VG End of Semester Survey
18 out of my 33 students responded to the end of semester survey. Here are their unedited answers.
The Games
1. Which game(s) did you like the most and why?
• Time Fcuk and or One Chance. Time Fcuk because it played with the mechanics of being a video game but it was not nearly annoying or intrusive. Once Chance because it was a wonderful story you actually had an impact on the story.
• I enjoyed the Stanley Parable and A Closed World, probably because they felt the most like games instead of artsiness for the sake of being artsy.
• I liked most of the flash games played. They easily helped cement the theory and readings that were specific to that day and were short. They didn't need a lot of time or effort to get something out of them and I felt they were a good supplement to the text.
• The Stanley Parable was my personal favorite just because of how Foucault, Sartre, and Kafka so easily tied into it. It was also free and easy to access which is always a plus. Any game that went directly along with a specific text or theory, such as the "Before the Law" flash game was good.
• I enjoyed Oiligarchy the most. It has a somewhat involved storyline that aims to present more than just a game. It was also quick and easy to get into.
• I liked Time Fcuk and Katawa Shoujo the best out of the games in the class. Time Fcuk has the best actual gameplay, and Katawa Shoujo had THEM FEELS.
• I looooved Katawa Shoujo. I suppose it's because I'm big on longer games, but there was also my hidden desire to play a dating sim at least once. I thought the subject matter was handled very well, and I was able to connect to it easily.
• All the one play games- interesting commentary on gameplay (and themselves)
A Closed World- Of all the games I feel like this one had the most meaningful message behind it. Good example of how the medium can be used for more than sheer entertainment.
Oiligarchy- unique and shows how interesting gameplay can lead one to try hard to be the bad guy
• I enjoyed playing the Stanley Parable as I enjoyed playing it different ways.
• I really enjoyed all the games (except Covetous). But my two favorites would probably be Katawa Shoujo and Stanley Parable. Getting to know all the characters and their individual stories in Katawa Shoujo was fun, and Stanley Parable's writing was great. I also really enjoyed Oiligarchy, and felt that it sent across its important message quite well.
• I really liked the Stanley Parable and Yume Nikki. I liked the Stanley Parable because of the way it calls attention to how games are designed to force players to make specific actions, and that the sign of good design is thinking that these choices would be your own. Yume Nikki was interesting to me because of how the fan community theorized the development of the game and that speculation along with decompiling the code worked to further understanding of the game.
• I really enjoyed the game One Chance. Out of everything we played this semester, that game really hit me. I thought about it as I played it, and awhile after. There was just something so simple, yet impactful about One Chance that really made me step away from the computer and just think about what had just happened, and how the structure of the game made me feel the way I did.
• I really enjoyed Katawa Shoujo, I had never played a visual novel game before this class and I really liked the storylines and the characters. I'm a sucker for dating sims and games like Harvest Moon where you can pick your partner.
• I liked the 'one play' games the best because they really made me
think about what I was doing.
• I really enjoyed the "Before The Law" because it was my "Holy shit,
this is awesome/possible" moment. The simplicity of it made it easy to
examine relationships between theory and mechanics. The Stanley
Parable and Yume Nikki were also extremely useful and very relatable
to other games/texts when it came to analysis. YOLO was also a good
meditation on gaming that I would keep.
• Before the Law - it tied in really well with the reading, and was a nice introduction to the class
• Katawa Shoujo. It made my cold, dead heart beat yet again. I've always gotten pretty involved in my games, and I like anime and visual novels, so I've already been indoctrinated into feeling affection for fictional characters of the Japanese variety. I also really liked Yume Nikki, and the Stanley Parable.
• The games I enjoyed the most were Time Fcuk, One Chance, A Closed World, and Katawa Shoujo.
Time Fcuk was an interesting twist on puzzle platformers and it sort of captured that Portal feel. Although I despised the art games we played, One Chance stuck out to me since it posits that with only one chance to play and determine a route for the character, what actions will the player take to determine what he values most: to spend his final days with his family, or attempt to save the world and spurn them instead as the apocalypse approaches. In either ending the player died, but it still allowed the player to determine whether it was more important to save the environment (albeit with humanity's destruction still approaching), or to devote one's self to family values...only to have a madman murder them anyway. Damn it...
I really enjoyed A Closed World due to the nature of the game; even though it had RPG elements and a (rock, paper, scissor) battle system, what stood out most was the meaning of the character (despite elements seemingly being randomized) and the journey he/she took. I still believe that, although the sign on the tree says that the sights within the forest are not real, that they still represent the demons to the character. In the same fashion, when the player is within the real world, he may be seen not as a demon but as the "other" within those who also traveled into the forest; that is, the player's father may also be reminded of his transvestite tendencies when looking upon the player and what not, just as (when I played as a male) his brother saw within him his forgotten homosexuality or bisexuality and spurned him as a result.
2. Which game(s) did you like the least and why? Would you cut it from the class? Why or why not?
• Parasite was the reason we have wars and racism in this country. I would never allow this game to be played. Unless you want to showcase how an art game can fail on every level
• I didn't enjoy Yume Nikki because it wasn't self-explanatory, and I had to look up guides for every little thing. I'd cut it from the class because, really, it didn't add that much.
• The one I disliked is Katawa Shoujo which I felt was hardly touched upon and needed a lot of time and effort.
• Some of the harder to access and longer games like Yume Nikki and Katawa Shoujo seemed to exclude some of the class. I think these longer games would best serve in a supplemental category.
• The game I enjoyed the least was Yume Nikki. I just didn't care for the game, but I would not cut it from the class. It does help to prove a point about Superflat and Japanese culture, and without the requirement of playing the game the whole way through helps to focus somewhat on the topic.
• I didn’t like Grey or Covutous because as far as games go, they were not exactly enjoyable, and barely interesting. I don’t think I would leave them out though ,as they are relevant.
• I wasn't a fan of either Grey or Covetous. Grey in particular did nothing for me, and I'd cut that from the list of games to utilize. Also, Oiligarchy. Not fun in the slightest, and I found myself not caring to really figure it out.
• Yume Nikki- It will haunt my dreams for eternity. That being said it shouldn't be cut from class. Good example of the VG culture finding ways to hack into game to see all possible outcomes.
Katawa Shoujo- Interesting concept but damn it took a long time to do anything. I am not a huge fan of the whole interactive novel thing, at least when it takes so long to actually interact. I also feel like there were potentially more relevant games to the subject matters of the class.
• I did not enjoy Yume Nikki. I spent the first thirty minutes of that game running around trying to find something. I never did find anything and gave up. I don't know if I would cut it though, just that I really hated it.
• Definitely liked Covetous the least, but it tied in fairly well with its reading. If it were to be cut from the class, it would have to be replaced with a game that showed off the reading about as well. If it were to stay in the class, though, I'd definitely recommend putting in a warning for that one from the flashing lights and overall trippy creepiness.
• I didn’t dislike any games based on their technical merits, but I didn’t like Gray, because of how it simplified the process of ideology.
• Alternatively, the game that we played right after One Chance....Johnny in an art game?...was just a letdown. I feel it accomplishes what One Chance did..but to a lesser degree. I believe it could be removed, easily.
• I wasn't a big fan of the art games, mainly because I couldn't actually beat them or play them more than once. I would keep them in the class though, they're a good learning tool for a video game based class.
• I didn't really care for Yume Nikki mainly because I didn't have a
real map of where to go in the game.
• Covetous was really the only one I found mundane and somewhat useless.
I would definitely cut it from the class because I'm sure there are a
hundred other games that are more enjoyable to play and convey the
same information.
• Covetous - it was unenjoyable, and felt like it added nothing to the class discussion, and should therefore be removed
• I would cut no games. Most were short enough to be unobtrusive even did I not like them. But I liked all of them, so there was no issue.
• I did not like Covetous. Although the game had a nice argument behind it I...just... could not stand to actually play it, though I wouldn't cut it from the class.
3. Which game(s) would you recommend for the class? Keep in mind that they should be flash and/or free games that are beatable in a week so that they can be played alongside the readings.
• I suppose I'd recommend TF2, on the merit that it's free.
• Anything steam-based since it's a user-friendly free platform that the majority of the class seems to have success with.
• I think Abobo's Big Adventure should be added, especially if you keep the video of the Double Fine Adventure.
• Some sort of tower defense game would be good for talking about Panopticism. Suggested: Gemcraft, Bloons TD, Pokemon TD or some sort of WC3 map.
• I'm no expert on flash games, but I do know of one that I've spent quite a bit of time on. It's called Continuity, and it's basically a puzzle game. I'm not sure of a theory to apply it to, but it's fun.
• The Portal Flash game. Also Pokemon Tower defense, since we established that you need a TD.http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/566150
• I really enjoyed Pandemic 2, the flash game. I don't really like any others. Maybe this can be taught with panopticism?
• I can't think of any games that haven't already been covered, but I do like the idea of having a pool of games to choose from. Since the class is divided into groups, students can be divided by their selection from the pool.
• 5 Days a Stranger and the others in the series would be interesting to play, because I think point and click adventure games are kind of radical in their presentation compared to modern console, PC, and flash games.
• Coma. If you've played it, you're already nodding your head, if you have not yet:http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124
• I really don't know any free or flash games that could be added to the class, I don't really know much about those kinds of games, other than some games on addictinggames.com or shockwave.com, but most of those games can't be connected to the class.
• Team Fortress 2 is a mockery of superflat games (deconstruction)
Half Life 2 is cheep and runs on almost any machine. It's also a great
game for Panopticism since the idea is introduced to you in the first
5 minutes
Super Monday Night Combat is free to play and is very marxist.
Everyone is watching you kill the other team for money.
• I honestly think the class should have a section on Marxism and
everyone should download an F2P MMO and play around in the environment
for a week. Ask these questions: Is the system beatable? Or is it
simply built to make you think it's beatable? Once guilds are
established that do guild runs and have all the best gear, is it
possible to overthrow them? Can be viewed from System Vs. Player and
Player Vs. Player. Where does the control lie? How do certain factors
affect this? MMOs are the perfect microcosm to understanding Marxist
ideology.
• You picked good games for each theorist. I don't have much experience with flash games, but you should definitely keep all of the longer games you assigned--The Stanley Parable, Yume Nikki, and [especially :3] Katawa Shoujo.
• If anything, I'd suggest that Pokemon Tower Defense should be added to the playlist. Perhaps even that game you showed us in class, Abobo's Big adventure, especially since it plays on the player's knowledge of the games it's based on in order to succeed.
The Readings
1. Which reading(s) did you like the most and why?
• I am all about Sartre, anything with existentialism gets me excited and hooked.
• I liked the readings that had to do with with what we were talking about, namely the stuff on superflat and and panopticism.
• Murakami's reading was very enjoyable because he related a lot of anime. I also like Jenkins's book as it dealt with a current issue.
• Kafka because it was a great and quick way to start the semester. Also Foucault because his social theory applied to nearly everything we played and discussed in class.
• I enjoyed almost all of the readings. They all had some pertinence to the course and could be applied to video games easily.
• Foucault’s panopticon was the easiest to apply, but my favorite was Kafka because, well, I love Kafka.
• I loved the Bordo and the Kafka pieces, as well as the Jenkins pieces.
• anything by Henry Jenkins. A lot of his theory is directly related to the course material (video games). Also Murakami- very relevant to modern pop culture as Japanese imports are always gaining popularity.
• I enjoyed Jenkins as it was the most relevant to me and was actually pretty interesting.
• Murakami's superflat, Azuma's animalization of otaku, and Bordo's piece on the male body. I liked them best because I already knew a bit about them, the first two applied directly to my game, and they're generally theories I find interesting. I also feel that these theories are very important to video games. Another theory I liked a lot was convergence culture, since it's so incredibly pertinent today, especially for video games. It was even better because it was new to me!
• I love Susan Bordo, and I love reading her in any class. Foucault’s panopticism applied to game design was novel to me. I never thought of applying his thinkings that way.
• I enjoyed the articles from the Games and Culture magazines the best. I felt like this prepared me for what was expected in the portfolio, and how to analyze a game properly.
• I really liked the reading I chose from the Video Game Theory Reader 2 on retro games, it was interesting and tied in perfectly to my proposal.
• The Video Game Reader 2 was a great resource with many different
articles inside it that already applied to video games.
• I liked Berger's "Ways of Seeing" and Foucault's "Panopticism" because
of how they were almost universal in gaming. Honestly, most of them
were really awesome. I probably liked Murakami best because I doubt I
would have been exposed to him outside of the classroom.
• Kafka made for a good introduction to the class
• Earth at my Window by Murakami and The Animalization of Otaku Culture. I read about Evangelion in an academic setting; I almost died from awesomeness. I liked Benjamin, Bordo, and Sarte too. It's just you can't really compete with anime as far as being relevant to my interests.
• I loved Kafka's The Law, Sartre's Nausea, the piece on Murikami's work, and everything Extra Credits related; personally, I think more Extra Credits clips could be involved throughout the semester.
2. Which reading(s) did you like the least and why? Would you cut it from the class? Why or why not?
• It's not that I did not like it, but we never covered Benjamin very much so it seemed a little tacked on.
• I didn't like some of the readings that felt arbitrary to video games, though that may have just been me.
• I didn't dislike any of the readings. I thought they all added to the class in some way.
• The reading I liked the least was the article I read about Convergence Culture. The only reason I didn't like it was that I could not apply any of the knowledge gained to my game of choice.
• If I had to pick one it would be Sartre, but I wouldn't want to, and I wouldn't cut it.
• I didn’t like the gender theory because of the class discussion. It always seemed to end up with me being wrong for not finding a character’s gender to be the most important part about them.
• I found the Berger part to be a bit problematic. It took a long time to get through it in class, and no one really utilized it in their presentations from what I saw. Compared to other theories out there, I'm not so sure this one is a necessary theory to include.
• “Panopticism” readings from Foucault. Just because a lot of people chose to present on it and I got sick of hearing about it. I would not cut it though. It's very relevant (hence everyone presenting on it)
• I hated reading Focault. It was extremely dense and hard to understand. He had some interesting points though, and for that I would not cut him from the class.
• Panopticism and existentialism. Since they're older and translated from French, they were harder to go through. Also, for existentialism, I have troubles really applying it to texts, though it might just be because I'm not very strong in it. Panopticism sounds important to games, so I'd probably keep it, but I don't know if I know enough about existentialism to decide whether to keep it or not--especially considering the huge number of other theories the class needs to cover.
• I thought Sarte was too complicated for the class. I think it would have been better to focus on only one foundational theorist.
• I did not really have an issue with any of the readings, surprisingly.
It would have been nice to see a bit more time-relevant articles, similar to what we did with Tim Schafer and his Kickstarter bit.
• I didn't really enjoy the gender-based readings, though that was probably because I was getting feminism from every other class I was in so it was just too much gender related things for me at the time. They are important to the class, though.
• I don't know if I would cut any cause they all helped in their own
way. However, I would definitively check to see what papers people are
doing then adjust from there.
• If I had to cut anything, I would probably cut Sarte, only because I
feel like he is mainly relevant to a post-modern reader and that time
in class can be better used to address the foundations of analysis at
the beginning of the semester (if you're going to continue to allow
non-English or Philosophy majors in the course that is)
• There weren't really any readings I disliked, though if I had to select one I suppose I'd find Berger's Ways of Seeing less favorable, despite recognizing how perception of elements of a game can be changed depending on the information or beliefs one is exposed to. As Artie proposed, some focus on Transhumanism would be a nice touch for the class, as well as something that discusses the player's involvement in a game when it comes to sidequests, and whether they do them simply for the rewards or out of a personal conviction.
3. Should there have been more or less theory in the class? Why?
• More theory would be great, especially applied theory to big name games so we as a class can see them at work.
• I think there could've been more theory that had to do either with gaming in general or actual major games (not little flash games), and less arbitrary "general" theory.
• I think there should have been a little more theory. We went over a lot but there's more that can be applied to games that we didn't.
• Perhaps some additional theory, but it would have to be more focused in scope in order to help the students develop their own original thesis.
• More theory. A lot more theory. With the few theorists presented it seems that almost everyone in the class, including myself, focused on applying what we read to what we played. More theory would be helpful in the future, even if it consists simply of a list of other theorists and their works that are to be reviewed outside of class.
• There should be more theory, so the papers can be less Panopticism and more of other ideas.
• I think a little more wouldn't hurt the class. We're applying it to games; that's more fun than it originally sounds.
• Theory is the purpose of the class. The more the merrier.
• I believe a good balance was made. Go through some theory, apply it, and in the end everyone present's their game and theories.
• I feel there should have been more theory in class. Having more on gender/queer theory would've been great, and including Marxism, transhumanism, and the other ones brought up in class today would've been good too. Some classes, I noticed, were scheduled to just have peer review, which I feel could be cut out next time. Peer review is important, but with peoples' progress on their papers and Let's Plays being so varied, and with people not making solid decisions on their research until much later, their mileage from peer review days may vary. I remember there was at least one day where my group mostly didn't know what to work on, so it was sort of a wasted class for everyone involved.
So, those days could be cut out, and instead we could use the class's outside message board to complete mandatory peer reviews. Also, I noticed some class time seemed more focused on how to use a library or understand certain game documentation. Personally, I had problems with neither of those, and it may be the case that it was the same for other students. So those days could be replaced with theory, and the few students (if it is only a few) could ask for help on finding resources after class time.
• Theory is important because not only provides a framework for analysis, it informs how people think. Theory is what people to do to make sense of the world around them, and any opportunity to explain life processes in that way is beneficial.
• I feel that there was juuust enough theory, to allow people to get a solid grasp, while not completely losing the focus of being a game study course, rather than a theories course.
• While I think there was a good amount of theory in the class, you can always learn more. So try to include as much and as many different kinds of theory next time.
• The amount of theory was good, because it allowed me to see which ones
I could apply to my game.
• Certainly much more. I think the class may have benefited from less
discussion and more lecture-based format, at least for the first half
of the semester. Many people were struggling to play catch up in terms
of theory, I noticed. It's kind of difficult to discuss what you don't
understand so for the first few weeks it was mostly only Schuyler and
I contributing to the discussion.
• more theory leads to more insightful and academic discussion, and while I enjoyed the class, I feel like it at times suffered from a lack of widespread general knowledge of theory
• I’m tempted to say yes, as we didn’t use a lot of theory for gender. However, spending lots of time discussing games is also very important.
• It feels like there could have been more theory in the class, however, with the limited time for each class session and how quickly discussions tend to get carried away on a single topic, I'm not sure if it'd be possible to actually fit more into the weekly lessons. Unless, of course, more involvement is given online by creating some sort of class-based forum, or maybe individual blogs which groupmates can use to correspond with each other on theory every week.
4. If you think that there should be more readings, what readings would you recommend? What theory do you wish we explored more and/or spend more time on?
• Well I think determinism against existentialism would be a good topic when talking about games and player choice. We could go compare WRPG and JRPG.
• I think there should have been more on gender theory. I also think post-colonialism would fit in well with the class.
• I wish that we would have spent a little more time on existentialism and its relation to games. Also Murakami was a good read, and some of his theories (IE: Marxist) could have been applied.
• I'm not too knowledgeable about theorists, but I think that deconstruction and marxism could be added and further explored. I definitely think John Paul Gee's ideas of embodiment, Sartre's existentialism and Murakami's Superflat Theory could be further explored.
• More on reader oriented criticism, and as a corollary, Derrida’s deconstruction would be helpful in analyzing the games. Also, transhumanism. Love transhumanism.
• Grant made a good point on bringing up Transhumanism. It's ripe in video games at the moment. Also, some more time spent on gender theory. We hardly even scraped the surface on it.
• The discussion of Marxism today (and the heavy amounts of Marxist theory in my final paper) makes me say more Marxism. I know you're hesitant, but I do feel it is very relevant as Video games are a very consumer driven medium. All that enchanted commodity stuff I discussed about Pokemon definitely isn't Pokemon specific.
• I don't really know of many other readings but post-colonialism was brought up a few times and that sounded interesting.
• As stated above, transhumanism, more on gender/queer theory, and Marxism come to mind. JD's suggestion on deconstructionism also sounded interesting.
• I think a collection of readings focusing specifically on ludology in games and narratology in games would be beneficial. In my own project applying traditional narrative theories to games was confusing, because the audience becomes displaced and displayed within the game world.
• Panopticism and Gender Roles in games, I feel like we could have spent a week on either of those topics.
• I wish we could have gone in depth with Marxism and Postcolonialism, because they were important in a few proposals but never really studied or discussed.
• Something of the feminist theory could help cause I don't really know
too much about it.
• As I mentioned in class, I think it is necessary to address Saussure
and Derrida as the theoretical foundation of the class because
everything stems from Structuralism and Deconstructionism in terms of
viewing the (game) world in terms of established signifiers, signs,
binaries, etc. We have to be taught to notice these general symbolic
assumptions so that we can analyze them, break them down and question
their existence and placement. I think in terms of reading it would
really help to 1) make the Video Game Theory Reader a required text
for the class and 2) also assign a basic literary theory text that
provides an overview of all major theoretical lens that academics
apply.
• Deconstruction and reader-oriented crit should be at least introduced, and a suggested readings list would be very helpful
• We could read Judith Butler. There’s also a great essay by Harraway about cyberspace being gendered (a manifesto for cyborgs). Lisa Nakamura has a dated but relevant article about gender sterotypes in MUDS ("Race in/for Cyberspace"). Julian Dibbell has an incredibly interesting article called "A Rape in Cyberspace; or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society." If that title didn't get you, nothing will. Lastly, Michael Heim has an article called "The Erotic Ontology of Cyberspace" which in some ways deals with the paradox of creation and freedom in a pre-defined space. All of these articles (and many more) can be found in "Reading Digital Culture," edited by David Trend. Most are not specifically focused on games, which is unfortunate, but many are still very relevant to game experience, despite the age of many of the articles.
• It feels like there could have been more theory in the class, however, with the limited time for each class session and how quickly discussions tend to get carried away on a single topic, I'm not sure if it'd be possible to actually fit more into the weekly lessons. Unless, of course, more involvement is given online by creating some sort of class-based forum, or maybe individual blogs which groupmates can use to correspond with each other on theory every week.
The Assignments
1. There was a lot of anxiety about the final portfolio. If you were one of those worried about your final grade, what could I have done to make you feel better?
• EXPLAINED WHAT A LET'S PLAY WAS AND WHAT YOU WANTED
• I suppose there could've been quicker feedback in regards to our progress. I didn't feel like I had an accurate idea of my progress until the end of the class.
• I didn't have any worries. I think more graded assignment spread over the course could help with those who did though.
• Structured the varying assignments in a way where things are gradually due, and not due all at once at the end.
• More interaction and more feedback on what was done. Even if on assignments grades are given as a check or a minus, that would be helpful.
• Force deadlines that are before the end of the semester, like make a due date for the let’s play.
• I think making everything due at the end of the semester is what caused stress for so many of us. That's a hefty portion of the grade to wait until the very end.
• Examples of what you are looking for. As this was the first time this class was presented, that wasn't really an option, I understand.
• To have the abstract be required earlier and graded + responded to faster, to know if we were on the right track.
• As discussed in class, I feel that the Let's Play could be changed. Making it due by the midway point of the semester, and having students turn in mandatory progress reports (or something similar) would make it much easier. Also, just as discussed in class, making the Let's Play assignment more of a "summary of key points" assignment would make it much easier to complete. The link to the incredibly detailed Breath of Fire Let's Play definitely threw me off on what I needed to do. I felt that directions on the paper were pretty clear, and having the option for the 20 minute presentation instead was also great. Also, I know some people can get nervous about having to speak in front of the class... so I don't know if a lot of people were worried about making that talk, but I personally found it pretty easy and fun to put together. I also feel that having the conferences at the end of the semester and learning what everyone did and how they're actually applying the theories was very interesting and great to learn from.
• Meeting with you made me feel much more confident in completing the assignment successfully.
• Ideally, I wish there were more specifics as far as exactly what you were looking for. With a few of my outside sources, I was a little hesitant because I wasn't exactly sure what you were looking for. So I just picked the most relevant sources and went with it.
I imagine after you teach the course a few times you'll get a feel as to what confuses students the most, and be able to provide previous examples to help them out.
Again, we were the test rats, we knew it was going to be a bumpy ride when we signed up.
• I wish we could have gone in depth with Marxism and Postcolonialism, because they were important in a few proposals but never really studied or discussed.
• I think making the paper due before the presentations could be a good
idea. That way people could see what they did then still change it at
the end.
• Ahh...I don't really have an answer for this. I guess I'm used to the
framework of lit classes. II had three 15 page pages due that monday
for different classes...it's almost expected from where I stand. I
don't think it's really your job to coddle us in a junior level
elective. Either you put in the effort and got a good grade or you
didn't and your grade will obviously reflect that.
• I think it’s hard to ease the stress research papers cause in general while assuring their quality—if you blow them off as easy the whole year, you’ll get crappy papers.
• Perhaps there could be stages throughout the semester where we turn in parts of our portfolio to you and hold a required conference about our focus/development? Though that could create more problems and it would be a bit tedious since you'd have to have multiple conferences with everyone from the class on a rather frequent basis. If a website is used to communicate with each other in the class, would it be wise to upload stages of the portfolio gradually throughout the semester, where you and other people in the class could willingly look at and comment on a person's work or offer advice?
• As for in-class communication, there should be one certain method of communication between people in the class. Things seemed a bit scattered with the google group and the subReddit used within the class.
2. Were the assignments paced appropriately? Why or why not?
• Yes they were. It was never heavy work, but it always was engaging.
• I don't think some of the assignments were paced very well. It felt like there was a huge pile-up at the end of the class.
• For some people, I think the real heavy hitters weren't. If the Let's Play was due at the end of Spring Break instead of just being recommended it be done, I think it would help. I had it mostly done by then and I had an easier time at the end of the semester.
• In the context of the class discussion yes, but I think it would have benefited to make the Lets Play due sooner.
• I think they were
• I thought they were when it came to readings and the games we all played.
• The readings were placed well enough, as were the games. The issue comes up on the final work.
• Checkpoints throughout the semester would be nice, rather than everything at the end. It was hard to foresee and plan when the final portfolio was kind of unlike anything I had done in another class.
• I only wish the Let's Play was due earlier.
• I feel that the smaller games that went with the readings were appropriate...except, unfortunately, for Katawa Shoujo, since it was a bit too long for the class. Also, as mentioned above, making the Let's Play due in the middle of the semester, and the paper/presentation due at the end, would be better paced.
• I thought the pace of the class was good; I just disliked the short class periods.
• As mentioned in class, I feel like the Let's Play was a bit of an overkill. Someone...I forget who exactly...mentioned a blog-like post system...I think a weekly "game journal" assignment would work and could replace the Let's Play as far as points.
• I feel like they were up until the end. Then everything hit the fan.
Maybe making the let's play due halfway thought the semester would be
good. Then if they want to change games they still can.
• I think it was fine. The only game that took me a substantial amount
of time was Katawa Shoujo.
• yah, relied on student's personal desire to succeed, which I personally believe is important
• Yes, though that largely depends on the student’s discipline. Maybe you could have a hard due date for the “Let’s Play” midway through the year? Odds are, the content covered will be different than that covered by the paper, but it’ll get the juices flowing. It might also ease your end-year grading crunch.
3. Concerning the Let's Play: would it have been better to have more incremental assignments throughout the semester? Would having students maintain a blog have been better? Why or why not?
• I think more easy going thing would be great. People would not be so lost, and it would set them up to be a lot more prepared.
• I feel a blog would've been better, since having such a huge assignment hit us at the end was very stressful, even if we were supposed to work on it during the semester.
• There have been arguments from both sides to say nay and yay on the blog. I think that a blog dealing with the chosen game and having a part that deals with playing it and a part in which a person relates the game to the readings would be best.
• A blog is a great idea, regarding the Lets play refer to my comments above.
• I feel as though some real incentive to get students to work on their Let's Plays would be better. Weekly blog posts, or discussion posts on Reddit or another discussion board would help keep people on track. I also think that there should have been a due date midway through the semester for a finished rough draft of the Let's Play, where students turn in a Let's Play that encompasses most of or their entire game. Feedback can be given and then students will have a chance to improve their work and polish it.
• I don’t think incremental updates work with all games. I would have been done in a day with Portal’s blog, while others would work for weeks.
• Yes to the blog idea. I had one in a different class and it worked out very well. (Granted it was for movies, but still.) At least have "checkpoints" during the semester. I'd hate to have you hold someone's hand through the class, but it's a big assignment that can go in so many different ways.
• (see last answer) I like the idea of a blog to present progress as opposed to a final lets play
• Personally I do not like the blog idea but it doesn't have to be required. I think seeing progress every few weeks would be good enough.
• Incremental assignments definitely would have been better, and separating the time spent on the Let's Play and the time spent on the paper is also good. Maintaining a blog sounds like a great idea, but as Grant pointed out earlier, problems may arise from people playing games of varying lengths. Having students who have finished their Let's Play instead comment on other students' progress sounds like a good idea as well, though.
• Maintaining a blog would make the assignment much more manageable. Also, it would provide an avenue for peers to critique each others’ projects. If more peer critique occurred, I think some of the more painful presentations could have been avoirded.
• Hah, I just answered this one, kinda.
I feel it would be better because it would help pace the course, instead of having just a few games to play a week, it'd allow the student the time to get through the game, without cramming at the end, like I think a lot of people ended up doing.
• See above answer, and a blog would have been a great thing to use to pace the let's play into increments and keep track and update everything as it was being played.
• That could work too. personally I liked using video because I can go
back and see things if I need too.
• I think that a blog would be phenomenal because it does multiple
positive things for the class 1) eliminates the discussions where we
usually get on tangents anyway 2) allows us to increase our personal
portfolio (I'm now blogging for a website because of the blogging I
did for this class) 3) Allows people to all follow each other's blogs
and maintain threads specific to each person's post in their post.
• I am undecided on this topic and so will leave it somewhat blank
• It would have increased the sense of discipline behind the course—I sort of got a laid back and fun vibe while attending class throughout the year, especially compared to my other classes, which I absolutely loved, but I recognize this may not be ideal. It would ease the weight of the giant chunk of work. It might be helpful.
4. Concerning communication outside of class: would more use of the message board and/or the Google group been better? Would it have been better to make posting to them mandatory? Extra credit? Why or why not?
• I think extra credit would have been better, because not everyone posted on the board. By adding an extra place to post, things might get lost and confusing.
• I think that a Steam group or an actual forum would've served us much better.
• I think a message board using webcourses - since everyone uses that for one reason or another - might be better. Maybe to use with the blog or as the blog.
• I think a mandatory weekly posting would have helped to keep the class engaged.
• The Google group kind of petered out at the end. I think a message board would have been more effective. I don't think posting should be mandatory unless you ask the class to respond to an assignment or a game. Otherwise, it should be a communal place where articles and ideas can be posted and discussed outside of the classroom.
• I would have liked to see more actual use of the sub-reddit (following google groups is a pain). Making them mandatory may or may not be a bad thing… I’m not sure.
• Extra credit is such a weird thing. I do think utilizing some form of outside communication would have worked out better, but I don't know how to go about implementing it.
• I think the subreddit could work very well if there is more of a focus on it and more assignments involving it
• If the assignments had us post comments to the message board they might have gained more popularity. There was no drive to ever go to the message boards.
• I definitely think that there should have been more communication outside of class, and I think it should be mandatory. After all, if it's extra credit, then most people won't really get involved, so there wouldn't be a bunch of deep and interesting conversations like what's needed. I feel that our theory discussions were quite interesting, but with some people being more vocal and eager to jump into action, and with only 50 minutes of class time, there was a lot more that could be said but just didn't get covered. Also, if the next class does cram a lot more theory in like I mentioned earlier, then it'll be even more vital to have outside discussions.
In the class discussion today, we had mentioned dividing the class into smaller groups on the message boards, so that the groups could hold discussions among each other and be able to have deeper conversations after knowing each other and knowing one another's projects better.
• Mandatory postings are a bad thing in my experience, but incorporating required commentary on each individual blog could make up out of class participation.
• Personally, I feel like a message board would benefit the class the most. There are plenty of easy-free message board systems out there.
This would have kept things together, and I feel the discussion in a message board flows much more naturally than it would in a subreddit or Google group.
• I never was able to use the google group because I don't know how they work, and I don't have a Reddit account either, so I would have liked a webcourses page of some sort to discuss things outside of class.
• I think that everyone should make a google email and participate in
the google groups. That way the email is sorted by topic and they can
respond back from their email.
• I liked the google group because I'm rather busy and prefer getting
updates sent to my email that I can read off and resend to right there
rather than just going to reddit and constantly checking and
refreshing the page.
• the message boards were a good idea, especially the google group, but being as they were not in place from the beginning, and nothing was ever required or even largely encouraged to posted there they suffered from lack of student drive, they should be neither extra credit nor mandatory, although they could be used to replace participation for someone who has trouble making it to class, and could also be, on occasion, used for assignments.
• Extra credit definitely, and for sure if you decide to segment the class more. More discussion is always good—the google group got kind of underutilized this year at least. Nerds like to post links to cool stuff anyway, don't we?
After Class Communications
1. How willing are you to keep in touch with the class and continue in the field of game theory? Would you like to maintain a professional group (a guild or clan if you will) that would keep in touch after class and inform each other of gaming news and professional opportunities?
• I would be interested yeah. I would love to have a group that wants to continue theory study and help people get to conventions. I would join up.
• I'd like to keep in touch with the class.
• I'm very willing. I enjoyed this topic and sharing my ideas with the class.
• Of course, and I'm highly interesting in pursuing game theory. My goal right now is to apply to FIEA@UCF for graduate school as a Video Game production student.
• I am not sure if I will continue steadily in the field of game theory. I would possibly like to write for video games after graduating, so becoming a part of a group or a guild that keeps in touch in the future is something I would like to join and be a part of.
• I am pretty willing to keep in touch and in the world of theory (it helps me with ideas in my writing). It would be nice to maintain the Sub-Reddit and maybe nurture it as a community for all of us.
• Sure.
• VERY WILLING. keep me up to date, yo.
• I would be okay with that.
• I'd love to keep in touch after class! I don't know how my participation in the field will be in the future, but my classmates had interesting projects and ideas, and I think it'd be awesome to keep in touch with everyone even after the semester ends. I also would want to keep my ears open to such news and professional opportunities in case I decide to go further in that direction.
• I like game theory, and I find it very interesting, but I would not be interested in keeping contact with my peers in this class.
• I'm very interested in keeping in touch with the group. I plan on pursuing a career in game journalism, so while I do not intend to attend lectures as a speaker or presenter, I feel like my analytical skills I pick up in the course and outside of it will only benefit me in the long run, with my writing.
• While I don't plan to pursue any sort of career into the gaming industry, I would like to stay in touch and see what happens with the next version of this class, as well as talk to class members on new games and such.
• Question : Can I has Minions?
Answer : Yep :3
• I mean..I'm moving overseas so all of that is sort of irrelevant to me
since I can't participate in any conferences or anything like that.
• the field is interesting, and while not exactly where I envision myself working, I would still like to keep in touch via a group of some kind.
• I’m shy, so I don’t know how involved I would get. But I would definitely give it a shot.
• I'd love to keep in touch with the class if such a group has been established, and I'm interested in taking part in Google groups or Reddit activity. I also intend to revamp my cruddy Let's Play to make up for its shoddiness. I initially used a free program to record game footage and the raw output was a batch of incredibly small recordings that had to be converted into video files. When I switched to Fraps after my trial ended, however, the output file were so ridiculously large that I actually ran out of space on my hard drive while recording from my save spots on Discs 1 and 2... Haha, at that point my laptop became unbearably slow.
2. If you are interested in maintaining a professional group after the end of the class, what method of communication would you prefer? Google group? Subreddit or other message boards? Interconnected blogs? Why?
• I would like a google board because I think that's the easiest way.... And I don't use reddit.
• I would like to keep in touch either through a forum or, more preferably, a Steam group.
• I think some form other than Google Group of subreddit would work. I think the interconnected blogs might be a good idea.
• Google groups are nice since everything is slowly being directed through Google anyway and I'm always checking my g-mail.
• Steam, so that games can be played on multiplayer.
• I feel the sub-reddit would be a great platform for extended discussion after the class.
• No real preference. It would give me an excuse to actually make a Reddit account, though...
• subreddit- I am on reddit a lot.
• Continue the subreddit?
• I don't really have a preference one way or another, as long as it's all done in one place (instead of having communication divided between the Google group and reddit).
• A list serv could be helpful. I would love any information or articles you could pass along, so whatever system works for you I would participate in.
• I think the subreddit works best on a casual level. Reddit just has a more relaxed feel. I always feel like I have to be exact and precise writing in a message board...which is good for an academic class discussion...but for an outside "for fun" group..the subreddit would work the best.
• Whatever works best for the rest of the class, as long as I know how to use it.
• I would prefer Google groups mainly because I check my email every day
multiple times. However I am not opposed to any other form of
communication. I would just prefer one that allows me to get updates
from my email.
• Interconnected blogs just seem to be the best way to foster continuing
discussion on this material. It's like why you go to work in
professional attire - it sets a tone. Blogs say "let me create an
argument that I have founded upon research and see what people think".
My buddy and I both have blogs and make a note to check each other's
updates and impart our courteous professional opinion to spark
conversation or a new insight. Reddit says "Let's just argue by me
shouting my opinion in under 250 characters and trolling with My
Little Ponies." At some point it would just evolve into worthless
space. It's not a rule, but I have a hard time believing that anything
over a paragraph posted in reddit would be read by many people. It's
good for talking about mico-facets of games and arguing over their
specifics, but not really for establishing a strong theoretical
framework.
• Subreddit is always good, google groups tend to be underpopulated, a steam group is a good idea at least for partial communication, it is not the best idea for all types of discussion, and a simple facebook group is always useful
• All have strengths, though I’m not sure what is most ideal.
3. Lastly, if you are interested in joining this group, please provide any information you feel comfortable with sharing.
Note: Specific answers withheld to maintain student privacy.
Number of students willing to continue communication:
17 out of 18 respondents
Data Collected:
• Preferred email: 16 students
• Facebook or other social media: 14 students
• Tumblr, Blog or other online publication: 5 students
• Steam ID or other gamer designations: 11 students
No comments:
Post a Comment