Course Syllabus

Professor Edward Castronova castro@indiana.edu
TA Musa Hasan hasanmu@iu.edu

THE INSTRUCTORS DO NOT USE CANVAS INBOX. MESSAGES IN CANVAS INBOX WILL BE IGNORED.

Class time: Monday 7:00pm - 10:00pm.

On the first day, class will be held in Zoom. At 7pm on January 25, go here:

https://iu.zoom.us/j/5900098411?pwd=aEFPak03cjBPYUVuaXR4SW1wcE84Zz09

After that, class will be held in Discord. Instructions for getting into Discord will be posted here after the first class. 

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Hello and welcome. This course is an online survey of concepts and ideas about games. We will talk about the history of thinking about games, and the engineering of games today. The course uses different online games as examples of the concepts. There are assigned readings, joint play sessions, lectures, and midterms.

Grades

Grades are based on three midterms (total: 100 points) and attendance (70 points). The schedule is below. Midterms are not cumulative; each test covers only the material since the last test.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Every class period you must log on to the Discord server and play online games with other people in your breakout room. These games are complicated and you will need to work together to understand them. A large part of the midterms will be questions about the games. You will need to know the rules and the best strategies as well.

Materials

Students will need to acquire the following readings and games.

Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens (buy online)

J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy Stories link

Edward Castronova, Virtual Worlds link

Michael Sellers, Advanced Game Design (buy online)

Catan link

World of Warcraft link

Root link

Evolution link

Twilight Struggle link

Technical Requirements

Games have been chosen so that they have low technical requirements. However, each game has its own minimum settings required to play. Students must check and verify that they have access to computers and networks that allow them to play these games, with other students, at the assigned times. You do not need to own the equipment, but you must be able to at least use it during class time (borrowing a friend's computer is allowed). No allowances or adjustments will be made for students who are unable to play for technical reasons. Exception: Blips, outages, lag, and other minor technical problems are normal and expected and will not affect the grade. However, students who cannot play at all for technical reasons will not receive credit for the games they miss. If a student has any doubts about their access to the required technology, they should not take the class.

Bonus Points

Up to 20 bonus points can be earned by taking an optional test on the game Labyrinth: The War on Terror.

Labyrinth link

This is an advanced and difficult game that is offered as a form of extra credit to help students increase their score. The test on this game is not required but will be offered in the same time slot as Midterm 3. Students who need extra points to increase their grade should work on learning this game prior to the end of the semester, then take the test after they finish Midterm 3.

Communication Channels

The first day, class meets in the link given at the start of this syllabus. After that, class meets in Discord. To attend class on Discord, you must first be invited to the server. An invitation will be given during the first class if you have issues with connection, contact the TA.

All class announcements are given in the #c-210 channel of the IU Game Program's Slack community. All students are required to go to iu-games.slack.com and sign up.

Contact the professor in Slack or by email at castro@indiana.edu.  Contact the TA by email at the address above. MESSAGES TO CANVAS INBOX WILL BE IGNORED.

Policies

Students are expected to follow the IU Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct. Academic dishonesty can result in a failing grade for an assignment or the entire course.