Schedule ... InteractiveFiction10PaperProject ...IF10InformProject.pdf

Interactive Fiction Spring 10 Syllabus

DMS 463 :: T-Th 1-2:50 :: Center for the Arts Room 235

Teacher
Josephine Anstey, jranstey at buffalo, office hrs M&Th 3-4

Description
In 1993, Kelso, Weyhrauch and Bates wrote:

"You find yourself immersed in a fantasy world with exciting characters and the possibility of many adventures. Although you control your own direction by choosing each action you make, you are confident that your experience will be good, because a master interactive story-teller subtly controls your destiny." "Dramatic presence." Presence 2:1-15

Story been both a driver and colonizer of both literary forms (poetry, drama, the novel) and mass media (print, radio, film, TV). Of late a photorealistic cinematic narrative envelope has descended stiflingly on mainstream video games, grafted onto repetitive, shooting-based, game mechanics. This course is interested in looking at both mainstream and fringe attempts to create fictional and literary experiences for computer-based interactive media. The experiments have been many - the results mixed.

Required Text:
Writing Machines (Mediaworks Pamphlets) (9780262582155): N. Katherine Hayles, Anne Burdick

Online Texts:
Expressive Processing, Noah Wardrip Fruin's 2009. Wardrip Fruin blogged the book as and experimental part of a review process

Inform7

People/Projects:

Some Internet Performance pre-links

  • The Plaintext Players
  • Desktop Theater - adriene jenik
  • Second Front - patrick lichty etc

Tools:

Grade:

  • participation 30%
  • project 1 20%
  • project 2 20%
  • final project 30%

Requirements and Responsibilities:

Reading, Preparation and Participation - You are expected to come to class thoroughly read/played on the material (not simply skimmed) and prepared for engaged participation.

Projects 1: InteractiveFiction10PaperProject

Projects 2: Inform7 project

Final Project: Students will create a final work of interactive fiction. This will be a process with three main steps.

Initial Concept/Plan due: March 18

  • To include storyboard/drawings/text explanation

First Testable Version of Project: April 6

  • All interactive work needs to be tested and built with an iterative process

Final Version of Project due: April 20

Attendance:

Attendance for every class is mandatory barring serious emergency. Each student is allowed two unexcused absences for whatever reason (e.g., illness, weather). If extenuating circumstances arise (e.g., serious medical problems, child care), please contact the instructor as soon as possible to address the situation. Barring emergency circumstances, each absence after two will drop lower the final grade by a full grade for each additional absence (i.e.,3 absences = B→C). Punctuality is also expected. For the purposes of grading, three tardies will equal one unexcused absence.

Criteria for Incomplete Grade:

It is the policy of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Media Study to grant incompletes for a semester only under extraordinary circumstances. Under any circumstances, incompletes will be granted only to students currently in good standing (i.e., regular attendance and passing completion of assignments). Requests for a grade of incomplete need to be submitted in writing, and should include a rationale, documentation for the reason, and a proposed schedule for completion.

University Statements

  • Please read this informational material on plagiarism, students with disabilities, and weapons as props.

OTHER RESOURCES

Useful Texts:
All the texts from 2008 syllabus are on course reserve

Festivals/Calls

Sites:

Past Courses

Course Syllabus (Spring 2008)

Master List

Online Projects