ENL-491-01 ASSIGNMENTS

This course reflects the needs and expectations of a "real-world" electronic working environment. The work you will do is project-based, collaborative, complex, and intensive. Since ENL-491 is the core course of the E-Crit Program, your performance is greeted with VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Because the group includes E-Crit majors at varying levels of experience, advanced majors will be expected to act as mentors and instructors for their classmates. They will perform this role by teaching class workshops, directing group projects, and participating heavily in e-mail discussions.

This term, you are expected to make formal proposals (or outlines) for each of your assignments (see due dates below). The proposals can be delivered electronically, orally, or in print, but they must be completed by the due dates indicated to receive a grade.

All assignments must be submitted at the beginning of the class for which they are due. Tardiness will result in a loss of one point per day past due.

NOTES, QUIZZES AND PARTICIPATION - 10 points

Quizzes: A brief quiz will be administered at the beginning of each class for which a reading is due. Students who are late for class will not have quiz questions repeated for them. Students can opt out of quizzes by submitting notes at the beginning of each class. Do not underestimate the impact that quizzes will have on your overall grade.

Notes: All students are required to submit notes for each article included in the course packet. Notes must be submitted at the beginning of the class in which the article is being discussed. How do you take notes? Read the article, underline what you think is important, and use a word processing program to transcribe the most important statements in the article. Beneath the transcription, you can make personal comments about why you think the statement is important.

E-Mail List: As dwellers in a Digital/Visual culture, you are expected to keep a critical eye open at all times, and to share your observations with others in an online forum. You should consider your classmates as a community to which you are responsible on a daily basis. All students will be expected to contribute regularly to online discussions; join the discussion list by clicking here and filling out the form. The E-Crit Listerv involves participants from several countries, and you will be expected to engage them in conversation. Performance will be graded according to quantity, quality and consistency. In short, WRITE WELL AND WRITE OFTEN. What do you write about? Start by reading the NY Times Circuits section. This will give you plenty of material. Besides that, you should write about issues covered in class, and any digital culture issue that you deem worthy of an "electronic critique discussion."

IN-CLASS PRESENTATION - 10 points

Each student group will plan and deliver a presentation on one of the weekly reading assignments. This presentation must include a simple Web "slide show" display to effectively enhance what is being said (details in class). This project requires you to demonstrate an excellent understanding of the reading, and you will be expected to put the reading within the context of other issues discussed in class and on the listserv. The week before the presentation, the presenter is responsible for generating discussion about the reading on the class listserv.
COMPREHENSIVENESS: 3%
INNOVATION: 2%
OVERALL INSTRUCTIVE QUALITY: 5%

ASSIGNMENT 1: Web Essay on Surveillance, Discipline and Technology - 20 points

This assignment requires you to write an academic essay on technologies of surveillance and discipline, and their impact on our everyday lives. You can choose to write about the presence of such technologies in your own life, in a film, or on the web. You must cite at least two articles from the class in your essay. Additional instructions will be provided in class. Note that the due dates below include submission of an outline and a first draft. The more complete your outline and draft are on the date of review, the more success you will have in the final version of your paper.

Due Dates:
Outline: Tuesday, February 1 - 2% (based on completeness, depth of thought)
First Draft: Tuesday, February 8- 3% (based on completeness, depth of thought, use of course readings)
Final Draft: Tuesday, February 15 - 15% (based on completeness, adherence to assignment, clarity, persuasiveness, evidence of revision)

ASSIGNMENT 2: Video Game Theory Review Essay - 10 points

This assignment requires you to write a brief (2 pages max) review of an essay accessed at gamestudies.org: http://www.gamestudies.org/archive.html . Your review should summarize the main points in the essay, and determine whether or not it is useful for students making critical video games. Your point of view should be that of a student making a critcal video game who is writing for other students who may want to make a critical video game. On the other hand, if you want to write strictly as a critic who might be interested in submitting work to gamestudies.org, then your audience is the readership of gamestudies.org. Additional details provided in class.

Due Date: Thursday, March 17. Submit to Professor O'Gorman via e-mail.

ASSIGNMENT 3: Critical Video Game - 60 points
This project requires each group to create a video game that is based on the theories you have learned in class. How might Michel Foucault or Rem Koolhaus design a video game? The game software you will use is 3D Gamemaker, a WYSIWYG design package. Remember that this assignment is more about concept than it is about making things "look pretty." This is a critical theory class, and not a design class. For this reason, you must submit a written theorization of your game along with the final version. Please see grade breakdown below. Additional details provided in class.

Due Dates:
Initial Proposal: Tuesday, March 29
Your group will "pitch" the video game to the class, as if we were an actual gaming company. You must demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the game's narrative, characters, environment, and rules. If the game is a mod of a current game, you must demonstrate why you have chosen to modify that particular game. Most importantly, you must explain how the game is a direct response to the course readings. How might this game be used to teach the theories covered in class?

Iteration 1: Tuesday, April 5 - 10%
The first iteration of your game should give the class a fairly good idea of what the game environment will look like. You will have to explain why you chose your graphics and why they are an effective reflection of your narrative. Additional consideration will be given to groups how import their own graphics rather than drawing on the prefab files provided with the software.

Iteration 2: Tuesday, April 12 - 20%
Iteration 2 will be graded according to how well you responded to the critique of Iteration 1. You must demonstrate an ability to refine the game based on user feedback. This version of the game should be able to stand on its own, with only minimal refinements required before the final launching.

Final Iteration: Thursday, April 21 - 10% for game; 10% for written component.
The final iteration will be based once again on your ability to implement changes based on user feedback. For a complete grade, the game must be ready to distribute as an .exe file.