- introduction -- topic(s) & challenge(s)
- exploration(s) -- platform & production requirements
- planning -- concept & application development
- concept(s) -- mechanics, story, aesthetics, technology
- consideration(s) -- infrastructure & realization
- background(s) -- basic media and communication theory
- context(s) -- creative application(s)
- production(s) -- delivery and presentation of final application(s)
(*) no lecture at 1/3 and 28/6 (exam math), otherwise (in principle) every monday
co-instructor(s):
basic exercise(s) / CA3
final application(s) / CA3
- interactive space(s) -- design, development, technology
- game design -- aspirations & responsibilities
- innovation(s) -- societal problems & (technological) solution(s)
deliverable(s) -- have fun and play! 
- concept(s) -- (short) synopsis, with (optional) sketches
- requirement(s) -- with shareholders, planning, MOSCOW
- story board -- storyline(s), non-linear storygraph, assets
- prototype(s) -- partial version(s) of interactive application(s)
- final application -- full interactive application
- accompanying website -- with application and support
- promotional clip -- one/two minute trailer
- justification -- explanation of design decisions, reflection(s)
- package -- all the material with documentation
... remind yourself to fill your game with interesting surprises:
- what will surprise players when they play my game?
- does the story in my game have surprises?
- do your rules give players ways to surprise eachother?
- do your rules give players ways to surprise themselves?
Surprise is a crucial part of entertainment -- it is at
the root of humor, strategy and problem solving.
Our brains are hardwired to enjoy surprises.
... fun is desirable in almost every game, although sometimes fun defies analysis.
To maximize fun
ask yourself the these questions:
- what parts of my game are fun?
- why?
- what parts need more fun?
... think about the player's true motivations --
not just the goals (y)our game has set forth, but the reasons
the player wants to achieve those goals:
- what goals does my game put into the player's mind?
- what am I doing to make them care about these questions?
- what can I do to make them invent even more questions?
For example, a maze-finding videogame might have a time-limit
goal at each level.
A way to make players care more is to play interesting animations
when they solve each maze ...
..., think about the problems (y)our player must solve to
succeed at (y)our game, for every game has problems to solve:
- what problems does my game ask the player to solve?
- are there hidden problems to solve that arise as part of gameplay?
- how can my game generate new problems so that players keep coming back?
lens 07
<>
mechanics / story / aesthetics / technology
... take stock of what element(s) (y)our game is truly made of:
- is my game design using elements of all types?
- could my design be improved by enhancing any element?
- are the elements in harmony, reinforcing eachother and working together towards
a common theme?
Together, the
elements are also referred to as the
elemental tetrad.
content(s)
The course is meant as an integrative project, which combines the various elements introduced in the first year of creative
technolgy, where students experience the need for planning and project-management.
Topics include:
- application of creative technology elements
- explore combination smart technology & new media
- development interactive game play
- write business & communication plan
- reflection on societal context of media & smart system deployment
Although acquisition of the actual theme of the project must be done by senior staff, students will be expected to take an
active part in the selection of theme(s) and target(s), and developing the final application(s) or product(s).
The project is meant to function in a local festival, preferably in cooperation with organisations such as:
prerequisite(s):
CA1&2, CS1&2, NM1&2, ST1&2, MA1&2, DE1&2
goal(s) & attainment target(s)
The integrative nature of the CA3 project will contribute to more firmly establishing skills, and deepening students'
knowledge of smart systems and interactive media applications.
The course aims at providing
- awareness of business models and the societal context of projects
- familiarity with requirements analysis, planning, concept-development and project-management
- fluency in problem-finding and ways of generating ideas
- full literacy in applying learned skills to tackle problems in system development
Students are expected to be well-motivated, and will be stimulated in problem-finding and the exploration of creative
solutions.
place in curriculum:
Integrative course for end of first year.
spplication area & motivating example(s)
Each year a preparatory investigation must be done, preferably by a group consisting of staff members and students, in
close contact with potential industrial or societal partners, to select one or more potential theme(s) and topic(s) that may
serve as a challenging target.
teaching method(s)
The structure of CA3 project will be determined by the students themselves. The role of the staff will primarily be to
safeguard the project from (beginners) mistakes, and to encourage critical reflections on decisions and potential
consequences. To avoid potential misunderstandings, this is not total freedom, but rather a strictly supervised approach,
where established standards of project-management will not serve as a prescriptiion, but rather to give feedback and
control initiatives originally formulated and proposed by (groups of) students.
Feedback will be given in workshop sessions, and by assessing the products as made available online. Peer reviews will
not only be used for feedback, but will also form part of the procedure of assessment and grading.
Grading takes place by assessing the work in a presentation session, where students present and discuss their work and
contributions to the group project..
special facilities
Contacts with potential industrial or societal partners must be established, which may require additional technical support.
topic(s)
- application of creative technology elements
- explore combination smart technology & new media
- development interactive game play
- write business & communication plan
- reflection on societal context of media & smart system deployment
CA3 target(s)
- skill(s) -- multi-platform technical development
- knowledge -- interaction & game play
- theory -- smart technology, media & communication
- experience(s) -- large scale application with (societal) impact
- attitude -- acquisition, problem-finding, self-organization, creative solutions
session(s)
- introduction topic(s) & challenge(s)
- exploration of platform & production requirements
- planning -- concept & application development
- establishment of business plan
- contract negotiation & realization
- basic media and communication theory
- business and societal context of the creative application(s)
- delivery and presentation of final application(s)
assignment(s)
- concept pitch presentation(s)
- planning - approach, realization, deployment
- report(s) -- application development and installation
- evaluation(s) -- summary of experience(s) and deployment result(s)
reference(s)
- method(s) -- www.agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
- resource(s) -- game design patterns / team work
- Eliëns A. and Vyas D., Panorama -- explorations in the aesthetics of social awareness, In Proc. GAME-ON 07, Nov 20-22, University of Bologna, Marco Roccetti (ed.), p. 71-75, EUROSIS-ETI Publication, ISBN 9789077381373
- Eliëns A., van de Watering M., Huurdeman H., Bhikharie S.V., Lemmers H., Vellinga P. , Clima Futura @ VU -- communicating (unconvenient) science, In Proc. GAME-ON 07, Nov 20-22, University of Bologna, Marco Roccetti (ed.), pp. 125-129, EUROSIS-ETI Publication, ISBN 9789077381373
- A. Eliëns, topical media & game development -- media.eliens.net
advice for the student(s)
With the course taking place at the end of your first year,
in which you no doubt have earnt a lot, this is an excellent
opportunity to excercise your skill(s) and gain
further experience in
collaboration.
To be able to work in a group and
communicate is,
as you should know, one of the essential characteristics
of your future
professional scenario(s).
Make no mistake though, you should also
be able to take
individual responsibility
and even have a degree of
artistic independence, which sometimes may even be mistaken as arrogance.
Anyway, do not be bothered by that, but set your own
learning goals, and one way or another
find proper
balance with the
interests of the group.
(26/6/11):
PDF
Almost a year after the actual course, there is little to
write, except perhaps the about the satisfacxtion that the
installation in gogbot was succesful.
All students that participated actively in the course made
it into the second year.
However, that does not give the course any predictive value.
The guest speakers were overall positively received,
although some students complained that it took them a long
time before they understood what the course was all about.
Even then, I have some doubt though whether they really understood!
(26/6/11):
PDF
monitor(s)
In the last period many students appeared a bit overworked,
and I learned that there were many deadlines.
Courses like CA3, also due to my (apparently) more tolerant
style, easily suffer from the pressure of other
courses, since the topic(s) may (easily, but not tightfully IMHO)
be dismissed as vague, and even irrelevant.
Why worry about googlification whenyou can program arduino?
Well, to my mind it is not only important
to think about societally relevant topics and make
the connection with practical work, but, in addition, it
is perhaps even more important to think what can be done,
both in terms of concepts/ideas and applications/technology
to take part in a festival like gogbot,
where art, science and technology are presented to a wider
audience. Key phrases here are experience (on an individual level)
and exposure (for the creative technology curriculum).
In the last period, many students fortunately got a new boost
of energy, worked on group projects, and updated their
personal portfolios.
Also, a number of students submitted their essays
way before the deadline, which is a good sign,
and can be taken as a desire for feedback on there work,
which sometimes was emphasized by the explicit question --
will I pass for the course with this essay.
In this course, I also experimented with asking the student
for their aspiration(s), that is the grade they thought they would
deserve, or wanted to deserve.
In the future, I will make both the requests for grading, as well
as an indication of student's aspiration(s) more explicit.
I also made clear to the students that I would refuse
to de forensic grading,
that is collect all the evidence for grading myself, piece by piece.
The portfolio should provide all the evidence, and it is the
responsibility of the student(s) to present this in a clear manner,
preferably with good style!
As a final remark, as some of the students remarked --
still communication is more key than imagination --,
the jey to creativity she meant, I must remark
that for many, with some obvious exceptions, the image
quality is rather low, or perhaps I should say -- the interest
in presenting their work with some drama and visual intensity.
Another thing is that the responsiveness of students
to both simple acts of communication as well
as published deadlines is rather low.
The need for such responsiveness should be more
stringently brought to their attention.
At the end, the meeting with Kees and Viola went well, with enthusiasm
from both sides, and a clear willingness of the students
to continue their work beyond the boundaries of the
have fun and play course.
And for me, after the grading(s), in which I gave the students,
where their documentation was lacking, the benefits of my doubts,
I am a year off. Pffh!
