Syllabus+Project+Descriptions

=ASSIGNMENTS & REQUIREMENTS=

1. Autocartography Due: February 27th, 2014

Students will create an interactive, multimedia autobiography in Google Earth that artistically explores their identity by employing medieval mapmaking practices. The autocartography should include between 10 and 20 placemarks; a minimum of one self-produced, one-minute youtube video; one short audio file; and use of simple HTML to organize the description of each node.

Your goal is to create a mood, an aesthetic experience, through the artful selection, juxtaposition, and presentation of “places” that have been significant in the development of your identity and/or that express your self/selves. Students should compose their work with the electrate sense of place as “chora” rather than the literate sense of place as “topos,” as well as use the other new media rhetorical strategies described in Jeff Rice's //Rhetoric of Cool//: appropriation, nonlinearity, commutation, imagery.

 Students will submit a single .kml file (or a folder with a .kmz file and any external files associated with the project) as well as the standard self-assessment due with each major project.

2. Interactive Project/Script Due: March 27th, 2014

Students will have their choice of various options for the Interactive Project:

A. Students will conceive of an interactive fiction and create a mock transcript (of at least 10 pages) as well as an abbreviated piece of the game using the Inform 7 authoring tool. The transcript should be in a format that would be produced if someone were to create an actual transcript during game play; it should be formally accurate and use standard commands to reveal the kernel of an interactive story. Students will also be required to do a small bit of programming during in-class workshop time, producing two to three pages of source code, which should present and describe the layout of the setting as well as include some minimal interactive elements (e.g. dialogue, interaction with objects, simple puzzles, etc.).

B. Students will write an interactive story using Twine. The story should use some advanced features of the tool (e.g. disappearing text, branching pathways, setting variables, basic HTML commands, etc.) and should include a title and author.

C. Students will write a script for an interactive video using Korsakow, Zeega, Youtube, or some other medium. Script should describe content of each video segment (content, angle, etc.) as well as choices from each node, with a map showing linkages. Script should be at least 10 pgs and could be the initial stage of a final project.

3. Panel Presentation Due: due date varies (Feb 27th, Mar 13th, Mar 20th)

Students will participate on one panel presentation consisting of 4 members. Panels (or “bands”) will be responsible for 45-50 minutes of class time and will focus on brainstorming ideas for the final collaborative project. The panel will be responsible for all materials assigned up to the day of presentation (readings, class discussions, other panels, lectures, etc.) and may interact with the class in a variety of ways. The grade for the panel will be split into two components: individual performance (70%) and overall group performance (30%):

 Individual Performance: If you do not participate in the discussion, you will get no  credit. Points are awarded for usefulness, not correctness. Misunderstandings are as  helpful as correct interpretations in defining the genre for the project.

 Group Performance: The balance of points is awarded for the overall success of the  panel as a group. Members have an equal responsibility for seeing to it that each person  has a chance to contribute fully to the session. Another measure of success as a group  is the extent to which the class is drawn into the discussion.

As the collaborative project involves creating an information space using the memory palace as a model, panel members should finish reading the “memory palace reader” essays assigned to their group before the panel presentation and be able to integrate them into their presentation. The panel group should also post a summary of the readings on the “Memory Palace” wikipage no later than the weekend following their in-class presentation.

Self-assessment for the panel presentation should include comments about the student’s individual contributions to the panel as well as group dynamics and process.

4. Collaborative Project Due: April 24th, 2014

Students will contribute to a class-wide collaborative project: a virtual memory palace designed in a medium of their choice. Students will work out details during panel presentations, wiki discussion, and in-class workshops.

Self-assessment for the collaborative project should include comments about the student’s individual contributions to the panel as well as group dynamics and process.

5. Final Project Due: May 1st, 2014 (exam time: Friday 6pm - 8pm)

Students will choose a final project from among several options based on the course content. **A one-page project proposal/prospectus is due March 22nd**. Some possibilities include the following:


 * 10 page (2,500 word) research paper, MLA format, based on some relevant topic of interest
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A hypertext, website, or work of e-literature or digital art
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Revise and expand the interactive fiction project
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conceive of a complete, 10-week ARG (alternate reality game)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A personal memory palace created in a virtual world (3rd Rock Grid, Rocket World, Open Cobalt, Second Life, or some other space)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Develop a HARP (Hand-held Augmented Reality Project)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An independent proposal based on personal preference and individual experience [e.g. a roguelike game, a “persuasive (computer) game” or “serious (computer) game,” an immersive learning project in Second Life or some other virtual world]

Self-assessment for the final project is due at the beginning of exam time, as is the project itself. The self-assessment should include a log of time spent on the various stages of the project.