games, glitches, and creativity
pic-345: games, glitches, and creativity (3 credits)
section: 2
time: wednesdays, 5-7:50 pm (est)
instructor: prof. luke degnan (ldegnan@pratt.edu)
office hours: by appointment, virtual
links
zoom:
https://pratt.zoom.us/j/99450950928
videos
course calendar/schedule
week 1: introductions
intros.
otter.ai / story dice.
week 2: narrative/html
oblique strategies.
html / glitch.
autobiographical game character.
narrative.
week 3: games
the quiet year.
week 4: css / hypertext narratives
quiz.
assignment 1/6: short story I.
week 5: jams
css.
game jam.
week 6:
200 word rpg
hypertext narratives.
assignment 2/6: hypertext narrative.
week 7: games
games
week 8: algorithms / poetry / fairy tales
crowdsourcing.
assignment 3/6: crowdsourcing
game jam.
algorithms.
fairy tales.
week 9: games
games
week 10: more games
bitsy
assignment 4/6: bitsy game.
week 11: loss
generation loss.
week 12: twine / where are we?
introduction to twine.
psychogeography / situationist international.
assignment 5/6: psychogeographies.
week 13: the school year.
the school year.
assignment 6/6: twine game.
in class work
week 14: no class
no class
week 15: final presentations
****final portfolio due****
student presentations day 1.
week 16: final presentations
student presentations day 2.
course requirements
textbooks, readings, and materials:
all readings will be provided.
readings:
jackson, shelly. my body. web.
http://www.altx.com/thebody.
koblin, aaron, and daniel massey. bicycle built for two thousand.
web.
http://www.bicyclebuiltfortwothousand.com.
magnuson, jordan. game poems: videogame design as lyric practice.
amherst college press, 2023.
lindsey, patrick; schankler, issac; quinn, zoe. depression question.
web.
http://www.depressionquest.com.
malloy, judy. l0ve0ne. web.
http://www.eastgate.com/malloy.
mohammad, k. silem. sonnagrams 1-20. slack buddha press, 2009.
obadike, mendi lewis. "keeping up appearances." blacknetart.com,
2001. web.
http://www.blacknetart.com/keepingupappearances.html.
queneau, raymond. exercises in style. translated by barbara wright,
alma classics limited, 2019.
russell, legacy. glitch feminism. verso books. 2020.
in class assignments / final project:
in class assignments: students will create work or respond to
readings in class. each class will feature multiple in-class
assignments.
final portfolio:
the project will be a portfolio of all 6 homework assignments and a
short paper explaining the process and thinking involved in each
assignment and a self-reflection on the learning achieved during the
class.
the final portfolio addresses the general pic goals, the student
learning objectives, and the integrative learning value outcomes.
students should be able to transfer skills from various aspects of
the course, across various fields and media, to fuse the disciplines
into a cohesive stand-alone portfolio. the final project will allow
students to show a working knowledge of the evolving, interdependent
relationships among composing practices, stylistic knowledge, and
writing technologies, allowing them to make connections across
disciplines, transfer their newly gained knowledge of non-linear
narrative practice to a design- and tech-based approach using html
and css/twine/bitsy.
assignment 1/6: short story I.
assignment 2/6: hypertext narrative.
assignment 3/6: crowdsourcing.
assignment 4/6: bitsy game.
assignment 5/6: psychogeographies.
assignment 6/6: twine game.
assessment and grading
in-class assignments: 50%
final portfolio: 50%
a = sustained level of superior performance demonstrated in all
areas of course requirements
b = consistent level of performance that is above average in a
majority of the course requirements
c = performance that is generally average and course requirements
are achieved
d = below average performance and achievement of the course
requirements
f = accomplishment of the course requirements is not sufficient to
receive a passing grade
course description
bulletin description
the pratt integrated courses are designed as interdisciplinary
explorations of a wide range of possible content, putting into
practice multiple ways of thinking and ways of making. the courses
will employ and integrate skills students have acquired in both
studio and general education classes, recombining them in novel and
unexpected ways that test, challenge, and expand the student’s
creative capacities.
these interdisciplinary courses allow students to explore themes and
topics outside their majors, to delve deeply into areas of research
that cross disciplinary boundaries, and to work with students in
other departments on creative/critical and collaborative projects.
they are taken by students during the period of their career when
they have completed their foundation courses and their general
education core work, and are delving more deeply into the
specialized training of their major disciplines and the post-core
courses in liberal arts.
the overall objective of these courses is to provide a unifying
moment in the educational experience of pratt undergraduates and
opportunities for them to work on integrative assignments and a
culminating project.
detailed description
how can technology impact creativity? how can we gamify our creative
practice? what happens when we amplify our mistakes or magnify our
missteps? in this course we will examine different technologies and
how they affect creativity in practice, through games, visual art,
writing, and other processes. students will create work that is
disrupted, enhanced, glitched, flipped, or obfuscated by technology
and explore concepts and tools such as augmented realities,
chatbots, electronic literature, non-linear narrative, and writing
for video games.
course goals
general
pratt integrative course goals:
- to build integrative capacities;
- to prepare students to solve unscripted and complex problems both in teams and individually;
- to engage students in practices of making, thinking and doing that integrate multiple disciplinary knowledges and skills in ways that enhance collaborative work and self-knowledge;
- to instill a sense of agency in production of knowledge and creative work;
- to provide a platform for reflection and self-definition that spans majors and academic coursework;
other goals
- to develop an understanding of electronic literature, digital art, and the language of the web
- to compose a series of works that address diverse audiences and rhetorical contexts.
student learning objectives:
pratt integrative course outcomes:
students will be able to connect relevant experiences gained outside
the classroom and academic knowledge.
students will be able to make connections across disciplines and
perspectives.
students will be able to adapt and apply skills, abilities, theories
and methodologies gained in one situation to new contexts and
situations.
students will be able to integrate modes of communication in ways
that enhance meaning, making clear the interdependence of
language—both visual and verbal—form, thought and expression.
students will be able to self assess, track learning process, and
demonstrate a developing sense of self as learner, building on prior
experiences to respond to new and challenging contexts.
other objectives/outcomes
students will be able to understand the impact evolving technologies
have on the creation of creative pieces and will be able to apply
this knowledge to create pieces of their own.
students will be able to show a working knowledge of the evolving,
interdependent relationships among composing practices, stylistic
knowledge, and writing/art technologies.
policies
pratt institute-wide information
academic integrity policy
at pratt, students, faculty, and staff do creative and original
work. this is one of our community values. for pratt to be a space
where everyone can freely create, our community must adhere to the
highest standards of academic integrity.
academic integrity at pratt means using your own and original ideas
in creating academic work. it also means that if you use the ideas
or influence of others in your work, you must acknowledge them.
at pratt,
we do our own work,
we are creative, and
we give credit where it is due.
based on our value of academic integrity, pratt has an academic
integrity standing committee (aisc) that is charged with educating
faculty, staff, and students about academic integrity practices.
whenever possible, we strive to resolve alleged infractions at the
most local level possible, such as between student and professor, or
within a department or school. when necessary, members of this
committee will form an academic integrity hearing board. such boards
may hear cases regarding cheating, plagiarism, and other infractions
described below; these infractions can be grounds for citation,
sanction, or dismissal.
When students submit any work for academic credit, they make an
implicit claim that the work is wholly their own, completed without
the assistance of any unauthorized person. These works include, but
are not limited to exams, quizzes, presentations, papers, projects,
studio work, and other assignments and assessments. In addition, no
student shall prevent another student from making their work.
Students may study, collaborate, and work together on assignments at
the discretion of the instructor.
Examples of infractions include
but are not limited to:
- Plagiarism, defined as using the exact language or a close paraphrase of someone else’s ideas without citation.
- Violations of fair use, including the unauthorized and uncited use of another’s artworks, images, designs, etc.
- The supplying or receiving of completed work including papers, projects, outlines, artworks, designs, prototypes, models, or research for submission by any person other than the author.
- The unauthorized submission of the same or essentially the same piece of work for credit in two different classes.
- The unauthorized supplying or receiving of information about the form or content of an examination.
- The supplying or receiving of partial or complete answers, or suggestions for answers; or the supplying or receiving of assistance in interpretation of questions on any examination from any source not explicitly authorized. (This includes copying or reading of another student’s work or consultation of notes or other sources during an examination.)
- The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to produce or to improve work, whether visual or textual, except when called for by an assignment or instructor and acknowledged transparently as one tool among others in the creative process.
attendance policy
general pratt attendance policy pratt institute understands that
students’ engagement in their program of study is central to their
success. while no attendance policy can assure that, regular class
attendance is key to this engagement and signals the commitment
pratt students make to participate fully in their education.
faculty are responsible for including a reasonable attendance policy
on the syllabus for each course they teach, consistent with
department-specific guidelines, if applicable, and with institute
policy regarding reasonable accommodation of students with
documented disabilities. students are responsible for knowing the
attendance policy in each of their classes; for understanding
whether a class absence has been excused or not; for obtaining
material covered during an absence (note: instructors may request
that a student obtain the material from peers); and for determining,
in consultation with the instructor and ahead of time if possible,
whether make-up work will be permitted.
consistent attendance is essential for the completion of any course
or program. attending class does not earn students any specific
portion of their grade, but is the pre-condition for passing the
course, while missing class may seriously harm a student’s grade.
grades may be lowered a letter grade for each unexcused absence, at
the discretion of the instructor. even as few as three unexcused
absences in some courses (especially those that meet only once per
week) may result in an automatic “f” for the course. (note: students
shall not be penalized for class absences prior to adding a course
at the beginning of a semester, though faculty may expect students
to make up any missed assignments.)
faculty are encouraged to give consideration to students who have
documentation from the office of health and counseling. reasonable
accommodations for students with disabilities will continue to be
provided, as appropriate.
refer to the pratt website for information on attendance.
students with disabilities
the instructor will make every effort to accommodate students with
both visible and invisible disabilities. while it is advisable that
students with disabilities speak to the instructor at the start of
the semester if they feel this condition might make it difficult to
partake in aspects of the course, students should feel free to
discuss issues pertaining to disabilities with the instructor at any
time. depending on the nature of the disability, and the extent to
which it may require deviations from standard course policy,
documentation of a specific condition may be required, in compliance
with conditions established by the campus learning access center,
and in compliance with the americans with disabilities act. students
who require special accommodations for disabilities must obtain
clearance from the office of disability services at the beginning of
the semester. they should contact elisabeth sullivan, director of
the learning access center, 718.636.3711.
religious policies
in line with pratt’s attendance policy, pratt institute respects
students’ requirements to observe days of cultural significance,
including religious holy days, and recognizes that some students
might need to miss class to do so. in this, or other similar,
circumstance, students are responsible for consulting with faculty
ahead of time about how and when they can make up work they will
miss.
additional space for departmental or course policies
for this particular course, students are expected to attend all classes, arriving in a timely manner. students with extensive absences (three or more for any reason) may be required to drop the course or may receive a failing grade at the discretion of the instructor.