Ludic Media Art List

I have uploaded the links to the ludic media art presented in the Game Art Presentation. If you are interested in the list of works, you can check the document out.

Finals

Your final paper is due on Monday, May 18. You MUST bring in a physical copy of the paper. I can no longer accept e-mailed copies.

Class will be open from 10:50 to 1:20. We will have a short, casual discussion about game studies.

Your paper should be related to a topic we discussed in class; a list of lecture subjects is in your syllabus. Examples include, but are not limited to: Gender in games, narratology, ludology, are games art?, interface, art games, ludic media art.

The paper is 8-10 pages, not counting the works cited.

Ludic Media Art Show and Tell

FIRST, check out Konstperspectiv and find something that interests you. [Google Translation HERE]

You’ll want to find a piece of ‘ludic media art’ that you find really interesting. Ludic media art can include:

• Other art games
• Machinima
• Art about games
• Games about art

Here are some other places to look:

• Cory Arcangel – Super Mario Clouds, I Shot Andy Warhol
• With Paper Rad – Super Mario Movie
• Eddo Stern – Waco Resurrection, Sheik Attack
• John Klima – Go-Fish
• Google ‘I Am 8-Bit’
• Average Shoveler
• Dead-in-Iraq
• Anne-Marie Schleiner – Velvet Strike
• Breakout Video Art

Machinima:

• Diary of a Camper
• Red vs. Blue: Episode 1
• Hardly Workin’
• The French Democracy
• Anacrhonox: The Movie
• Contra versus Contra
• The 1K Project II
• Bill et John: Danger Attacks at Dawn
• Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006
• Kings of Power 4 Billion %
• Eternal Darkness video contest – The Cutting Room Floor

More ‘Readings’

Here is a collection of “art games” mentioned in the Ian Bogost article. We should look at these in addition to Jason Rohrer’s work, Passage and Gravitation:

• Daniel Benmergui’s I Wish I Were the Moon and The Storyteller
• Rod Humble’s The Marriage and Stars over Half Moon Bay (PC Only)
• Reflect (PC Only)
• Where Is My Heart? (PC and MAC)
• Tale of Tales The Graveyard and the Real Time Art Manifesto. The Graveyard has a free version. We won’t look at The Path because that’s not free.
• Average Shoveler
• I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors

Take a look at these games this week. Look at the ones you missed next week for the lecture on Ludic Media Art.

New Readings on SCMRPG

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! is a fairly long game (2-5 hours), and it contains difficult subject matter. The game can be downloaded through Manifesto Games and is approximately 23 MB in size. Please play the game as much as you can so we can discuss this game in depth. I have also provided a collection of save files in case you get stuck.

I also feel perhaps it is a little unfair to show Super Columbine Massacre RPG without providing a little bit of context for it. As a result, here are some added readings to look at:

 

• Manifesto Games article (Greg Costikyan) (see also jbeylev’s response)
• Artist Statement (Danny LeDonne)
• The Rampant Coyote (a completely different take)
• King Lud Ic (Patrick Dugan)

 

SCMRPG has some issues with it as well. Some of these can be chocked up to poor game design. Some of it has to do with message communication. We will discuss this in more detail in class.

For now, here are some hints on getting the game to run:

• The game does not install a desktop shortcut or a Start menu shortcut. You have to manually check your Program Files folder. Here is the file path:

 

c:\program files\ascii\rpg2000\columbinerpg\rpg_rt.exe

 

• This has a nice walkthrough of the things you can do. Note that there are some ‘cutscenes’ that I don’t know how to trigger.
• Here is a video walkthrough of the game. The video is roughly an hour in length. However, you should play through the game because we experience games rather than watch them be played. Watching someone play is different from playing the game yourself and is therefore important for commenting on a game effectively.
• ***THE REQUIRED ITEM*** There is a book by Nietzsche on the teacher’s desk on the second floor in the classroom immediately to the right of the bathrooms. This item is required to complete the game, but can only be gotten during the first half. If you missed it, I have a save file with the item.
• This is a map of hell which indicates where to find Dylan. There are also chests containing weapons which make this grueling part of the game easier. Or just find him, see what he says, kill a few monsters, and then load a save.
• Here is a collection of save files. It includes a text document describing what each save file does. If you get stuck, copy/paste these to the program file folder with the installer and load the games.

Instructions for Paper 3

Pick one of these questions or use the questions as a guideline for the topic of your paper.

Remember: You need to write game criticism, NOT game reviews. Write about something interesting related to the games, NOT about why I should play the game. How do the games comment on society and human culture? What do the games tell us about the medium of the game?

Questions: Gender and Minorities:

• How do artists and game designers react to and comment on portrayals of women and games in their work? How does this work comment on women in society?
• What do you think is the ideal representation of women in games?
• What other groups are underrepresented or misrepresented in games? How might games address these groups?

Narratology

• How is the conflict between story and games reflected in Natalie Bookchin’s The Intruder?
• How does the struggle to hear the story in a game like The Intruder or Donkey Kong affect how the narrative is understood?
• Can we consider gameplay separated by narrative sequences as a narrative genre? How do you see this as affecting traditional storytelling media?
• Facade – How does Facade make you play the role of a character? Do you consider this similar to the role of an actor? Or of a game player?

Ludology

• What elements make videogames unique from other forms of media? Are videogames the same as other media, particularly narrative media? Or are they completely different?
• How useful is the study of narrative to the study of games?

Language of Games

• Take two games from class that are superficially completely different. What elements of game design can we observe between two completely different games? What might this tell us about game design?
• What can we learn about game design from games and game art that put art before games?

Facade is up on a separate server

Facade has been uploaded to a separate server so can be accessed now:

Mac Version

PC Version

Download and play this game if you have not already.

Assignments for Break

During break, you should take a trip down to Manitou Springs and check out the video arcade where they have classic arcade games from Asteroids and Pac-Man to the latest fighters and 3D shooters. Grab a couple rolls of quarters and head out to the arcades! You should be able to have a great time!

Here are the directions to the arcade.

Take notes! Write up a short summary (200-300 words) of your experience at the arcade so we can discuss it in class. Here are a few things to think about (most courtesy of David Thomas):

• Space. How is the arcade laid out? Are there other types of games in the arcade than videogames? Does the layout of the space encourage play or something else? How might the arcade be redesigned for better aesthetic presentation of the games?
• Business. What kinds of games do you see in the arcade? Which seem to be the most popular? How does playing in the arcade compare to playing games at home? What other types of entertainment or food are located nearby the arcade? Do they seem associated with it?
• Attraction. How do different games try and get your attention, to advertise themselves as something you want to play? Which games seem most effective in doing so? Which games make you compelled to play them again and which don’t? What techniques do they use to get you to play again?
• Play. How does the play of a game in the arcade differ from a game we played online (Pac-Man, Asteroids, Space Invaders)? What types of interfaces are present in the arcade? How do these affect the experience? Which kinds of controls easier to use? How does pay-to-play change the experience of the game from playing at home? How does it feel to play standing in front of the machine versus sitting? How does the screen size and angle of view affect the play experience? Do some types of games seem better suited to the arcades than others? Time a play experience. How long does each game take? Which games do you feel you get your money’s worth and which do you not?
• Social. What types of people frequent the arcade? What types of games do you observe them playing? What aspects of social play, interaction, and interface are presented in the arcade? Do you see people coming to the arcade to do something other than play?
• Do you want to go back again sometime?

In addition, you have two readings and one game to play:

• Greg Costikyan – I Have No Words and I Must Design
• Doug Church – Formal Abstract Design Tools
• Play Akrasia (Windows Only, 27MB)

Critical Game Analysis Paper No. 2

Here are some questions you can consider for the paper. Again, pick one or use these as inspiration from which to discuss related ideas. You may comment on any of the games we have played or examined so far, but you have to play the game in order to comment!

Audium, flOw, Cave Story, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Retro Sabotage, Nanaca Crash, Cloud, Shadow of the Colossus

Also remember to check the feedback I put on your last papers. Use this as guidelines for areas to improve on in your analysis. There are also other resources on these games on the net, as much has been written on them. Don’t forget to do more research!

1. Examine the use of audio or game space in one of the selected games, both sound effects and music. How do these features communicate something about the game world? (Example: music and SFX in Space Invaders).
2. Comment on the change in musical composition from NES Zelda to Twilight Princess. How has the theme changed? How has it carried over across the series? Hint: all Zelda games since Ocarina of Time have had night and day – thus, the tune plays from sunup until sunset.
3. Examine the use of audio in Audium. How do the audio and music apply to the concepts of diegetic/nondiegetic, music and sound effects, as well as kinaesthetics (sound represented by imagery)? How do you see Audium relating with game audio historically?
4. Why are we continually focused on the latest and greatest games? What makes a game ‘classic’, capable of surviving through the decades? Can you think of any recent games that might eventually become ‘classics’? What makes it a ‘modern classic’?
5. Examine the art of Pac-Man. How does Pac-Man develop its own style? How does this style compare to contemporary game art styles such as Space Invaders?
6. Examine the art of Cave Story. Cave story uses retro pixel art. Identify some techniques used in the creation of Cave Story’s art. Why do you suppose this ‘retro 8-bit style’ was used? For what reasons might the style exist as an aesthetic? How effective is it in creating mood and character? How do you think this aesthetic relates to Hidenori Maezawa’s comments about the bamboo model of Tokyo Tower?
7. Compare and contrast the use of camera and game space in two of the games we played (i.e. Pac-Man and Space Invaders; flOw and Nanaca Crash). How are characters represented in space? Is the perspective consistent? How is the game world represented?

Cave Story

Here are working links to Cave Story:

Windows Version (Deluxe Pack with Translation)

Mac Version (Universal) and Translation Patch (Required)

Instructions for applying the patch.

Remember to play until the end of the Desert level so we can have a discussion. But you are welcome to play through the whole thing on your own (I don’t expect you to get the special secret ending as that’s REALLY hard to do!).

If you get stuck, check out this FAQ.