The only book you are required to buy is Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga. It is available at the bookstore.
There is a good
processing book if you are new to programming, however, all the information is also available online so it is not a requirement.
There is a $60.00 lab fee :( which will give you access to this room whenever there is no class :)
You will have space on the department's server, but I recommend getting a thumb drive if you don't have one already.
If you plan to work on your own computer you will want to download and install
Processing. Processing is free and cross platform.
We are going to be using the arduino in class. We have a few already, but if you want your own (and why wouldn't you) they cost $35.00 and can be purchased from
makershed or
SparkFun or you can buy it through me.
There is some free software you may want available at
software.berkeley.edu including ftp software and textedit.
Day One
Day Two
Jan 27th
Jan 29th
Feb 2nd
the first chapter of the book as a
pdf
Space Invaders (sort of) code
today's Game ...
Bit. Trip
Pong at Leipzig
Today we watch
8 bit , a documentary about art and video games
Assignment: create your own game based on either Pong or Space Invaders using Processing. You may push the envelope as far as you want, but we still need to see the seeds of the original game in your final project.
We will be working on this during class time, however, I will be expecting you to work on this outside of class.
Due: Feb 17th.
Feb 5th
work on pong. Discuss reading.
The Game trailer
UNBELIEVABLE HOCKEY FIGHT
today's game, "World of Goo". It's all the sh*t in the indy game world right now. You can't play it in class, however, because you have to download it. Ha ha! Get to work!
Feb 10th
Game of the day
Light-bot. I think this game does a good job of putting you in the same mindset a programer has to be in, but I have programer friends who disagree. What do you think?
Vegas, as explained by Huizinga.
What did we think of the show?
Helping each other is awesome but everyone needs to have their own game! You should have codes by now, so I'm expecting you to spend out-of-class time on the pong project, which is due in a WEEK! Eek!
Feb 12th
question, does lightbot work as a teaching tool?
New reading! We are going to be doing some reading from
"The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning" Fortunately the whole book is open source and online.
First up is, "Why I Love Bees: A Case Study in Collective Intelligence Gaming", by Jane McGonigal. It's a little long but easy to read, very relevant to next weeks classes, and fascinating.
today's game is "the game that YOU are working on" (ha. get to work) :)
in class demos: keeping score, constraining the paddle, multi-ball (now includes the complete multiball code).
Feb 16th
how to turn in your pong project.
Send me an email with your entire sketch folder as an attachment. this way if you've used fonts or images they will be included. In the body of the email write your name and indicate if you're willing to allow me to put the game online. If so, also indicate if you want your name attached to it. (neither step is necessary for your grade, of course).
Do this before class on Thursday!
The power of processing is that is is easy to create web apps OR stand alone applications, (for any platform).
Web 2.0 assignment!
intro to the arduino. Now updated with fun "library installation instructions" the whole family will enjoy!
Feb 19th
Feb 24th already?
Jumpman Game o' the day. More fun than it looks when you start, but less fun than the video documentation.
Here, (by popular demand) is some
rotating image code (sorry Adam).
Analog
instructions and photocell bonus instructions.
Today I want you to make an analog input work. Then I want you to look at all the pong games your group have made so far. What works? What are the fun moments and what is it lacking? Are there elements of one game that could be combined into another? How will integrating the arduino effect the game? Use a pen and paper to sketch out your new game. You can rebuild it from the ground up, base it off one person's pong code, or it could be a combination of different games, but make sure it's a group decision.
Where to I get electronics?
by foot or bike from Berkeley:
Al Lashers 1734 University Ave. Mom and pop electronics store.
Radio Shack (or course). Two locations one on Shattuck the other on University.
Boss Robot Hobby Shop. Good for small motor kits, sevo motors. Not cheap and a longer walk from school.
Ace Hardware 2145 University Ave (right near school). Not your regular Ace Hardware - make sure you go downstairs to the toy trains section.
Urban Ore - the best place in the bay area! 7th St. & Ashby Ave Berkeley. Lots of recycled stuff. Good place to find old joysticks or toilets or a door or a bowling ball or 1 ski or ...
Online: you can check out Jameco. If you have a car you can actually drive there and get your order filled on the spot!
Sparkfun is more specific to what we are doing than jameco. You can get arduinos there, and lots of fun sensors. I'd recommend Maker Shed but they took FOREVER filling our modest order, so I'm not sure I can.
.
Read all the comments for the game
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness
You need a PC to play the game but if you don't have a PC you can lurk
here (which is probably just as fun)
ALSO
read
Is it Art, by John Lanchester from the London Review of Books.
and
come to class with an opinion!
Today we meet in 295! Work day
March 5th
March 10th
Wake up grandma and call the neighbors, our
Pong Page is now online!
Today's game is last weeks game that we never looked at. Notice how similar it is to Sketchpad? Here's an awesome WTF are we doing with technology
rant.
Get me your web2.0 game proposals if you haven't yet! We present our pong/arduino games on thursday! There's no such thing as too many exclamation marks!!!
final FINAL work day on arduino meets pong projects.
Stewart Brand is speaking on
Monday March 16, 7:30-9pm, Doors Open 7pm
Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center
It's gonna be the kind of talk worth skipping other classes for.
in other news, the Prisoner in now on Hulu!
March 17th
Today is playtest day. Set up your game so that it is running. If the game needs instructions write them out so it's easy for people to play
Each group will do a short presentation about the game and the process your group went through in making it.
Then we will play all the games. In a playtest you need to let people play without the creator "guiding" the play. Each person has to write about each game, including the ones they worked on. I want you to talk about both things you like and things you would improve. It's okay to ignore the obvious limitations of time and money - in a perfect world how would you push the game?
Send these short reviews to me and I will make them available to the whole class.
March 19th
Web 2.0 Group "get to know you" day.
Group 1: jeff, Galen, Michele, John
Group 2: Mason, Paul, Jason, Wan
Group 3: Shana, Scott, Tom, Alex
Group 4: Sue, Libby, Joseph, Ketrina
Group 5: Adam, Tina, Jonathan
Group 6: Jordan, June, Sinead, Phiroath
Present your ideas to each other. Don't edit yourself too much based on what other people say.
With all your ideas on the table, start brainstorming. Make a list of your group's talents.
The first step is to make a white paper. I advocate using google docs or something similar. Here's what the white paper needs.
Title
Character(s) / Logo(s)
Rules
An example of gameplay
Results of simple preliminary playtesting within the group.
This is the design document created for spitball. This level of planing made division of tasks much easier, and produced a really great game.
Web game white paper due on April 7th.
Game Design Cliches
1. A small action (like pressing a button) should get a big reaction (like stuff exploding). Example - bullet time in Pirate game, Dock animations.
2. It's never too early to begin working on the "story". Example - Baby Ball, The Red Button.
3. Character design and animation is worth more than the sum of its parts. Example - Spitball, pong paint
4. Dying is the funnest part of the game. spitball or ... NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
5. Diagram your game on paper, even if it seems obvious how it will work. You will get new ideas once it's put to paper and everyone on your team will be on the same page. Example - spitball
6. You should be playtesting as often as possible. Don't settle on the first idea without trying the alternatives.
6a. Keep your eyes open - sometimes playtesting will show mistakes that are actually features. Example - Rocket Jump in the Original Quake.
7. It's okay to challenge your audience and break all the rules above. Example - 47 paddle photo-sensor game.
Think about these rules periodically during your production process.
Here's today's game of the day, the aptly named
Unfinished Swan
One last
pong farewell
As if that weren't enough, you need to be thinking about your final project. On
thursday the 9th of April we will be presenting our game ideas in class.
playtest results will be up on this page
(horizontal rule connotes spring break)
April 2nd
Today your group will meet with another group. You will have this group playtest your game as best as possible. Make instructions, and prepare in whatever manner you can as quickly as possible. Use this info to inform your white paper.
Jane McGonigal on
Boing Boing talking about games and culture and our current assignment.
game of the day Top Secret Dance Off
In other news .... mind control!
Emotiv Epoc - $$$
NeuroSky $$
Mindflex $
April 7th
For next tuesday read "The Rhetoric of Video Games" from the
"Ecology of games" ... .
and spend some time playing the
McDonald's video game (as described in the reading reading).
Come to class on tuesday with an opinion. What is the effectiveness of this game for you? Was it "fun" or "educational"?
Game of the day is the onion parody
"Close range"
Nindtendo DSi teardown (I love people that do this)
I want some serious headway on the web 2.0 games today. Our white papers should have lead us to a whole list of things to work on. NO PUTTING IT OFF TILL LATER.
On thursday You will need to make a brief presentation of your final project. Remember I'm looking for games that are both ambitious and doable!
Good news - I will be giving a demo on the laser cutter sometime soon. This means that there's a possibility you could include some laser cut stuff in your final project.
April 14th
Our open house will be on May the 7th! Your finished games need to be playable by then! OMG!
Next week we will be using some class time to work on our games. I want you to bring the materials needed to be productive during class.
today's game is something I made while
procrastinating this weekend. I contest that this is the best website in the history of forever.
today we are playing games in class. You will need to write a short review of one of the games. look at Board Game Geek for general examples (but don't look at the game you are reviewing).
If you play Mafia please try out the Death Rules.
April 23th
Artists we looked at today;
Gabriel Orozco
Perry Hoberman
Paul Johnson
Tim Hawkinson
Camille Utterback