{"id":471,"date":"2020-03-09T02:25:46","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T02:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/?page_id=471"},"modified":"2020-03-17T15:26:45","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T15:26:45","slug":"lets-play","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/lets-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s Play"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Update<\/h2>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The Let&#8217;s Play project for DIG 220 (Spring 2020) has been canceled.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Overview<\/h2>\n<p>Two of our goals for Electronic Literature are the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Engage in intellectually valuable discussions about creative expression and technology<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate how conventional literary and aesthetic categories apply to new media environments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With these goals in mind, you will create a Let\u2019s Play-inspired video analysis of a work of electronic literature.<\/p>\n<p>What is a Let\u2019s Play video? For our purposes, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Let%27s_Play\">the definition provided by Wikipedia<\/a> serves us just fine:<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-quote su-quote-style-default\"><div class=\"su-quote-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">A Let\u2019s Play (commonly referred to as an LP) is a style of video series documenting the playthrough of a video game, usually including commentary by the gamer. A Let\u2019s Play differs from a video game walkthrough or strategy guide by focusing on an individual\u2019s subjective experience with the game, often with humorous, irreverent, or critical commentary from the gamer, rather than being an objective source of information on how to progress through the game.<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Keep in mind that a Let\u2019s Play video for our purposes is an <em>analysis <\/em>not a review. A review tells someone why they should or shouldn\u2019t read, watch, play, or buy something. An analysis tells us why something matters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-table\">\n<table style=\"height: 153px;\" width=\"378\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"su-even\">\n<td><strong>Reviews<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Analysis<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Subjective response<\/td>\n<td>Subjective response informed by history and theory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"su-even\">\n<td>\u201cThis is interesting\u201d<\/td>\n<td>\u201cThis is important because\u2026\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Provides information<\/td>\n<td>Provides perspective<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The Works<\/h2>\n<p>What do we mean by a \u201cwork\u201d of electronic literature? Our definition of electronic literature is expansive, but it generally means a creative work invested in language, meaning, or storytelling that takes advantage of the unique properties of digital environments. A videogame that does not place storytelling first would <em>not<\/em> be appropriate for this project.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ifdb.tads.org\/\">Interactive Fiction Database<\/a> is a great source for parser-based or choice-based interactive stories, particularly <a href=\"https:\/\/ifdb.tads.org\/search?browse&amp;comp\">the lists here<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/itch.io\/games\/made-with-twine\">Made with Twine<\/a> category on Itch.io has some great finds by indie authors. To save you wading through dozens of possibilities, you can check out <a href=\"https:\/\/sub-q.com\/\">sub-Q<\/a>, a selective journal whose editors vet (and pay authors for) digital fiction.<\/p>\n<p>Or, you could select a work from the unofficial canon of electronic literature: <a href=\"http:\/\/collection.eliterature.org\/1\/\">volume one<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/collection.eliterature.org\/2\/\">volume two<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/collection.eliterature.org\/3\/\">volume three<\/a> of the Electronic Literature Collection, an anthology curated by the <a href=\"http:\/\/eliterature.org\/\">Electronic Literature Organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A number of digital artists and writers have online portfolios of their work. Consider the work of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/dreamingmethods.com\/\">Dreaming Methods<\/a> (Flash and HTML5 works by Andy Campbell and a rotating cast of collaborators)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yhchang.com\/\">Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries<\/a> (A duo that works out of South Korea)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.secrettechnology.com\/\">Secret Technology<\/a> (the portal to Jason Nelson\u2019s bizarre world)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/webyarns.com\/category\/html5-works-2\/\">Webyarns<\/a> (Alan Bigelow\u2019s collection of work)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.katepullinger.com\/digital\">Kate Pullinger\u2019s Work<\/a> (a Canadian living in Britain who often creates serialized works)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/slimedaughter.com\/games\/\">Porpentine<\/a> (the author of &#8220;Howling Dogs&#8221; has several other haunting, challenging works)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Tools<\/h2>\n<p>The heart of a successful Let\u2019s Play is the screencast, which captures what\u2019s on your screen along with your commentary. There are many options for recording screencasts. The important thing is to use software that captures both video (the screen) and audio (your voice). Some software can record webcams as well as the screen, so that your face appears as a thumbnail in the corner of the screen. That\u2019s not necessary for this project, but feel free to be fancy if you want. Here are a few tools to consider. If you have other suggestions, please share and I\u2019ll add them to this list.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/screencast-o-matic.com\/\">Screencast-O-Matic <\/a>(web-based and free up to 15 minutes in length)<\/li>\n<li>Apple Quicktime (Mac only, there\u2019s a New Screen Recording option under File)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/obsproject.com\/\">Open Broadcaster Software <\/a>(free and open source)<\/li>\n<li>Adobe Captivate (in some computer labs)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can also record your interactions with the work separately, and overlay your audio later as a voiceover. If necessary, you can go the ultra lo-tech route and simply have a friend use a phone to record your screen. The only catch with this method is that I will literally refuse to watch your video if it\u2019s in portrait mode. <em>Shoot in landscape mode.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Criteria<\/h2>\n<p>A B-range project must meet the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A script or outline is shared with masample@davidson.edu as a Google doc by 5pm on Friday, March 27. This document should cover main ideas of the Let\u2019s Play, including a claim or argument about the work, plus evidence to support that claim.<\/li>\n<li>The video is between 7-12 minutes and covers an especially dense or rich section of the e-lit work. I will stop watching after the 12 minute mark.<\/li>\n<li>The video includes a claim or argument about the work, plus evidence to support that claim.<\/li>\n<li>In addition to critical commentary, the video features other hallmarks of Let\u2019s Play videos such as humor, irreverence, or hyperbolic reactions.<\/li>\n<li>The video integrates perspectives or theories from at least two of the readings from the syllabus.<\/li>\n<li>You ought to do some minimal editing of the video, for example, adding titles or the name of the work.<\/li>\n<li>By 5pm on Friday, April 3, the finished Let\u2019s Play video is uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo. Tag it with #DIG220 #ELIT #DAVIDSON and any other tags that make sense to you. Embed the video into your a blog post with the category \u201cLet\u2019s Play.\u201d Remember that you can easily embed videos onto your site simply by pasting the URL on a line all by itself. In your blog post, include a list of Works Cited, properly formatted.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>An A-range project must meet the above criteria <em>plus<\/em> the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The video integrates at least two scholarly sources beyond what we\u2019ve read for class.<\/li>\n<li>The video reaches higher levels of originality and synthesis of course material.<\/li>\n<li>The video uses more effective rhetoric and style to advance its argument.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Credits<\/h2>\n<p>Portions of this assignment were inspired by Tim Welsh\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.timothyjwelsh.com\/courses\/14ft121\/assignments\/video-essay\/\">Let\u2019s Play Critically! Video Essay assignment<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update The Let&#8217;s Play project for DIG 220 (Spring 2020) has been canceled. Overview Two of our goals for Electronic Literature are the following: Engage in intellectually valuable discussions about creative expression and technology Evaluate how conventional literary and aesthetic categories apply to new media environments With these goals in mind, you will create a &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-471","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/471\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.digitaldavidson.net\/elit20\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}