SP22: INTRODUCTION TO GAMES: 9060

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO FIND WHAT GAME YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TEACH CLICK HERE

CONTACT INFORMATION

Professor
Dr. Edward Castronova, PhD 
Office Hours: 4-6pm Tuesdays. 030H Franklin
Preferred contact method: Canvas Inbox

TA
Xan Smith xansmi@iu.edu
Office Hours:
Zoom: 10-11:30am Tuesdays. https://iu.zoom.us/j/87494273138
Office hours are also available by request. Email me with your availability and we'll find a time that works for both of us.

Bring any issue to the TA first, BEFORE contacting the professor. We do this to make sure you get a rapid response to your issue.

WELCOME

Hi and welcome to C210 Introduction to Games, a freshman-level survey course that teaches general concepts about what games are and how they affect our thinking about the world and ourselves. The teaching method combines lectures, readings, and homeworks with in-class playing of board games. This is similar to a cinema class where the professor lectures for awhile and then shows a movie. Instead of the movie, you get a game. The board games are our main source of examples for the concepts talked about in lectures, homeworks, and readings. 

Please be aware that this is not a course about video games; it is about games in general. As a matter of fact, we will be using board games to learn the concepts. Secondly, this is not a game design course and we will not be doing game design exercises. This course is rather a foundation for general thinking about games, especially their relation to reality. Therefore, the material is largely conceptual, theoretical, and philosophical in nature; we use board games to talk about how these conceptual ideas work out in practice. We can't play the game of life well, or make good games ourselves, unless we understand what games are and how they fit into the reality of a human life.

Here are the qualifications of the instructors. Professor Castronova has 30 years of university classroom teaching experience. With a PhD in Economics and extensive expertise in Statistics, he has become a globally-known expert on the interaction of games, technology, and society. Castronova has published four books, which have been translated into languages such as Chinese, Italian, and Japanese; he has published dozens of articles covering topics ranging from cryptocurrencies to the philosophy of game design; given lectures around the world, including the Game Developer Conference and the Digital Games Research Association; been quoted or interviewed by the New York Times, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, 60 Minutes, and major newspapers in countries like France, Germany, and Japan; maintains an active consulting practice with clients that have included major game companies, law firms, accounting firms, business consultants, and US Congressional staff. At Indiana University, Castronova created and launched the BSc degree in Game Design in 2015 and served as its founding Director. He has served as Chair of the Media Arts and Production Department in the Media School, and currently sits on the university's Athletics Committee. Castronova has taught Indiana University's Introduction to Games course continuously for more than 10 years, reaching hundreds of students. His ratings in this course regularly exceed the department and school average. He cares deeply about students and has a passionate commitment to helping them get a clear sense of the relationship between games, society, and reality. It's important because messing that up early in life can cause a lot of problems down the road. 

Xan Smith is a graduate student at The Media School studying media psychology and avatar creation for nonbinary, transgender, and gender non-conforming people in gaming spaces. Xan received a B.A. in Psychology at Earlham College and an M.A. at Indiana University in Psychological and Brain Sciences studying memory and attention. Later they worked in drug development research before moving to video game research. Xan has been teaching courses in introductory media school courses, psychology courses, and gender studies courses and has received a graduate award in teaching in 2020. Xan is passionate about hands-on learning and is excited to work with Media School students on how we engage with and think about games.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
On February 8, class will extend from 6PM to 11PM. We are playing a massive disaster simulation. Attendance is mandatory for this class. The reason is that the game requires all students to play. If you are unable to stay late on February 8, please do not take the class. If you do not stay for the whole class that night, you will lose points and there is no makeup opportunity. 

GRADING
The grading system intentionally has game-like elements. Students should think of course points as victory points and then think strategically about how to get them. 

QUIZZES - 130 Points
Quizzes are given at the end of every class. You have to be in the classroom to get credit for the quiz. Each quiz is worth 10 points. 

HOMEWORKS - 140 Points
Homeworks are short essays due each Saturday. They are graded PASS/FAIL. The overall grade depends on the number of homeworks passed.

Homeworks Passed	Total Points Awarded
1 or 2	84
3, 4, or 5	98
6, 7, 8, or 9	112
10, 11, 12, or 13	126
14	140

FINAL EXAM - 100 points
A long multiple-choice exam that is given during finals week. See the Registrar for time and place. 

GAME TEACHING - 100 points
Each student will be assigned a game to teach to others. See the assignment for more details. 

BACKUP TEACHERS - Extra Credit
Sometimes, a student assigned to teach a game will fail to show up. In these cases, we will need other students to teach. Students can volunteer to do this and they will earn 25 points of extra credit each time they are called on to help. Details will be given in class. 

GRADE SCALE

	A	B	C	D
+	98	88	78	68
	93	83	73	63
-	90	80	70	60

 

 

 

 

COURSE POLICIES

Readings

Because they are good for students to know, all the readings in this course are REQUIRED. They are DUE on the date listed in the syllabus. That is, students must do the readings PRIOR to the class where they are discussed. Students are free to source these materials in the cheapest way possible, however, ALL READINGS MUST BE DONE, from the first word to the last. To enforce this policy, the instructors will add questions on the readings to quizzes and tests. These questions will specifically be about concepts from the readings that will NOT be covered during lecture. The instructors consider the readings as a valuable part of the student's education about games, including those ideas that cannot be covered in class for lack of time. 

No Phone

No phones, computers, headphones, or other electronic devices may be used at any time during this class. The reason is simple: If we want to see games clearly, we have to separate them from computers. Most people today know games only through the machine, but there's a lot more to games than that! Indeed, gaming as such is a collaborative, social activity, and we can't be social and collaborative if we're staring at phones or listening to earbuds. Did you know that one of the most common positive comments received for this class is that people meet friends here - and that's because we make you interact with others? We also want you to learn active listening skills, that is, listening to people who are talking, with all your attention. Can't do that if you're checking your apps. A third reason is that we don't understand a game unless we learn it with our own brains. When computers are involved in teaching us how a game works, we don't learn the whole game. It is critical for people (especially game designers) to see systems in the games we play. One great way to pick up this skill is to play tabletop games, without any computer assistance. These are all good reasons for keeping your phone in your bag; we are just trying to help you learn how to disconnect the idea of "games" from the machine.

The no-electronics policy will be enforced as follows. A box will be provided at each table. Instructors will go directly to anyone they see using a device, remind them of the policy, and ask them to put their device in the box. If the student decides not to do this, they will be penalized by -20 points.

Communications

All students must join the Slack workspace for the BSc Game Design program. The Slack channel #c-210 is the official communications channel for this class. Students are expected to check the Slack channel once every 24 hours. Join at https://iu-games.slack.com using your IU email address.

Students are expected to address the instructors with respect and proper spelling in both oral and written  communications. If you send an email that starts "Yo Castro" or "hey castranova" you can expect a sharp rebuke. 

Grading Philosophy
The default grade for any percent-based assignment is 85% (B). This is taken to be the normal performance of an IU student. On rubric-based assignments, performance that is normal for an IU student will receive the second-highest score. 

Crimsons
The game program has a virtual currency called Crimsons that is enabled in Slack. The instructor may give out Crimsons to students for good work. To send Crimsons to another person, go to the #random channel and type /tip [@name] [amount] [reason]. For example: /tip @castronova 1 late assignment

Late Assignments
Late work loses one full grade for each day past the deadline. A student may avoid this penalty by paying 1 Crimson to @castronova on Slack. 

Academic Integrity
As a student at IU, you are expected to adhere to the standards detailed in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct (Code). Academic misconduct is defined as any activity that tends to undermine the academic integrity of the institution. Violations include: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, violation of course rules, selling notes, and facilitating academic dishonesty. When you submit an assignment with your name on it, you are signifying that the work contained therein is yours, unless otherwise cited or referenced. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. All suspected violations of the Code will be reported to the Dean of Students and handled according to University policies. Sanctions for academic misconduct may include a failing grade on the assignment, reduction in your final course grade, and a failing grade in the course, among other possibilities. If you are unsure about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or exam, be sure to seek clarification from your instructor in advance.

Decorum
Students are expected to dress in a manner appropriate to a professional work environment in the tech industry. Clothes should be clean, modest, and inoffensive. Example: