I’ve updated the schedule some, partly to correct my mistake on fall break next week and also to stretch out discussion time for the games this week.
Come to class having played through Stanley Parable — there is a free demo available on Steam that gives you enough sense of the game for our class discussion but it is a classic independent game so I encourage you to buy the full version and play it. We will also spend time in class developing the rubric that I will use to grade your final revisions of the Manuel’s Tavern assignments. I’m waiting for the recording of the podcast intro before I publish the first two episodes — expect them to go up on Monday. I’ll embed them in posts here. Listen to them before class on Tuesday and we’ll discuss those too.
For Thursday, we’ll discuss Davey Wreden’s follow-up to Stanley Parable, Beginner’s Guide. I’ll also give you the assignment for the literacy narrative assignment and you’ll start working on that.
Charlie Bennett has agreed to record the intro segment for the class podcast again this semester. I need to get a script to him by tomorrow afternoon so he can record it for us.
I put together the above playlist graphic for Gamecast, based on the graphic I made last year and this tweet from the Firewatch photobooth at Pax West earlier this month:
I had not seen this article when we talked yesterday about what it would take to adapt Firewatch into a film:
Good Universe is teaming with independent video game developer and publishing company Campo Santo to develop content for both video games and feature films.
The companies will create a home for talent to develop projects that can bridge both the video game and feature film worlds. Their first project with be a film adaptation of Campo Santo’s first video game, Firewatch.
This weekend, you should read the Unpacking Manuel’s project by one of the classmate that I assigned to you and provide feedback to them. Instructions for the feedback here.
Also, sign up for an individual conference with me here if you haven’t already. We’ll meet for 30 minutes sometime this week to discuss revisions of your Unpacking Manuel’s draft. Currently, conferences are scheduled to run from Monday through Thursday, but I might add times on Friday too, if necessary.
Thursday’s game, Freshman Year, is web-based so there is no need to download and install anything. Be aware that the game depicts scenarios that may be distressing to people who have experienced abuse, so pay attention to your own reactions as you play the game.
Consult the table below. Find your name in the right-hand column; you will review the Unpacking Manuel’s page written by the student named in the left-hand column.
Read the student’s Unpacking Manuel’s page and the subpage outlining their research process carefully. Then create a document in the shared Google folder for the class with “[Student you are reviewing name] Unpacking Manuel’s” as the title for the document. In that document, leave feedback for the student that describes what you see as a reader by completing the following steps:
In a sentence, state the controlling idea or thesis of the essay.
Make an outline of the essay (it’s fine for this to be a straightforward bulleted list of the major pieces of the argument).
List the kinds of evidence the student uses to support their claims.
Identify any questions that you felt the analysis raises, or that are raised in the research process page, but that you felt were not answered or that need additional explanation. You don’t need to know the answers to the questions, but identify questions you are left with after finishing your reading.
Evaluate whether the student’s analysis does or does not meet the criteria established in the assignment prompt. (Note, this is not the same as judging whether the essay is good or not, but instead is an application of the criteria outlined in the assignment prompt to help the student notice any place where she or he has not fulfilled the terms of the assignment.)
Once your peer has left a completed review document for you, read it over and note any questions you have about the feedback you receive.
In class on Tuesday, we’ll discuss Firewatch some more, so if you have not finished the game yet, make certain that you do so because we’re going to especially focus on questions about the ending of the game. I would also like for us to discuss further and more explicitly this particular game as literature — let’s compare the story it tells, how it tells it, and what sort of impact it has on us as players with how such a story would or would not work if it were a novel or a film.
The Ending
Duncan Fyfe, a writer for Campo Santo, has a fantastic piece up in the Quarterly Review (see below) called “The End of Firewatch“:
Some players admitted being taken aback by Firewatch’s it-is-what-it-is ending because they were anticipating a big twist. […] But I like Firewatch’s more prosaic take: that running away from your problems isn’t just a psychological flight of fancy explored in a daydream or a mind palace, but a real thing you can do, and if you do it, there are consequences. Firewatch is a story about real people who take the easy way out and end up making a mess.
Fyfe’s article is also interesting in the connections he makes between the game and the novel The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.
via GIPHY
Even if you haven’t read the novel, pay attention to Fyfe’s argument and think about the connections he is making between game and novel.
Here’s a video playthrough of the game that I’ve set to begin with the closing credits so you can see the photos at the end. The vlogger is maybe a little annoying, but you an see the photo that the Reddit user in the photo at the top of this post, is referencing in the video:
And Steve Gaynor, the aforementioned creator of Gone Home, seems to be a huge fan of Firewatchbased on his Twitter stream alone. When Gone Home was released to gaming consoles recently, Gaynor retconned references to Firewatch into the game.
Work Cited
Fyfe, Duncan. “The End of Firewatch.” The Campo Santo Quarterly Review. N.p., 1 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
Remember that we’re going to be discussing Firewatch in class tomorrow, and it’s a longer game than the others we’ve played. You should be liveblogging your experience as you play. And check out the posts that are up so far by Andrew, Anika, Ben, Colin, Jasmine, Jose, and Samsara — and leave comments, responses, and questions on their posts!
A new game (still in demo) someone who’s got a Windows machine might want to check out for the podcasts: Tribal & Error, in which you’re a robot sent back to observe the ancient times, but the ice age is coming and to save humanity you need to learn their language first. You’ll observe, repeat and master the cavemen tongue. From what I understand, the game is all about the process of language acquisition and is an attempt to produce a game that anyone can play no matter what language they speak. A fried said he got to play a demo version of the game at an event and that it seemed really promising and interesting, but at least for now it’s PC-only so I haven’t tried it out yet. If you do play it, let us know what you think!
Firewatch is a single-player first-person video game where you, as a man named Henry, explore the Wyoming wilderness after taking a summer job as a fire lookout. What is supposed to be a peaceful respite from your complicated life takes a turn when you start to question some of the things that are happening to you.
Your only human connection is over a handheld radio, which you’ll use to speak with your supervisor Delilah about the things both of you are experiencing.
I’ve only played the first few minutes, so will be playing along with you. How Long to Beat says it should take 4 hours to finish completely, so it’s longer than the other games we’ve played so far. Make certain you’ve played at least 2 hours of the game, but it would be better if you can finish it.
As you play through the game, liveblog the experience. We’ll discuss the game itself, your liveblog reactions to it, and Bogost’s “Art” chapter in class on Tuesday.
Come to class on Thursday with drafts of your Manuel’s analysis written. There will be an opportunity for peer feedback in class on Thursday and then you’ll meet with me individually to discuss your draft.
