vol. 18.2 (Summer 2000), 33-58. ​ - Schüll, Natasha Dow. 2014. Addiction by Design. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University ​ ​ Press.

3/1 - Free to Play or Free to Pay? - Play and discuss live 5-player Dota 2 or League of Legends and/or Watch Free to Play. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Supplemental: - Hoffman, Erin. 2004. "EA: The Human Story." LiveJournal. Nov. 10. ​ ​ ea-spouse.livejournal.com/274.html - Dyer-Witheford, Nick, and Greig De Peuter. 2009. “Immaterial Labor” in Games of ​ Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota ​ Press. 3-34. - Gabe Newell delivers “On Productivity, :Reflections of a Video Game Maker” at University of Texas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8QEOBgLBQU ​ - Valve Corporation. 2012. Handbook for New Employees. Steamworks. n. d. ​ ​ http://media.steampowered.com/apps/valve/Valve_NewEmployeeHandbook.pdf - Nakamura, Lisa. 2012. “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game: The Racialization of Labor in World of Warcraft.” https://lnakamur.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/donthatetheplayer.pdf

3/2 and 3/5 - Commentating a Competition group work in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 9 - Strange IDEs and Programming Computers inside Computers

Lecture based on Boluk, Stephanie and Patrick LeMieux. 2013. “Dwarven Epitaphs: Procedural Histories in Dwarf Fortress” in Comparative Textual Media: Transforming the Humanities in the ​ ​ ​ Postprint Era eds. N. Katherine Hayles and Jessica Pressman. Minneapolis, MN: University of ​ Minnesota Press, 125-154.

3/6 - The Emergence of a Dwarven Computer - Wardrip-Fruin, Noah. 2009. “Eliza Effect,” “Tailspin Effect,” and “Sim City Effect” in Expressive Processing: Digital fictions, Computer games, and Software Studies. ​ Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. 23-39, 115-151, 299-317. ​ - De Landa, Manuel. 2011. “Cellular Automata and Patterns of Flow” in Philosophy and ​ Simulation: The Emergence of Synthetic Reason. London: Continuum. 22-35. ​ ***** Commentating a Competition due on Canvas by 11:59PM on 3/8

3/8 - Crafting, Creativity, Innovation, and Maker Culture - Play and discuss Dwarf Fortress and MineCraft and/or watch The Story of Mojang. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ***** Final Project Draft in print at the start of discussion sections on 3/9 and 3/12 ​ ​ Supplemental: - Gingold, Chaim. 2015. “Play Design: Simcity, Simulation, and Geology.” Stanford University, March 13. http://shc.stanford.edu/events/play-design-simcity-simulation-and-geology - Grow, April et al. “Crafting in Games.” Digital Humanities Quarterly 11.4 (2017) ​ ​ http://digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/11/4/000339/000339.html - Various. 2006–7. “Dwarf Fortress—Boatmurdered.” Let’s Play Archive. April 14. ​ ​ http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/

3/9 and 3/12 - Peer-Reviewing Projects in discussion sections. ​ ​

Week 10 - Infrastructures of Play: Coltan, Cables, E-Waste, and BitCoin

3/13 - From Coltan to BitCoin - Starosielski, Nicole. 2015. “Against Flow” in The Undersea Network. Durham, NC: Duke ​ ​ University Press. 1-25. - Ensmenger, Nathan. Forthcoming 2018. “Dirty Bits: An Environmental History of Computing.”

***** Final Project Due in print at the start of class and on Canvas by 11:59PM on 3/15 ​ ​ ​ ​ 3/15 - Exam Review and Evaluations - Play and discuss Cookie Clicker and Universal Paperclips ​ ​ ​ Supplemental: - Dyer-Witheford, Nick, and Greig De Peuter. 2009. “Exodus: The Metaverse and the Mines” in Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games. Minneapolis, MN: ​ ​ University of Minnesota Press. 215-228. - Maurer, Bill, Taylor C. Nelms, and Lana Swartz. 2013 “‘When perhaps the real problem is money itself!’: the Practical Materiality of Bitcoin”. Social Semiotics 23.2. ​ ​ - Parikka, Jussi. 2011. “The Materiality of Media and Waste” in Medianatures: The ​ Materiality of Information Technology and Electronic Waste. http://www.livingbooksaboutlife.org/books/Electronic_waste/Introduction - Nakamura, Lisa. 2015. “Indigenous Circuits” http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/indigenous-circuits/ - Sutherland, Ewan. "Coltan, the Congo and your cell phone." http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/pdf/coltan.pdf

3/16 and 3/19 - No discussion sections this week! Good luck with your finals!

3/21 - FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, March 21, 10:30 AM- 12:30 PM in Wellman 2 ​ - https://registrar.ucdavis.edu/registration/archive/finals.cfm

Syllabus may slightly change through quarter! We will announce any changes in class, but if there is any confusion, please consult the online syllabus for most recent version!