CTIN 190: Introduction to Interactive Entertainment
Units: 4
Fall 2019—Tuesdays 14:00-16:50
Location: SCI 108
Instructor: Kiki Benzon
Office: SCI 201w
Office Hours: Thursdays 16:00-17:00
Contact Info: kbenzon@cinema.usc.edu
Student Assistants:
Meradi Agran – meredith.agran@gmail.com
Bria Smith – briasmit@usc.edu
Course Description
The rapid rise in the power and accessibility of digital technology has made possible myriad new forms of entertainment, artistic expression, exploitation, and socio-political engagement. Among these new forms, videogames and other kinds of interactive entertainment offer artists and designers unprecedented opportunities to instantiate and engage with playing publics, just as they offer corporations, states, and other actors new ways to profit, control, and dominate. Drawing on voices from game studies, cultural studies, history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, game design practice, and tech journalism, this course will explore a range of critical frameworks for understanding and analyzing interactive entertainment, from videogames and videogame platforms to mobile and social media and beyond. To facilitate this exploration, digital works and practices will be contextualized both within the economic, political, technological, and social landscapes of the present day, and the broader histories of games, interaction design, and play—histories that predate electronic computation by thousands of years and include diverse cultural practices such as dance, music, and ritual.
Learning Objectives
You will emerge from this course with
– an enhanced understanding of interactive media modalities and their function in cultural evolution and exchange
– a grounding in media theory in the contexts of games studies and interactive media broadly
– an awareness of the cultural and historical contexts of computation and digital technologies
– an understanding of the principles and contours of game mechanics, aesthetics, and dynamics
– familiarity with diverse works and practices in interactive entertainment and communication in cinema, games, documentary, and environmental/immersive storytelling
– critical writing on media theory, cultural studies, and interactive artifacts
Required Readings and Supplementary Materials
All required readings for this course are available through the course portal on Blackboard.
Description and Assessment of Assignments
You will engage with the themes of this course through reading, writing, presentations, and participation.
There will be 5 “pop” (surprise) quizzes (4% each) during the semester, accounting for 20% of your final grade. Each quiz will cover the readings assigned for the week in which the quiz takes place. Keep up with the readings to earn easy marks. You may not make up these tests if you miss any!
In the first class, you will choose a game that will be the focus for your the Pecha Kucha (15%). This is a speedy and compact presentation designed to get across many ideas in a short period of time; a strict 4 minutes in length, the Pecha Kucha will consist of 8 slides (plus an intro slide) that auto-advance every 30 seconds. Your challenge will be to give us as complete a talk as possible about the game you are presenting on in the time allotted.
In the paper (30%) you will offer a critical argument and analysis on a subject related to themes and ideas in the course. You will choose from a set of paper topics that will be provided several weeks before the paper is due. Papers should be 1200-1500 words in length and adhere to MLA, APA, or Chicago style for research papers.
The final exam (30%) will take place during exam week (see USC exam schedule for exact date). The exam will cover concepts and material presented in class lectures and the assigned readings. It will likely involve a mix of short answers, multiple choice, and at least one essay (more on this closer to the date).
Active engagement with ideas, activities, and discussions is imperative for your success in the course. You begin the course with full marks for participation (5%). If you are disruptive in class—talking during lectures, leaving early, arriving late, or disturbing the learning environment for your peers in any way—your participation mark will suffer. Using screen devices (tablets, laptops, phones) without DSP permission will result in deductions from your participation mark.
Grading Breakdown
| Assignment | Points | % of Grade |
| Pecha Kucha Presentation | 15 | 15% |
| Quizzes (x5) | 20 | 20% |
| Paper | 30 | 30% |
| Final exam | 30 | 30% |
| participation | 5 | 5% |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100% |
Assignment Submission Policy
The paper is to be submitted via Blackboard by 17:00 on its due date. Pecha Kucha presentations must be given on the date you signed up for.
Grade Scale
| Grade | % |
| A | 86-100 |
| A- | 80-85 |
| B+ | 77-79 |
| B | 73-76 |
| B- | 70-72 |
| C+ | 67-69 |
| C | 63-66 |
| C- | 60-62 |
| D+ | 57-59 |
| D | 53-56 |
| D- | 50-52 |
| F | 49 and below |
Assignment Deadlines and Incompletes
The only acceptable excuses for missing an assignment deadline or taking an incomplete in the course are personal illness or a family emergency. Students must inform the instructor before the assignment due date and present verifiable evidence in order for a deadline extension to be granted. Students who wish to take incompletes must also present documentation of the problem to the instructor or student assistant before final grades are due.
For assignments turned in after the assignment deadline without prior permission from the instructor, a penalty will be imposed equal to 10% of the total available points for the assignment, for each day or part of a day that the assignment is late, up to a maximum of seven days.
Social media, including text messaging and internet messaging, are excluded from class unless explicitly permitted by the instructor. A 0.5% grade reduction will result from each occurrence of a student being found using them.
Laptops, digital tablets, cell phones, and other electronic devices with screens are prohibited during lecture, except by permission through DSP. Audio recording is permitted with prior clearance by the instructor. Bring a notebook or paper and a pen or pencil to every class.
Diversity
In making games and interactive media in a professional and ethical way, it is important that you consider diversity. When looking at your projects, you should consider who is depicted and how this work will impact others. What kinds of individuals and communities are represented in your work? What point of view does your work express? This class may assist you in learning how to make work that includes diverse viewpoints, and may discuss racial, religious, gender and sexual orientation issues in the context of games and interactive media.
Creating a More Inclusive Space
In this class, we make a commitment to fostering a welcoming and supportive environment where students of all identities and backgrounds can flourish. This means that we will issue content warnings as appropriate and respect self-identifications. While debate and discussion are welcome, please remain aware of the implications of your words and the images that you include in your work. If the instructor or another student points out that something you have said or shared with the group might be offensive, avoid being defensive; this is a valuable opportunity for us to grow and learn together. Alternatively, if you find something said in class to be offensive, focus on the impact of the statement instead of assuming intention or assigning blame to the speaker. We’re human and we make mistakes, and part of learning and education is to be gracious about pointing out errors.
If you have a concern about any aspect of the class, you are encouraged to speak with the instructors. If you feel uncomfortable speaking with the instructors, you are also welcome to speak with either the undergraduate or graduate advisor for the division. If the issue is about diversity and inclusion, you may speak with the faculty liaison to the SCA Council on Diversity and Inclusion [http://cinema.usc.edu/about/diversity.cfm] or the advisors who can discuss the issue with you directly or point you toward other on- and off-campus resources for addressing your concern
Course Schedule: Weekly Breakdown
Week 1: August 27
| Topics | Introduction to the course / Interactivity / Entertainment |
| Activities | Pecha Kucha sign-up (notify an SA if you miss this activity) |
Week 2: September 3
| Topics | Criticality |
| Prepare | Flanagan, Mary. Critical Play: Radical Game Design. MIT Press, 2009: 1-10. (excerpt) |
Week 3: September 10
| Topics | Agency and Constraint |
| Prepare | Muriel, Daniel and Garry Crawford. “Video games and agency within neoliberalism and participatory culture.” Video games as Culture: The Role and Importance of Video Games in Contemporary Society.” Routledge, 2018. |
Week 4: September 17
| Topics | Gamic Action |
| Prepare | Galloway, Alexander R. “Gamic Action: Four Moments.” Gaming: Essays On Algorithmic Culture. University Of Minnesota Press, 2006. |
Week 5: September 24
| Topics | Culture and Context |
| Prepare | Consalvo, Mia. “There Is No Magic Circle.” Games and Culture. 4.4 (Oct. 2009): 408–17. |
Week 6: October 1
| Topics | Computation and Play |
| Prepare | Ivory, James. “A Brief History of Video Games.” The Video Game Debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Digital Games. Rachel Kowart, ed. Routledge, 2016. |
| Activity | Discuss paper assignment and essay writing |
Week 7: October 8
| Topic | Narrative and Space |
| Prepare | Jenkins, Henry. “Game Design as Narrative Architecture.” First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan, eds. MIT Press, 2006. |
Week 8: October 15
| Topics | Worldbuilding and Transmedia Entertainment |
| Prepare | Joyce, Stephen. “Worldbuilding and World Destroying in BioShock and The Last of Us.” Transmedia Storytelling and the Apocalypse. Palgrave, 2018. |
| Deliverable | Submit Paper (30%) via Blackboard by 17:00 |
Week 9: October 22
| Topics | Identity |
| Prepare | Shaw, Adrienne. “Do You Identify as a Gamer? Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Gamer Identity.” New Media & Society. 14.1 (2012): 28–44. |
Week 10: October 29
| Topics | Materiality |
| Prepare | Ensmenger, Nathan. “The Environmental History of Computing.” Technology and Culture. 59.4 (2018): S7-S33. |
Week 11: November 5
| Topics | Interactive Cinema |
| Prepare | McSweeney, Terrence and Stuart Joy. “Change Your Past, Your Present, Your Future? Interactive Narratives and Trauma in Bandersnatch.” Through the Black Mirror Deconstructing the Side Effects of the Digital Age. Palgrave, 2018. |
| Activities | “Bandersnatch” (Black Mirror S4E1, 2019) |
Week 12: November 12
| Topics | Labor and Surveillance |
| Prepare | Walker, Austin. “Watching Us Play: Postures and Platforms of Live Streaming.” Surveillance & Society. 12.3 (2014): 6. |
Week 13: November 19
| Topics | Alternate Reality Games and Interactive Documentary |
| Prepare | Harvey, Kerric. “‘Walk-In Documentary’: New paradigms for game-based interactive storytelling and experiential conflict mediation.” Studies in Documentary Film. 6.2 (2012): 189-202. |
Week 14: November 26
| Topics | Playful Environments |
| Prepare | Ivănescu, Andra. “Westworld and the Pursuit of Meaningful Play.” Reading Westworld. Alex Goody and Antonia Mackay, eds. Palgrave, 2019. |
Week 15: December 3
| Topics | Exam Review / Loose Ends |
| Prepare | TBA |
Final Exam: as of October 4th, the final exam for CTIN 190 is Thursday, December 12th, 2-4pm. (location TBA). This may change; please consult https://classes.usc.edu/term-20193/finals/ for the latest information.
Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems
Academic Conduct
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standardshttps://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct/.
Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage sarc@usc.edu describes reporting options and other resources.
Support Systems
A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali, which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students. The Office of Disability Services and Programs http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.htmlprovides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations. If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information http://emergency.usc.edu/will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology.
Disruptive Student Behavior
Behavior that persistently or grossly interferes with classroom activities is considered disruptive behavior and may be subject to disciplinary action. Such behavior inhibits other students’ ability to learn and an instructor’s ability to teach. A student responsible for disruptive behavior may be required to leave class pending discussion and resolution of the problem and may be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs for disciplinary action.
Syllabus Updates
This syllabus is liable to change up to the beginning of class and possibly over the semester. Please check the posted syllabus regularly, and note all changes that are shared by the instructor in class.
The Writing Center
From the website, https://dornsife.usc.edu/writingcenter/: The Writing Center offers free services to all USC students in the form of individual consultations and small-group workshops. Our goal is to contribute to the development of better writers, not just better products, and to assist with the skills and processes of critical thinking, drafting, and revising that lead to clearly expressed positions, coherent arguments, and persuasive reasoning.