1	Video Game Design and Violence How to Teach Creative Responsibility
2	Who am I? http://colum.academia.edu/TheresaDevine I teach programming and game design in the Interactive Art and Media Department http://iam.colum.edu/
3	The First Step Identification of the Creative Identity and Agenda. This is important because it sets the criteria for design work.
4	Mystery Box
5	The Assignment J.J. Abrams http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.html 1. Got a favorite game? This is your chance to tell us. Name it, define it, and be prepared to tell us why it’s your favorite game. (And you’ll want to play it before you write about it.) An answer of “Cause it’s cool…” and nothing more will spur public mockery. (And it will be a really, really short paper…) 2. Think about JJ Abrams’ talk. What is your “mystery box?” Look around your room, life etc – is there an object or something that holds significant personal value to you? What is the story about why/how it became important to you? If you think that there isn’t one (or that you don’t have one) you are mistaken – you just don’t know yourself yet. Think harder (make one up if you have to) – even a made up mystery box will reveal something about your creative identity.
6	The Second Step Gain Perspective Where are you in time? What are the driving forces of our time? http://www.poptech.com/popcasts/popcasts.aspx?lang=&viewcastid=158
7	Daniel Pink
8	Richard Florida http://creativeclass.com/richard_florida/video/index.php?video=02_CreativeEconomy
9	The Great Reset http://creativeclass.com/richard_florida/video/index.php?video=CBC-The-Hour-with-George-Stroumboulopoulos-talk-with-Richard-Florida
10	Third Step Know your history We look at the history of video games and what was happening socially, politically, etc at the time
11	Timeline Assignment Create a milestone segment of the timeline. It should have a paragraph describing the event, the year indicated, a picture and an event in history. (See historical analysis guidelines below) Historical Analysis – For the same year as your timeline segment look up online what was happening in the world at that time. If it is in the future then make it up. Choose one of the following categories and find out what was going on. 1. Politics 2. Science 3. Economics 4. Arts 5. Business 6. Entertainment 7. Philosophy
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15	Step Four Determine your design approach Narratology – story driven Ludology – gameplay driven Conceptulism – concept driven
16	Step Five Understand Yourself What does your work need to fulfill your creative agenda? Factors for self awareness The mystery box (personal) Your place in time (societal) Your design approach (professional)
17	Step six Creative responsibility This is a concern of all creative professionals In art when we talk about creative responsibility we mean that everything we use (imagery, color, composition, choice of medium etc) has a reason to be in the piece. There is no gratuitous nudity or violence. Everything has a reason to be there – the reason is, it helps to convey the message.
18	Shock art Damien Hirst http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/arts/09hirst.html?ex=1352350800&en=9bd3fe441ca0fd2b&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_art http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HMU/is_3_28/ai_73023799
19	Grand Theft Childhood http://www.grandtheftchildhood.com/GTC/Home.html http://www.veoh.com/collection/G4-X-Play?length=clip&offset=50#watch%3Dv16952858fMKcTs4f
20	Killing Monsters http://www.gerardjones.com/ Idea of the healing power of confrontational media In fantasy, kids can be superheroes or dinosaurs or ninjas, people with the goods to overpower things which scare them, people who can't be hurt. In this way children achieve the self-confidence to continue to meet the challenges of parents' expectations, a growing society of peers, and one big damn scary world.
21	The end of the semester The last assignment is a game design document The students are graded on Use of their own creative identity/agenda in the design Ability to talk about and defend each choice they made i.e. everything has to have a reason and how does it relate to their own agenda The presentation of the idea
22	Creative Identity Aimee Blakemore is interested in exploring the concept of the arrogance within grandiose notions that are ultimately meaningless. Her games will build and destroy build and destroy. The current question that drives her is "Why does everyone think that their empire will last forever?" She is a Narratologist/Conceptualist
23	Death Reigns Down Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
24	Creative Identity Matt Tusa will spend his life interweaving the story into the game seamlessly He is a Narrtologist/Ludologist
25	Blood, Sweat & Tears Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
26	Creative Identity Hannah Clemmons will make games which will enhance and facilitate learning not only from the child's(student's) perspective but also the teacher's perspective. Her games will simultaneously be tools for teachers to monitor student growth while still being games that teach the student. She is a Ludologist/Conceptualist
27	Piaget Playground Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
28	Creative Identity Kevin Bolander is an artist not a game designer. He will use the game medium to explore the world of intuition found within each one of us. He is of the same mindset of Kandinsky and will explore the ideas of the abstract expressionists and minimalists to create intuitive game experiences.
29	Visual X (an abstract expressionist game) Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
30	Creative Identity Noah Johnson Thinks Call of Duty 4 is wishy-washy. It was dancing around the issue of war and why we go to war. He thought that the designers were afraid say what they wanted to say about the political situation we are in right now. As you play his games - he wants his audience to develop an understanding of what you are playing for as you are playing. He is a Conceptualist/Narratologist
31	Bistro Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
32	Creative Identity Jory Luster is a narratologist He is exploring his experience with relationships to inform his game designs Each of his games will informed by a different relationship Grugdement City explores the social interactions that he has and is experiencing in his family.
33	Grugdment City [sic] Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
34	Creative Identity Aric Zeeck will explore the concept - Universal truths repeat regardless of time or place. He will use subject matter from history and politics to make the point that the human race is bound to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. He is a Conceptualist/Ludologist.
35	Tribe Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
36	Creative Identity Steven Beach is a ludologist, narratologist and a conceptualist. He has been influenced by BioShock and had recognized Ken Levine as a master of this approach even before this class. We spent the time talking about the reveal of the story and the reveal of the purpose of the game through the game play. He will specialize in horror.
37	Salvation Falls Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
38	Creative Identity Chris Stockbridge will make games that explore paths and experiencing of those paths to discover a true path based on choice. The path is not a linear path and the player will be allowed to backtrack and discover another path through another choice. He is a Narratologist/Conceptualist.
39	Movements Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
40	Creative Identity Ryan Czaya will spend his life creating games that make it through his own “reality filter” The more real it is the more successful the game is (period). Suspension of disbelief must not be compromised. The player should never think "this is ridiculous" as the game is played. The story and game experience should be convincingly real. He is a ludologist/narratologist.
41	The Great Escape Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch
42	Creative Identity Tim Slovack will spend his life making games that bring attention to social issues utilizing the formal construct of scale to underscore the overwhelming nature of those issues. He is a Narratologist/Conceptualist.
43	War is Only Half the Story Game Design Document, Sell sheet and pitch