Design Lab 5: Game Media   [ Monday 6pm - Rm 908]

instructor: Jonah Warren
email: jonah AT feedtank DOT com
url: http://www.playfulsystems.com/teaching/2007/gamemedia


Homework 1

  1. WEBSITE
    Create a website for this class. Just links and text is fine. No Flash. Email me the URL with Lab 1 and the following homework assignment linked from it.

    [ Note! If you are having any administrative problems or delays getting a site up, let me know immediately, and I will give you temporary space to hold your work until you get your issues resolved. ]
  2. READING
    Read the article Death To the Games Industry (Long Live Games). This article was written by Greg Costikyan (an independent New York game designer). Though he paints a bleak picture of the state of game design and development, he does a good job explaing the industry's emphasis of glitz over gameplay and offers an explanation for why new creative games seem so few and far between. Note the section on creativity and the "space of all possible games."
  3. RESPOND
    Write a paragraph or two response to this article. Be opinionated and discuss what interested you. Some potential issues to address:
    • Do you think the gaming industry produces stale, formulaic games?
    • Costikyan at one point discusses technological advances in gaming (graphics + computing power) in a fairly negative light. What are your thoughts on this?
    • Do you agree that there is an enormous amount of space in digital games yet to be explored? If so, give a few examples of what these spaces might be.
    • Where do you see the future of gaming? Where would you personally like to see it going?
  4. POST A GAME
    Find at least one online game you enjoy playing, or you think is unique, and post it to the class del.icio.us site. Very briefly describe the game and whats good about it in the notes section (you are limited to 255 characters). Post as many as you'd like. Throughout the semester, if you ever stumble upon an interesting, fun or inspiring online game, post it to this site. This will be a part your website and participation grade. Tag the entry with "postedby:yourname"