Schedule

Because this course depends so much on the particular interests and backgrounds of those participating, this schedule is necessarily incomplete. We will fill it out as we go along. Nevertheless, this skeleton organizes the course into a set of modules, each roughly characterized by a verb. In the beginning, we will dive into the subject matter, and as we become comfortable, each of you will prototype a local game. You will then make pitches to the other students, the shark tank, to try to gain coworkers to realize your vision. Once teams are set, the goal is to produce the most powerful experience you can, putting together mobile media to dive into the city. You will produce two major iterations of this idea, including public playtests, an artist's statement, a post-mortem, and various other supplemental materials as warranted on a case by case basis. The idea is to finish the semester with enough preliminary results to make specific plans for pursuing your vision, whether that be community organizing, publication, conference proposals, or seeking funding to develop your project further.

Week 1

Calm down. One Step at a time.

Make the name game.

Play rupee collector.

Basic ARIS workshop.

Play "It's Dangerous to Go Alone"

Upcoming:

OSET ARIS Workshop

Global Game Jam

Danielle Siembieda’s game for ISEA 2012

HWK:

Find something interesting in Schell.

Exploration begins

Weeks 2-6

Field trips, readings, game design workshops, and skill building

Week 2

Teach yourselves ARIS. Primer here. Follow up with Chris afterward. Discuss Schell.

HWK: 

Keep reading Schell, 

design an ARIS game that

Week 3

Playtest each others' games. There were 8. Format of playtest described here.

Discuss results and issues encountered. How can experience be achieved through game mechanics and interaction/association with a place?

HWK:

If your game was not ready, get it ready for next week.

Iterate your game if it deserves it.

Read VB Price's Albuquerque: A City at the End of the World.

Week 4

Playtest the remaining games.

Take photos. Portraits are live!

License, list your games.

Discuss VB Price's Albuquerque: A City at the End of the World. Discussion prompt here. Didn't happen. Discuss online and while playing next week.

We also did our first brainstorm, around the concept of Free Compliments. Given the theme, we spent 5 min. generating ideas - as many as possible - in each of several areas (see pic); picking a few favorites individually; and we got together in small groups to create 1 coherent idea.

And we learned about version numbering conventions in software, and how to install beta versions of ARIS right on iOS devices.

Upcoming:

Mobile Maker Lab: Thursdays 2-4, starting 9/27 (Week 6). Informal space for collaboration on mobile innovation. Place: Ortega Hall, Language Lab, Lab 2. In collaboration with University of Wisconsin - Madison.

HWK: Play a new game.

Week 5

Meet at Copper and 6th at 2PM (don't be late) to beta test Danielle Siembieda’s game for ISEA 2012: Montañas y Mesas. Chris' phone: 328-6458. Bring devices.

Optional: Help out with ARIS workshop (part of ISEA 2012) at Explora! at 4:30.

Playtest of Montañas y Mesas

We met Danielle Siembieda-Gribben and DC downtown to help them playtest their game for the ISEA 2012 conference. We also got our first hands-on look at downtown.

Several students also accompanied Chris to his ARIS workshop as part of the same conference (major thanks from Chris!)

Morgan, her friend (name?), Anh Tu, Joel, and Thien also showed up on Sunday to help out with M&M as Kachinas. The game went smoothly. Danielle and DC were very impressed with everyone.

Chris even got a good picture of a coyote chasing a player:

Definitely reminiscent of the old roadrunner cartoons.

Week 6

Debrief about M&M

Discuss places, themes, and resources for upcoming design work.

Production begins

Week 7

Week 8

Shark Tank

Week 10

Beta testing

Reflection, refinement begins

Week 12

v1 due

artist statement due

big plans due

Week 16

v2 Due

Post-mortem, supplemental materials due