Course Syllabus: ATEC 4346

Course Information

STORY-TELLING FOR NEW MEDIA

ATEC 4346.001 Tues 2:30PM - 5:15PM (ATEC 1.104)

Class Blog: st4nm.blogspot.com

Professor Contact Information
Adam L. Brackin, Ph.D - Visiting Assistant Professor, ATEC - University of Texas at Dallas OFFICE: JO 3.506 (OFFICE PHONE: 972-883-4350) Alternate: 214-354-6161 / 972-516-8844 OFFICE HOURS: Monday 10-12, 1:15-3:30 & Tuesday 10-12, 1:15-2:00 (& other times by appointment)

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

ATEC 3361 Internet Studio: Introduction to Internet based art. Explores the history and methods of web art through readings, class discussions, and creative projects. Class projects will integrate multiple disciplines, including design, animation, interactivity, audio, and writing. Students will use contemporary software tools to create personal and group web sites. Students must be actively enrolled in or officially auditing this class (ATEC 3352) in order to attend it due to UTD policy, fire code, and very real seating restrictions.

Course Description
With the rise of digital literacy, what was once marginal geek culture has come to dominate the social landscape. While storytelling used to take place via a relatively narrow set of channels, new digital narratives are opening up new structural possibilities. Criticism has ranged from outright dismissal to the hyperbolic. The now ubiquitous potential of the digital story raises two crucial questions: What/How much changes in the digital realm? And perhaps more importantly, how does this move to the digital affect us as audience? In class we will ask these questions and others of a variety of narrative forms. In order to adequately address these issues, we will examine creative works from a variety of genres while supplementing our approach through the reading of critical texts.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Students will examine the range of new media available for story-telling in modern delivery platforms with focus on the digital and the emerging. Students will learn to think critically about new media storytelling issues and gain exposure to various writers and researchers in the field. Students will also learn how to critique and analyze these new media forms, and how to present this critical review in ways that are appropriate to the evolving genre. Students will engage in discussion and debate with each other and with developers in the field where appropriate through a class wiki. Finally, students will act in groups to reinterpret select works into new media formats to demonstrate a fluency and proficiency in the above concepts.

Required Textbooks and Materials First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Pat Harrigan (Editors) The MIT Press (April 1, 2006) 0262731754 Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives Jeff Howard A K Peters Ltd (February 26, 2008) 1568813473 (Numerous selected readings online and given in class - TBD.)

Course Syllabus

Page 1

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Students will complete reading assignments throughout the semester followed by group discussion and individual analysis as a part of a class blog. Students will turn in three additional deliverables throughout the semester: first by selecting an individual piece in two stages to be re-imagined into an appropriate format, and finally creating an original critical or creative piece appropriate to the genre.
(Course requirements or due-dates may be amended or changed; such changes will be given in writing, with sufficient advance notice for completion.)

A more detailed description of the weekly reading assignments and other requirements will be posted each week on the Class Blog: http://st4nm.blogspot.com/ Note: Case Studies are tentative and subject to change as new media never stops especially for academics such as ourselves. WK 1: Aug 30 - [Intro/Syllabus & Group Formation] & TEXTBOOK: Quests vs. Progress Quest WK 2: Sep 6 - Social Networks, tools, & The Game vs. TINAG WK 3: Sep 13 - Interactive Real World Elements & Mobile: Theres an app for that! WK 4: Sep 20 - Collaborative Storytelling, CYOA & IF WK 5: Sep 21 - Emergent Properties & Narrative Video Games: Heavy Rain, LA Noire, BTTF IV WK 6: Sep 27 - (D1) Remix Project PART I (and group presentations 1) WK 7: Oct 4 - Real World Elements + Social Networks = Youtube and LG15 WK 8: Oct 11 - Social Networks + Collaboration = Hypersociability and the Matrix WK 9: Oct 18 - (D2) Remix Project PART II (and group presentations 2) <<Midterm Grades available (Oct 21th>> WK 10: Oct 25 - Emergence + Social Networks = Zynga & Playfish WK 11: Nov 1 - TEXTBOOK: FIRST PERSON WK 12: Nov 8 - ARGlikes: 39 Clues & Skeleton Creek WK 13: Nov 15 - The Emergent Real World Adventures of Joss, J.J., & Mr. Plinkett WK 14: Nov 22 - Life After Facebook & the many possible futures of New Media WK 15: Nov 28 - (D3) Original Projects WK I WK 16: Dec 6 - (D3) Original Projects WK II

Attendance and Grading Policy

Students will be expected to attend ALL classes unless you have a special circumstance in which case you MUST contact me in advance by phone or email! A student who misses more than one class session or misses without approval will be required to do an additional project or have their grade dropped by one letter for the course. Late work will be dropped by one letter grade (10 points) for each week it is late. No Exceptions! There are three deliverables for this class NOT including any weekly homework or small assignments which will count towards the students daily (attendance) participation grade. This class will be graded on a standard 10 point grading scale for all deliverables. Grade weights will be determined as follows: Weekly Attendance / Class & Blog Participation --------------- 25% of total grade D1: Remix project presentation 1 ---------------------------------- 10% of total grade D2: Remix project presentation 2, project, & paper ----------- 30% of total grade D3: Original Creative/Critical Piece ------------------------------- 35% of total grade This class relies heavily on discussion and class participation, and a high level of professionalism and good citizenship is expected. Attention should be given to the speaker at all times and respect shown as expected within the university classroom environment. Appropriate multi-tasking is permitted only so long as it does not interfere with the high expectations described above. This DOES NOT include personal use of the lab computers, social media sites, games, etc unless directly related to instruction at that moment. Any student who attends all classes, completes all coursework on time, and whose deliverables all meet the high standards expected of a UTD student, will receive an A in this course.

UT Dallas Syllabus Policies and Procedures The information found at the following link constitutes the University's policies and procedures segment of course syllabi. Be aware that all information contained at this link are considered to be fully a part of this syllabus herein without exception as if it were printed below. http://provost.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies/

Course Syllabus

Page 2