AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES 1/10 AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES (A CLASS IN FIVE ACTS) Term: Fall Semester, 2010 Start/End Dates: August 23 – December 18; No class Sept 6 (Labor Day), Nov 24 (Thanksgiving Break) Day/Times: MW mornings, 10:50am – 12:05pm Room Location: COB 208 Course Blog: criticalgamestudies.wordpress.com Instructor: Devin Monnens Office Hours: MW mornings, 9:30-10:30 or by appointment Email: [email protected] Phone: 303.506.5602 Texts Needed: Other texts will be available online and are listed in the course schedule. Braid [Steam; PC/Mac/Xbox 360 - $10] Half-Life 2 [Steam; PC $10]* Half-Life 2, Episode Two [Steam; PC $10] OR – You can buy both along with Portal in The Orange Box for $29.99 *If the HL2:E2 version of Dear Esther is completed, we won't need HL2. The Path [Steam; PC $10] The Graveyard [Steam; PC $5] Texts Recommended: Bissell, Tom. (2010). Extra Lives. New York: Pantheon Books. Course Description: AH 3000-004 – Art History of Videogames is the survey and analysis of videogames as an art form. We will cover basic foundations of critical game studies such as ludology, narratology, and historical analysis. We will be interested in discovering where the art of games lies – is it in the visuals, the subject matter, the narrative, the gameplay? Or is it in the game as a whole? What is needed for a game to qualify as art? Course Objectives: To explore major topics behind games as art and their critical analysis as artistic works. You will produce critical papers and blog entries that explore different aspects of games as art. Evaluative Criteria: You will be graded on your ability to comprehend the subject matter as well as your reflective analysis of course material and games. Finally, part of your course evaluation is based on your class participation and responses to assigned readings. About the Professor: I have an MFA in Electronic Media Arts Design from the University of Denver. My game development experience includes game production at Sony Online Entertainment Denver and the independent development of socially conscious games, one of which is part of the international Values at Play Archive. I also am a board member of the International Game Developers Association Colorado Chapter. My interests and expertise include a wide range of other fields such as machinima and medieval literature. Grading Scale 90-100 = A 80-89 = B 70-79 = C 60-69 = D 59 and below = F Please Note: UCCS applies plus and minus percentages to the above as well. AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES 2/10 Grading Procedures Gameplay Blog 30% Participation 10% Art Game Analysis Papers 30% Final Paper 30% Gameplay Blog: Each week, you will write one blog entry on a game of your choice that we played this week. Blog entries are due 11:59 PM on Wednesdays. Record your experiences you had playing this game as well as your interpretations of it. Don't go about rating the game; instead, think about how the game affected you, what it means, how effective it was, and why you chose it. Participation: You will participate in class discussions about the readings. As such, you are responsible for all required readings for that week. Put forward your own thoughts. Post additional observations on your blog. Critical Game Papers: You will produce three critical game analysis papers using critical game studies methodology. These papers will be 3 pages long, but you can go over if you have something interesting to say. Remember that I want game criticism, NOT game reviews. You will be telling me something interesting about a game we played, NOT why I should buy it. Final Paper: Your final paper is a further exploration of one or more categories we discussed during the semester. This paper will be 6-10 pages long. You will apply this critical theory towards one game or area of study of your choosing. ***You MUST include a works cited sheet with your papers. Your works cited sheet does NOT count towards your page length. ALL papers MUST be typed in 12-point Times New Roman with last name and page numbers. Required Readings: Readings required for this class are primarily electronic documents. Digital copies of printed matter will be provided. Your 'readings' also include digital games. We will play these games before class and comment on them during the class period. You won't have to beat all of these games, but you will have to play them. A PC IS REQUIRED. There are several art games that can ONLY be played on the PC. This is not an exhaustive list of art games. There are many more where these came from. Instead, this is a survey of the most notable intersections between art and games. ACT I – INTRODUCTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS Week 1 – Introductions – Are Games Art? Aug 23 – Introductions Are Games Art? Aug 25 – Background of Game Art Thomas, David. (2009). “Games are Not Art.” Crispy Gamer. http://www.crispygamer.com/features/2009-09-30/games-are-not-art.aspx Ebert, Roger. (2010). “Okay Kids, Play on My Lawn.” Sun Times. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES 3/10 Week 2 – Art and Aesthetics Aug 30 – Game History Wikipedia. (2010). “History of Video Games.” Wikipedia. The Wikimedia Foundation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_games Sept 1 – Pixel Art & 3D Art Aesthetics Sheff, David. (1999). “I, Mario.” Game Over: Press Start to Continue. Wilton, CT: GamePress. NFGMan. 2004. “The Evolution of Mario.” NFG Games. 25.Nov.2008 http://nfggames.com/games/MarioSprites/ NFGMan. 2006. “A Castlevania Sprite History.” NFG Games. 25.Nov.2008 http://nfggames.com/games/CastlevaniaSprites/ Hayward, David. 14.Oct.2005. “Videogame Aesthetics: The Future!” Gamasutra. 25.Nov.2008 http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051014/hayward_01.shtml ACT II – ART GAMES AS CONCEPT Week 3 – Game as Symbol Sept 8 – Game as Symbol Pacman. (Namco, 1979) http://www.bennychow.com/ Poole, Steven. (2000). “Signs of Life.” Trigger Happy. New York: Arcade Publishing. Murray, Janet. (1997). “Games as Symbolic Dramas.” Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. The Marriage (PC, 2007). Rob Humble. http://www.rodvik.com/rodgames/marriage.html Play the game, then read the artist statement. Then play the game again. Humble, Rob. (2006). “Game Rules as Art.” The Escapist. 41. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_41/247-Game-Rules-as-Art Week 4 – Jason Rohrer Sept 13 – Passage, Gravitation Passage. (PC/Mac, 2007). Jason Rohrer. http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/ Rohrer, Jason. (2007). “What I was Trying to do with Passage.” HCSoftware. http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/statement.html Rohrer, Jason. (2008). “The Game Design of Art.” The Escapist. 155. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_155/4987-The-Game-Design-of-Art AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES 4/10 Sept 15 – The Creative Process Gravitation. (PC/Mac, 2008). Jason Rohrer. http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/gravitation/ Reid, Brian. (2008). “Playing Games with Balance.” The Washington Post. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/onbalance/2008/03/playing_games_with_balance.html Stars over Half Moon Bay. (PC, 2008). Rob Humble. http://www.rodvik.com/rodgames/SOHMB.html Rohrer, Jason. (2008). “Critique: Stars Over Half Moon Bay.” Arthouse Games. http://northcountrynotes.org/jason-rohrer/arthouseGames/seedBlogs.php? action=display_post&post_id=jcr13_1206025812_0&show_author=1&show_date=1 Week 5 – Concepts and Guerrilla Art Sept 20 – Cory Arcangel You will need an NES emulator. I recommend Nestopia (v 1.4.1). http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Games/Nestopia.shtml - PC http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21964 - Mac Super Mario Clouds. (NES, 2009). Cory Arcangel. http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/supermarioclouds/ I Shot Andy Warhol. (NES, 2002). Cory Arcangel. http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/ishotandywarhol/ F1 Racer Mod. (NES, 2004). Cory Arcangel. http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/f1racermod/ Super Mario Bros. Movie. (NES, 2005). Cory Arcangel, Paper Rad. http://www.coryarcangel.com/things-i-made/supermariomovie/ Arcangel, Cory. (2004). “Part II: Video Game Projects”; “Checking Tetris”; “Nintendo iPod”; “Laziness.” School of the Arts – Digital Media Center. Columbia University, New York. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/soa/dmc/cory_arcangel/ Sept 22 – Guerrilla Gaming Basho, Matsuo. (1686). “[Fuku ike ya!].” http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~flores/files/haiku.html Play Basho's Frogger. (Java, 1999). Pataphysical Software, Neil Hennessey. http://pbfb.ca/bashos_frogger/ Pac-Mondrian. (Java, 2004). Prize Budget for Boys. http://pbfb.ca/pac-mondrian/ Commentary (2004). “Classic Gaming Meets Modern Art.” Water Cooler Games. http://www.bogost.com/watercoolergames/archives/classic_gaming.shtml RetroSabotage. http://www.retrosabotage.com/ Shultz, Evan. (2008). "Web Wonder: RetroSabotage." RedFence. http://www.redfenceproject.com/blog2/textpattern/article/123/web-wonder-retrosabotage AH 3000-004 ART HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES 5/10 Week 6 – Indie Games Sept 27 Average Shoveler. (Flash, 2004). Carlo Zanni. http://www.softaid.biz/average/index2.htm . Zanni, Carlo. “Work Statement and Biographical informations.” Softaid. http://www.softaid.biz/average/average-presskit.htm Jansson, Mathias. “Interview: Carlo Zanni's 'Average Shoeveler' [sic] (2004).” Gamescenes. http://www.gamescenes.org/2010/04/interview-carlo-zannis-average-shoeveler-2004-.html Flywrench. (PC, 2007). Mark Essen, Messhof. http://gamemakergames.com/?a=view&id=6418 Lantz, Frank. (2010) “Video Demo.” From “Artgame Sessions.” GDC Lecture, 2010. http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1012249/Artgame [begins 41:00] Every Day the Same Dream (Flash/PC/Mac, 2009). Molleindustria. http://www.molleindustria.org/everydaythesamedream/everydaythesamedream.html Alexander, Leigh. (2010). “Analysis: Every Day's Not The Same 'Art Game.'” Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26714/Analysis_Every_Days_Not_The_Same_Art_Game.php Sept 29 Judith. (PC/Mac, 2009).