Games & Guts

Arts 4962

 

Kathleen Ruiz, Assistant Professor of Electronic Art & Information Technology in the Arts

Email: ruiz@rpi.edu   phone: 518-276-2539

Office: DCC 122   office hours: Mondays & Thursdays 2:30 to 3:30 and by appointment

 

 

Course Description:

A hands on studio course using gaming constructs and techniques in making art. Students create interactive game prototypes using a variety of two and three dimensional visual approaches and various interactive applications and materials. Crafting new interface modalities that go beyond existing gaming paradigms will be a primary goal.

 

Introduction

Rich Czyzewski

 

We will use existing gaming practice to satirize and comment on the prevalent military type model and create alternative paradigms.

 

This studio course will entail a brief history and an overview of the theory of gaming, leading to a survey of contemporary gaming conceptual structures and on to student art game production and prototypes.

 

Course Objectives: 

1.  Explore new approaches to the concept of “game” & “play” and start to define an aesthetic within this emerging artform.

2.  Examine the work of several artists, theoreticians, and institutions who engage in game creation.

3.  Develop artmaking strategies which merge concept, process and form

-- encouraging approaches that are at once inquisitive, analytical, creative, experimental and articulate.

 

Course Overview

 

* Serious Fun: The Playful World

 

* The History of Gaming / Game Information

 

* Personal Preferences & Why

 

* Socio/Cultural Awareness

 

* Game Theory

 

* Games & Art

 

* Game Design Fundamentals & The Art of Gaming

 

* Gaming Paradigms/Types of Games & Delivery Systems (entertainment/educational/informational) arcades,home, video, computer, theme parks, web, CD, networked multiuser, new possibilities...., etc.)

 

* Methodologies, Quality of Interaction and beyond (multisensory media)

 

Course Schedule

Missions or Assignments

Required Readings

Suggested Readings

 

 

Academic Honesty:

Student relationships are built on mutual respect and trust. Students must be able to trust that their teachers have made responsible decisions about the structure and content of the course and that they are conscientiously making their best effort to help students learn. Teachers must be able to trust that students do their work conscientiously and honestly making their best effort to learn. Acts that violate this mutual respect and trust undermine the educational process. They counteract our very reason for being here at Rensselaer and will not be tolerated. Any student who engages in any form of academic dishonesty will receive an F in this course and will be reported to the Dean of Students for further disciplinary action. The Rensselaer Handbook defines various forms of Academic Dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. All of these forms are violations of trust between students and teachers. Please familiarize yourself with this portion of the handbook.

Gender-fair language:

Because the way we speak and write affects the way we think, everyone in this course is expected to use gender-fair language in all discussions and writing. A guide to gender-fair language is available from the Writing Center and from the Library.