Our game log assignment is inspired by a study about the value of blogging about games, published in the International Journal of Learning and Media <\/em>(Zagal and Bruckman 2011<\/a>). The researchers Jose Zagal and Amy Bruckman argue that writing repeatedly about the same game in an online community can help players understand games more deeply on multiple levels, including:<\/p>\n Furthermore, Zagal and Bruckman find that blogging about games:<\/p>\n Each entry on your game log should be about 300-400 words. Record tentative ideas, interpretations, and surprising observations. Make connections among and between the multiple levels described above. Analyze narrative and formal elements and the interplay between the two. Apply theories that come from our own readings or that you\u2019ve encountered in other classes at Davidson.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t write a game review. Don\u2019t focus on the game\u2019s difficulty. Or how “fun” it is. Avoid the language of marketing.\u00a0Don\u2019t\u00a0write about the game as if your goal is to persuade or dissuade someone from playing it.<\/p>\n You will create your game log on your Davidson Domain<\/a>,\u00a0where you will create a new WordPress blog devoted specifically to FMS 321. If you’re new to Davidson Domains, here’s a short video introduction<\/a>. After you have a domain and blog set up, share the URL with me.<\/p>\n The general procedure is this: you\u2019ll play three games (PC\/console, casual, your choice) independently this semester, with at least three 30-minute sessions for each game. After each 30-minute session, you\u2019ll write in your game log, as described above.<\/p>\n The stakes for each successive post increase as follows:<\/p>\n With every entry be sure to do the following:<\/p>\n There are three checkpoints this semester:<\/p>\n At each checkpoint, I will ask you which of your three posts you want to share with the rest of the class. I will repost that entry on our class blog. To be clear: I will read and grade all of your game log entries, but one post<\/em> from each round will appear on our course site as a “featured” post.<\/p>\n As April 23 approaches, spend some time reading through your classmates\u2019 game log entries. Explore by author, tag, or category. Try to get a handle on what themes other people write about, what they notice, what connections they make to our course material, what outside resources they pull in. Then in an approximately 300-400 word post on your own blog, write a reflection on what you find. Link back to at least 5 specific blog posts by other FMS 321 students. Emphasize (friendly) questions you have for other people, how these posts shift your own thinking about games, and how the ideas in these posts are worth revisiting.<\/p>\n The Game Lab is located in the south basement in Chambers, across from Studio M. Within the lab is a videogame station with a PS2, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One. There’s also a PC with Steam and a few games installed.<\/p>\n You can borrow games from the lab to play. These games are college property and should be treated the same as a library book. If you want to take the game out of the lab, please tell me. Otherwise, keep the games in the lab. The games on reserve include:<\/p>\n PS2: Half-Life<\/em>, Final Fantasy X<\/em>, Kingdom Hearts<\/em><\/p>\n PS3: Bayonetta<\/em>, Bioshock<\/em>, Bioshock 2<\/em>, Ico<\/em>, Portal 2<\/em>, Red Dead Redemption,<\/em>\u00a0Shadow of the Colossus, Skyrim<\/em><\/p>\n PS4: Call of Duty: Black Ops<\/em>, Fallout 4<\/em>, Grand Theft Auto 5<\/em>, The Last of Us, Life is Strange, <\/em>Metal Gear Solid V<\/em>, Tomb Raider, Horizon Zero Dawn In addition, I am willing to loan out some classic PS2 games from my personal collection, including Rez<\/em>, Primal<\/em>, Psychonauts<\/em>, God of War<\/em>, Katamari Damacy<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ll evaluate individual entries on your game log according to this rubric:<\/p>\n 3 \u2013 Exceptional<\/strong>. The entry is readable<\/em>, with clearly expressed ideas. It\u2019s thought-provoking<\/em>, going beyond what we talked about in class or what you\u2019ve discussed in previous entries. It\u2019s connective<\/em>, making connections to material from this class, other classes, other games or texts, or historical or contemporary events and culture. It’s media-rich<\/em>, using relevant images, video, or audio to complement your writing. Finally, it\u2019s progressive<\/em>, in the sense that it moves your thinking about this game\u2014or other games\u2014forward.<\/p>\n 2 \u2013 Good. <\/strong>The entry is readable but lacks full development of new ideas. Instead of thought-provoking, it\u2019s predictable. Fewer connections are made between the game and other material or phenomena. There’s no media, or if there is, it’s disconnected or gratuitous.<\/p>\n 1 \u2013 Insufficient. <\/strong>The entry retreads previous posts or discussions without adding anything new. It\u2019s mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives.<\/p>\n 0 \u2013 No Credit. <\/strong>The entry is missing or late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rationale Our game log assignment is inspired by a study about the value of blogging about games, published in the International Journal of Learning and Media (Zagal and Bruckman 2011). 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What to Write about<\/h2>\n
What Not to Write About<\/h2>\n
Where to Write<\/h2>\n
Game Log Procedure<\/h2>\n
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Sharing<\/h2>\n
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Reflective Post<\/h2>\n
Game Lab<\/h2>\n
\n<\/em><\/p>\nEvaluation<\/h2>\n