CTIN534: Week 1
1. Create an online display space for yourself (this will be part of how you become famous as a result of your work in this class)
Check
2. Articulate a collective participation strategy (i.e., how will you take advantage of being part of a participatory culture?)
Meta tagging and open access to information are key to participatory culture. Make information/media easy to find, then make it open to editing. This means not only making it editable whenever possible (ala a wiki), but also just making it generally available for others' use (ala Creative Commons). Whenever possible, I put things in places like Blogger or Flickr, where they can then be indexed and searched. And of course, everything I do is open for appropriation and remixing, should anyone so desire.
2a. Decide on and articulate your own strategy for creating a productive tension between theory and practice in your work.
Generally speaking, I like for pure theory to be a thought exercise that can act as a starting point for some practical application. As I expose myself to more theory, my trains of thought become more flexible and varied, leading to more interesting applications when it comes time to get to the making and doing of a project.
3. Define proficiency & an economy of value for the realm in which you intend to work (i.e., how do you want your work to be judged?)
I want to create meaningful experiences that challenge people to play with their world. Successful work should generate memorable experiences that are playful and lighthearted without being shallow or trite.
4. Post a Personal Inventory in your display space that addresses the following:
3 things you already do well
-Problem solving--the practical details of getting a project from abstract concept to physical reality
-Media collage--spreading an idea across multiple media, or combining more than one medium into a single object
-Communication/presentation--clear explanation and a little polish go a long way toward getting your ideas out there
3 things you want to learn
-Storytelling for games
-Basic 2D art (nothing fancy...I'd just like to get beyond stick figures and Google Image searches)
-Game history/prior art: getting better, but there is still so much I haven't seen
3 things you want to be great at
-World creation
-Remix/Combination of existing concepts to generate new play styles in games
-Forming/working with a tight, cohesive team
5. Post a few links, names or readings that you are interested in exploring as part of the research for these projects.
http://www.eyezmaze.com/grow/cube/--Flash puzzles that get the user invested in a little world
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender's_Game--Orson Scott Card's theories of how we perceive other beings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_Shrugged--attempts by highly talented individuals to shape the world "for the good of all"
Parenting theory and practice: how do people approach the opportunity/responsibility to significantly impact the personality and worldview of another human being?