This course will involve active playing, writing, discussing, researching, designing, and modding/implementing. Weekly sessions include investigation of interaction paradigms, game mechanics, game development processes, and strategies for analysis, critique, and design of games in the context of a conceptually driven comtemporary art class. A substantial part of the course involves learning, using, and misusing a game development environment called "WTF?! SDK", a custom coded suite of Flash-based editing/modding tools designed to create WoW-styled side-scrolling action RPG games.

WARNING: This class will be fun as well as frustrating, and very time/labor intensive. Please DROP IT if you cannot commit to 10+ hours per week spent on course-related materials outside of official class time!

Software

- WoW (live account not req'd)
- Mapviewer
- Modelviewer
- WTF?! SDK
- Image Editor - Photoshop (GIMP, etc.)
- Animation Editor - Fireworks, Flash IDE
- Sound Editor - Sound Forge
- etc.

Tutorials

- Project Planning
	- Type of Game
	- Concept
	- Style
	- Look and Feel
	- Goals and Objectives
	- Characters (Playable and NPC)
	- Objects
	- Key Events
- File Management and Organization
- Asset Generation (Mapviewer, Modelviewer, Camera, Drawing, etc.)
- Zone Background/Terrain Creation
- Static Object Creation (trees, buildings, etc.)
- Player Creation and Animation
- NPC Creation and Animation
- Simple NPC Behavior Scripting
- Quest Creation
- Item Creation and Balancing
- Special Effects (particle system)

Part 1 - Sign up for a WoW trial account and play a character to at least level 10
https://us.battle.net/account/creation/wow/signup/

NOTE: Even if you have an active account WoW account, please start a new character and do the assignment.

Part 2 - Respond to the following

A. Basic Mechanics
Identify and discuss at least ten key game design mechanics that structure your play. For example, different quest types ("talk to," "collection," "kill," "delivery," "escort," "one-offs" and "complex chains"); how quests are structured (to introduce core mechanics and move you through zones, to create a sense of story, to introduce lore, to motivate continued play); "game balancing" (gearing up, itemization, progression, class mechanics, racials, attacks/spell casting, cooldowns, quest "flow"); "social networking" (chatting, grouping, buffing, fighting); "ginding" (repetition related to level/exp, reputation, profession, advancement); etc. etc.. Evaluate what you like/dislike about them as you list them.

B. Sociable Media
Describe at least five specific game design features by which WoW encourages in-game social interaction.

C. Identity Politics
Discuss at least five ways in which specific game design decisions limit and/or expand how you behave, and how others may perceive you, in the game world.

D. Ideological Frames
Describe at least three dominant narratives/ideas that the game is built around, and how those narratives/ideas are coded into the game.

E. Zone Mapping
Visually map out at least two WoW zones on paper. Describe the overall theme, mood, look and feel, and the types of quests, objects and NPCs you find in them.

- Environment
	- Look and Feel
	- Topography
	- Flora and Fauna
	- Music and Sound
	- etc.
- NPCs
	- Who
	- Where
	- Role (Questgivers? Enemies? Etc.)
	- etc.
- Quests
	- Title
	- Type (meet, collect, kill, object, single/chain)
	- etc.
- Player
	- Race, Class, Skills, Professions, Appearance
	- Controls
	- Abilities
	- Stats
	- etc.

Play WTF?! http://aoedipus.net/index.html

A. Zone Mapping
Visually map out at least two WTF?! zones on paper. Describe the overall theme, mood, look and feel, and the types of quests, objects and NPCs you find in them.

B. Zone Designing
Storyboard ideas for at least two map zones of your own design. Define the overall theme, mood, look and feel, and the types of things you will find in them.