| Instructors: | Dan Frost | frost@uci.edu | office hours Wednesdays 10:00-12:00 (Donald Bren Hall 5058) |
| Peter Krapp | krapp@uci.edu | office hours Tuesdays, 9:30 - 10:30 (Calit2 2006) | |
| Bill Tomlinson | wmt@uci.edu | office hours Tuesdays, 1:00-2:00 (Donald Bren Hall 5068) | |
| TAs: | Garnet Hertz | ghertz@uci.edu | office hours Wednesdays, 8:00-9:00 (Calit2 4300.82) |
| Eric Baumer | ebaumer@uci.edu | office hours Tuesdays, 1:00-2:00 (Calit2 2006) | |
| Lectures: | T Th 11:00-12:20 | SH 128 | |
| Labs & Discussions: | M, W 9:00-9:50 | ICS 364 & DBH 1429 | |
| M, W 10:00-10:50 | ICS 364 & DBH 1429 | ||
| M, W 11:00-11:50 | ICS 364 & DBH 1429 | ||
| M, W 12:00-12:50 | ICS 364 & DBH 1429 |
US 12B is part of UCI's First-Year Integrated Program. Throughout the year we will be investigating computer games as artistic, cultural, and technological phenomena. An important theme of this course is collaboration. All but the simplest computer games are created by more than one person, and when we study a computer game we participate in a dialogue or negotiated process of sorts that includes the creators of the game, other players, society at large, and ourselves. We want to promote a collaborative spirit throughout the course, while being aware of the need for each student to master the material individually and to receive a grade based on his or her own performance. At the conclusion of US 12ABC, you will be able to:
Because US 12ABC satisfies part of your lower-division writing requirement, in each quarter you will be writing research-based, college-level papers. You will learn to:
An essential component of being a good writer is understanding the multi-stage process of composing written work. In US 12ABC you will learn to:
Subject to change:
| Wk | Date | Topic | Who | Readings | Notes and Assignments |
| 1 | 1/7 | Lab 1: Second Life | Hertz | Lab 1 | |
| 1/8 | Introduction to 3D Worlds | Tomlinson | |||
| 1/9 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 1/10 | Art Practice | Krapp | Ernest W. Adams,
Will Computer Games Ever Be A Legitimate Art Form?
(Game Developer's Conference 2001)
& Henry Jenkins, An Art Form for the Digital Age, Technology Review (Sept.-Oct. 2000) |
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| 2 | 1/14 | Lab 2: Second Life | Baumer | Lab 2 | |
| 1/15 | Software Engineering | Frost | Alexander Seropian, Postmortem: Wideload Games' Stubbs the Zombie | The author says he was asked, "How goes the experiment?" What was the experiment, and do you think it was successful? Post your answer to the US 12B NoteBoard before 11:00 am. | |
| 1/16 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at
http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/
First paper assigned. |
||
| 1/17 | 3D Animation and Modeling | Tomlinson | Wagner James Au, And He Rezzed A Crooked House | Would this moving room / tesseract feature be useful or fun in a game (in SL)? Post your thoughts to the US 12B NoteBoard before 11:00 am. | |
| 3 | 1/21 | Martin Luther King, Jr., Day | |||
| 1/22 | Art Practice | Nideffer | |||
| 1/23 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 1/24 | Human Computer Interaction | Frost | |||
| 4 | 1/28 | Lab 3: Second Life | Baumer | Lab 3 | |
| 1/29 | Art Practice | Hertz | |||
| 1/30 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at
http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/
Final copy of Source Analysis Assignment, Paper #3 is due. |
||
| 1/31 | The Game Biz |
Krapp |
Some slides available at US12 dropbox | ||
| 5 | 2/4 | Lab 4: Second Life | Baumer | Lab 4 | |
| 2/5 | Art Practice |
Brody Condon |
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| 2/6 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 2/7 | Midterm | Take a look at last year's midterm. | |||
| 6 | 2/11 | Lab 5: Work on Second Life Game | Baumer | SL Game Project | |
| 2/12 | Affective Computing | Baumer | Rosalind Picard, Affective Computing | Give a specific example from a game where a character's physical expression of emotion is mediated by some cognitive aspect of that emotion. Post your example to the US 12B NoteBoard before 11:00 am. | |
| 2/13 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 2/14 | Music and Sound | Dobrian | |||
| 7 | 2/18 | Presidents Day | |||
| 2/19 | Internet, WWW | Frost | Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash Lecture slides |
Three questions: Who is the Hero of this book? Who is the Protagonist? How do avatars in the Metaverse differ from avatars in Second Life? Post your answers to the US 12B NoteBoard before 11:00 am. | |
| 2/20 | Discussion | Baumer | Discussion notes at
http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ Draft copy of the Capstone Paper, Paper #4 is due. |
||
| 2/21 | Net & Web | Krapp | Morningstar and Farmer,
The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat Dibbell, A Marketable Wonder: Spelunking the American Imagination |
Both papers describe the creation of complex virtual worlds. What is the most important way in which the worlds in the two papers are similar (other than "complex" or "virtual")? What is the most important way in which the worlds are different? Post your response to the US 12B NoteBoard before 11:00 am. | |
| 8 | 2/25 | Lab 6: Game Development | Baumer | SL Game Project | |
| 2/26 | 3D Animation II | Tomlinson | |||
| 2/27 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at
http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ Final copy of the Capstone Paper, Paper #4 is due. |
||
| 2/28 | Quality Assurance | Frost | |||
| 9 | 3/3 | Lab 7: Game Development | Baumer | SL Game Project | |
| 3/4 | Game Politics | Krapp | Parker,
Free Play: The Politics of the Videogame
Doctorow, Why Online Games are Dictatorships Two clips from class: Net Neutrality and This Spartan Life |
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| 3/5 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 3/6 | 3D Animation III | Tomlinson | |||
| 10 | 3/10 | Lab 8: Game Development | Baumer | SL Game Project | 3/11 | Game Project Demoss |
| 3/12 | Discussion | Hertz | Discussion notes at http://www.conceptlab.com/uci/us12b/ | ||
| 3/13 | Game Project Demos | ||||
| F | 3/18 | FINAL EXAM, 10:30-12:30, SH 128 | Last year's final exam | ||
The grade for the quarter will be determined based on your total points. Points are allotted as follows:
| Papers Paper #3 Research Analysis 5 Paper #4 Capstone 20 | 25 |
| Exams Midterm 10 Final 15 | 25 |
| Game | 25 |
| Participation Labs 10 Discussions 10 Noteboard Postings 5 | 25 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
The grade will be based on the total points, using a standard "straight" scale: 90's are As, 80's are Bs, 70s are Cs, 60s are Ds, and below 60 is Failing. We reserve the right to change the precise cut-off points.
Except for the Participation components, scores are based on the quality of the work turned in, not on the time spent or the effort expended. Also, note that there is no "extra credit" in US 12B.
For the writing portion of the class, you should have two books which are also assigned in Writing 39B:
UCI offers several kinds of assistance to writers. The website of the UCI Campus Writing Coordinator at http://www.writing.uci.edu/ has a great deal of information. We particularly recommend the Writing and Library Research Peer Tutors and the Learning and Academic Resource Center (LARC).
We are not assigning a specific textbook on Java programming, but you may find it helpful to have one. All books seem to cover much more of the language than you'll need for this class, so we recommend looking over a few in the bookstore and choosing the one that seems the clearest to you. There are also some valuable on-line resources for Java (however, most of these do assume you have a programming background):
Do not claim as your own the words or ideas of others. When you collaborate with or are helped by a classmate, give credit. When in doubt, talk with a TA or professor before turning in your work. A single act of cheating or academic dishonesty can seriously mar your career at UCI. Familiarize yourself with the UCI Policy on Academic Honesty, particularly Section C, "What is Academic Dishonesty?" and Section D "Procedures for Dealing with Incidents of Academic Dishonesty."
Students may add or drop US 12B up to the end of the second week of classes (Jan. 18), with the instructor's signature on an "Add" card. Students may add only if they are caught up on all readings and assignments. Students may drop after the second week only in exceptional circumstances.
Check your UCInetID email frequently; we will occasionally need to get in touch with you by email. Please feel free to send email to the course staff: use your UCInetID account, put US 12 in the subject line, and include your name in the message body. This web page syllabus will be updated over the course of the quarter, so please look at it regularly.
Even though you are young and reasonably healthy, as a user of computers you are at risk for several computer-related health problems, particularly RSI (repetitive-strain injury). Please read and follow the good advice at the Bren School's Computer Health and Safety web page.
Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact Prof. Frost privately to discuss his or her specific needs. Also contact the Disability Services Center at (949) 824-7494 as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
The ten week quarter will pass very quickly, and it is essential that all work be turned in on time so you can move on to the next assignment. If possible, contact your TA as soon as you realize an assignment will be late. In general, the policy is a 10% penalty for work up to 24 hours late, 20% penalty for work 25 to 48 hours late, and later work is not accepted without approval from a professor.
Not during class, please.
In lectures and discussions, you may use a notebook computer to take notes, but you must first disable your wireless connection to the Internet. Playing of games is, alas, strictly forbidden. Turn off cell phones during class.
If you think your work has not been correctly or fairly scored, talk with your TA. If you are still not satisfied, talk with Prof. Frost. All score disputes must be brought up within one week after the work is returned. If you have a concern pertaining to your final exam score or your grade, contact Prof. Frost before the end of the first week of the Winter quarter.