Computer Games as Art, Culture, and Technology - Lab Section
University Studies 12, Course Code: 87655
Quarter: Fall Quarter 2007

Lab 1: Ucigame - Set up Java. Get ucigame. Compile and run code. Edit code. Network and user setup.

Lab 2: Pong - Download Pong source and images. Ad d paddle. Alter paddle behavior.
Things to consider:Is this Pong? Is this not Pong? What would it take to be Pong? At what point does it cease to be Pong and instead become a paddle or paddles with a ball or balls?

Lab 3: Spaceship Joe - Download Spaceship Joe source and images. Change initial position. Add gravity. Attempt to fix bounce. Add other features.
Things to consider: Is this game realistic? Should it be? How realistic should the game be? How would one go about determining the level of realism in a game? Might there be an objective metric for measuring degree of realism? What would such a metric look like? Would such a metric be useful, might it be harmful, or might it not have any effect?

Lab 4: Push My Buttons - Download buttons source and images. Test button functionality. Add button. Create new button images. Create odd/even counter.
Things to consider: What do buttons do? How are buttons different from other types of video game interfaces? How are on screen buttons similar to / different from physical buttons? What do these buttons "afford?"

Lab 5: Animation - Download animation source and images. Change framerate. Change cat speed and jumping behavior. Understand the adding frames to an animation. Create new animated sprites that interact with the cat and the environment.
Things to consider: This is another good lab to consider the relationship between realism, believability, playability, and aesthetics. Are the cat's motion and animation realistic? What would it take to make them realistic? How realistic should they be? Can you make the cat behave "intelligently," perhaps by making it jump over the block on its own or chase a mouse sprite? How would you measure intelligence? What level of intelligence gives the most realism, believability, playability, and aesthetics to the game? Is this a game? Why or why not?

Lab 6: Animation 2 (Tiled Sprites) - Download animation 2 source and images. Look at tile sprite source code and images. Understanding selection of tiles from image file and placement of tiles within sprite. Add new tiles. Work further on improving animatio(s).
Things to consider: How could tiled sprites be used as a form of cultural resistance? Might allowing the player to dynamically adjust sprite tiling lead to emergent play? Are there specific aspects of implementation that can be directly connected with such concepts as emergent play or cultural resistance?