COMM 3344: Games for the web (Interactive multimedia)
Fall 2008

Course meeting times: T + TH 2:10 - 3:25 (RCC 400 /402)
Office Hours: M, W, F 8:00 - 9:00; TR 10:00 - 2:00
Office: Laurie 363
Phone: 999-8153

Course description

A staple of nerd subculture for almost three decades, role-playing games have taken on new life in the era of networked computing. High-speed connections, sophisticated graphics and powerful microprocessors have paved the way for massively multiplayer games (MMOs) such as World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, and Maple Story. Meanwhile, social virtual worlds such as Second Life, Hipihi, and Project Wonderland have demonstrated their potential as valuable tools for community-building, education, and distributed collaboration.

Of course, virtual worlds are just one subset of a much larger videogame industry. From the Internet cafes of China and South Korea to the living rooms of American suburbs, hardware and software manufacturers generated more than $42 billion in global sales in 2007. Pricewaterhouse Coopers predicts that sales will climb to almost $70 billion by the year 2012.

Clearly, videogames and game-worlds are here to stay.

In this course, we will conduct an ethnographic study of the behaviors, cultural practices and motivations of MMO gamers. Along the way, we will play and critically analyze a variety of games. In addition to exploring game mechanics and video-game aesthetics, we will investigate sociological and psychological dimensions of virtual worlds as well as social controversies that surround this emerging medium.

We have three objectives:

• to explore communication theory and cyber-culture studies through sustained interaction with other residents of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes,
• to apply ethnographic research methods to understand the behaviors, cultural practices, and motivations of MMO players, and
• to develop a critical vocabulary for analyzing all types of videogames.

Prior technical and gaming experience is not required for this course.

Course requirements and materials

Assigned texts for this course include readings from the course packet and a subscription to the game Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

Class communication will regularly take place in e-mail and class blogs, so please be sure to check your Trinity e-mail address at least once a day for course-related messages. All class-related e-mail messages sent to your Trinity e-mail account should be treated as “required reading,” and you are responsible for their contents.

Throughout the semester, we will spend a significant amount of time in the virtual world of Vanguard. This virtual world is an ideal location for studying on-line gamers, cyberculture, and videogame aesthetics. A significant amount of class time will be spent in the game-world, but you are also expected to devote at least five hours a week to the game in order to conduct ethnographic research within Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. To ensure that everyone spends enough time “in world,” a group gaming session will be held between 6:30 and 9:00 on Wednesday evenings. You are welcome to play the game on the lab computers when other classes are not using the facilities, and you may also be able to install the game on your home computer.

At the outset, it should be noted that massively multiplayer games have a reputation for being addictive. When I taught a previous version of this course using Everquest, I received several e-mail messages from former players who were concerned about the potential for addiction. For example, one person commented “[Y]ou could potentially get people addicted and lost in this world. I was addicted to the game for 3 years and it IS a very, very powerful addiction. I strongly urge you to explain to everyone in advance that if they have strong addictive-type personalities not to force them to do this. . . [I] could not be any more serious.”

Of course, the same factors that make these games addictive make them highly interesting to new media scholars. If you have a compulsive personality, you might want to consider strategies for placing limits on your access to the game. One possibility is to avoid playing the game in any location other than the computer lab. Also, please remember that the game – though fun – is merely a vehicle for understanding the dynamics of virtual worlds. If you are worried about your relationship to the game at any time during the semester, please do not hesitate to contact me.