In this episode Jake and Andrew discuss the role of habituation in the video game series Bloons Tower defense. They explore its positive social benefits while also establishing the evils of an “addicting game.”
In this Podcast we explore the kitsch aspects of Mario Kart 8, and how that lends itself to being a game with such a wide fanbase.
| Group | Players |
|---|---|
| Group 1 Wed 11/9, 4-7pm |
Ben Anika Ross |
| Group 2 Wed 11/9, 8-11pm |
Niky Daniel Graciela Samsara |
| Group 3 Sun 11/13, 5-8pm |
Cindy Christine Justin Jake Marina |
| Group 4 Mon 11/14, 7-10pm |
Jose Jasmine Andrew Colin |
Your group will need to decide on a space to play — pretty much the only thing you’ll need is a table large enough to sit in more or less a circle around it. And you will need to decide which playset you’re going to play through (Main Street, Boomtown, Suburbia, or The Ice).
I have created a Google doc for each group with some tables laid out where you can document decision made during your gameplay. Check the Fiasco subfolder in our shared Google Drive folder.
In class on 11/8, I will distribute packs of 20 black and white dice, some index cards, and printouts of some tables from the playsets to each group.
You should read over the Fiasco rules before class on Tuesday 11/8. Note that it has a lot of pages, but the text is very large and includes lots of pictures and tables. (I read the rule book the first time from start to finish during a short flight, in less than an hour.) Also, the actual rules run from pages 8 – 60 — the next 40 pages are the playset tables you’ll use during game play, but you don’t need to do anything more than glance over them until it’s time to play. It’s worth reading or at least skimming over the “replay” that starts on page 101. Don’t worry if the rules seem a little confusing — you will probably feel a little confused and lost as you start to play, but once you get going it will be fine.
Wil Wheaton (of Star Trek fame) co-wrote a playset for Fiasco and then got together with some friends to play the game for his show Tabletop. Below are the three parts of that show. It’s probably a good idea to watch at least the set up video and a part of the first one.
I’ve created a Google doc that charts out there game as an example for you, which is in the shared Google Drive folder too.
In class on Tuesday, we’ll discuss the Analyzing Wolf in White Van assignment and any remaining questions about the novel itself. We’ll also discuss the rules for Fiasco, how it will work as a graded assignment, and the reflection assignment for it.
The essay prompt on Wolf in White Van is up.
Also, I mentioned in class a week or so ago, that when I was young (pretty sure I was in middle school), I briefly participated in a play-by-mail game set in the Hyborian Age, the fictional period created by Robert E. Howard in his Conan the Barbarian books. I had forgotten all about this game until I read Wolf in White Van for the first time. I searched around online a bit, just hoping to remember what the game was called, and I found that it evidently still exists and is still running as a game: Hyborian War!
I link to this game mostly to show that the fundamental conceit of White Van is valid — these games did exist and they still do.
Also, if you’re interested in watching the bad, old fantasy film Sean watches in the first part of the novel, Krull is available on YouTube in full:
You’re going to play Fiasco next week. For starters, I’ve created a Doodle poll that includes an entire week in 3-hour overlapping blocks from 10a until midnight. Please respond to the poll and just denote each three hour block that you’re free. Count our class period on Th as free for the purposes of the poll, because I am cancelling the class period to facilitate gameplay scheduling. (I’ve made the times overlapping because if I put on the poll noon to 3 and then 3 to 6, maybe lots of you would be available from 1 – 4 but would mark no to each of those two. Does that make sense?)
So just indicate any 3-hour windows you’re available and I will see how difficult it is to create groups of 3-5 of you that include the entire class. I understand that it’s possible this process won’t work, and if it doesn’t we’ll go to a plan B but let’s see how it goes.
This podcast details Mario Party and how it differs from typical zen games in reference to Ian Bogost’s chapter on Relaxation. The podcast gives insight on the unique rewards system and analyzes how those techniques can be related to the real world.
We’ve gone over the upload limit for the free account I created at Soundcloud. I’ll resolve the issue, but in the meantime, here’s episode 8 on Tomb Raider and Reverence
Are any of you watching the new HBO series Westworld? It’s a remake of the Michael Crichton film from the 70s of the same name. It’s an interesting portrayal of a gigantic virtual reality game set in the Old West.
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Assassin’s Creed is more than a game. If used correctly, it can be a tool to teach various historical events. In our podcast we play Assassin’s Creed Unity, which takes place during the French Revolution. We look at the pros and cons of using Assassin’s Creed as a teaching medium and whether or not Ubisoft created the game to teach history.
John Darnielle has a column at Slate today about his 1995 song “Cubs in 5” and what it means now, with the Cubs in the World Series. It’s characteristically Darnielle, taking an unassuming detail like a baseball team breaking a 70-year-long drought, connecting it to a failed romantic relationship, and then building from there to a meditation on faith despite observable evidence.
