DANM 250E: Game Design + Documentary Storytelling + Social Activism Main Menu Syllabus Community Projects Descriptions Frequently Used Resources

Course Information

23079

TRUTH AND POWER BELONG TO THOSE WHO TELL A BETTER STORY

~ Stephen Duncombe

*Please note that this site is in-progress and being worked on an on ongoing basis*

PROFESSOR: Susana Ruiz
TIME: Friday 10am - 1pm
LOCATION: DARC 206
CONTACT: suruiz@ucsc.edu / 831.502.7564
OFFICE HOURS: Friday 2:30 - 3:30pm / Communications Building, Room 149C

Course Google Drive folder 

OVERVIEW

Over the last 40 years we have seen a blossoming of new models of play. From the rise of the New Games movement and the emergence of the role-playing game (in the 1970s) to the current moment’s rise of independent games, art games, documentary games, political games, and more — we are changing who plays, how we play, and what play can mean. At DANM, we are interested in play-oriented approaches to storytelling, ideology, sociality, performance, and other rich areas of human life.

Game Design, Documentary Storytelling, and Social Action is a hybrid studio/seminar course where participants engage in creative production as well as critical discussion. Participants investigate the potentials and frictions that arise when combining activism, non-fiction storytelling, and the design of interactive media and playful systems. Key theoretical and practical questions this course will pose include: How can we elevate and establish the genres of documentary games and activist games, and why should (or shouldn’t) we? Do these games require a re-evaluation or expansion of traditional game design and development workflows? How might we communicate to a broad public why games matter in contemporary culture and how they may play a crucial role in social justice and political resistance? What can gameful thinking contribute to the documentary filmmaking and activist communities (and vice versa)? How can games authentically and ethically document subjective realities as well as intervene in society and help shape a better future? Participants will approach the topic from a variety of perspectives, drawing on a range of art practices, cultural studies, game studies, cinema studies, and more. Participants will maintain creative + critical online spaces, develop digital and non-digital designs, and explore the iterative game design process. Class guests may end up being an important part of the course experience and help shape the direction of the topics and projects.

REQUIRED TEXTS

  • Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox For Revolution, by Andrew Boyd and Dave Oswald Mitchell (editors)
  • Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy, by Stephen Duncombe
  • Games, Design and Play: A Detailed Approach to Iterative Game Design, by Colleen Macklin and John Sharp
  • Additional PDFs and other materials will be listed in the course Google Drive folder and/or in this Scalar "book" site.

​RECOMMENDED TEXTS

  • Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World, by Srdja Popovic
  • Game Design Workshop (3rd Edition), by Tracy Fullerton
  • Games for Actors and Non-Actors, by Augusto Boal
  • How Games Move Us: Emotion by Design, by Katherine Isbister
  • Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World, by Asi Burak and Laura Parker
  • Speaking Truths with Film: Evidence, Ethics, Politics in Documentary, by Bill Nichols
  • The New Games Book, by Bernie DeKoven
  • Thinking in Systems: A Primer, by Donella H. Meadows

REQUIRED MATERIALS

In addition to any laptop/computer device you use in class, you will need to provide your own ideation, sketching and paper prototyping materials such as, for example: journal/sketchbook, a range of papers, index cards and poster boards, a range of pencils and markers, and other craft materials.

COURSE WEBSITE & ONLINE TOOLS

Readings, announcements, assignments, and other supplementary materials will be added to the course Google Drive folder and/or this Scalar site. Participants are expected to participate in this course online Scalar “book.” Additional tools such as Vimeo will likely prove useful throughout the quarter and participants are expected to create their own accounts as necessary.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

20%    Participation in-class: discussions, exercises, and project critiques. Participation in class Scalar site: weekly reflections of the readings/films/games/and other media.
20%    Leading of one class discussion
20%    Collaborative Activist Game
20%    Documentary Game
20%    Revised Activist or Documentary Game

Additional constraints for all exercises and assignments will be provided in class. Work will be assessed and critiqued based the five key areas of concept, design, innovation, technology and effort:
  1. Concept: intellectual and creative explorations; communication of concepts, play mechanics, stories and ideas.
  2. Design: quality of player experience; artful, critical & playful strategies that help support the communication of concepts, stories and ideas.
  3. Innovation: unique approaches; unexpected creativity; (ethical) risk-taking; self-initiated experiments.
  4. Technology (when applicable): software/hardware fluency; self-initiated technical problem-solving skills.
  5. Resolve: work beyond minimum requirements; generous & collaborative mindset.
Grading Collaborations: When working collaboratively, all group members receive the same grade. The professor does, however, reserve the right to modify this as necessary in order to best reflect fairness.
Lateness and Extensions: All assignments must be turned in on time. Extensions will be granted in case of emergency. If you are confused about an assignment or need additional support, please contact the professor. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • Demonstrate ability to define, plan, and execute individual and collaborative digital art and new media research projects by developing project concepts, prototypes, timeline development, creative problem solving.
  • Understand multiple forms of digital art and new media critique, be able to respond to and give critique productively. Ability to understand critique, evaluate feedback and produce iteration of work; ability to defend research and/or creative practice in a critical environment.
  • Employ professional communication practices in digital art and new media to make public contributions to the field.
  • Develop game design vocabulary for talking about games and their play
  • Experience the iterative game design process
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* Special thank you to Jeff Watson for his support and ideas in developing this syllabus. 

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