Narrative Design and Analysis and Interactive Games

Code:

ICPD034

Acronym:

CANJI

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Sciences and Communication Technologies

Instance: 2016/2017 - 1S

Active?	Yes
E-learning page:	http://moodle.up.pt/
Responsible unit:	Department of Communication and Information Sciences
Course/CS Responsible:	Third cycle of studies in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
ICPD	6	ICPD - Study Plan	1	-	6	60	162

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

Objectives:

- Promote understanding, analysis and discussion of various theories of digital storytelling and interactive games;

Understand the concepts of ludology versus narratology;

- Promote the acquisition of knowledge in the game design development process;

- Promote understanding, analysis and discussion on the impact of video games on present society;

- Promote the ability to analyse and evaluate digital storytelling and interactive digital games;

Learning outcomes and competences

Competencies:

It is expected that students can:

- Make a critical analysis of the various theories and concepts about digital storytelling and interactive games;

- Experience game design process

- Analyze the impacts of gaming in society (strengths and weaknesses);

- Planning an assessment of digital storytelling and/or interactive games;

The students should apply the learned concepts in news situations, develop self-autonomy working with the presented software tools and develop workgroup social skills.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

N/A

Program

Unit 1 - key concepts about games, play, digital narratives and historical issues;

- Games;

- Play;

- Storytelling;

- Types of interactive games and digital narratives;

- Historical contextualization of interactive games and digital narratives;

Unit 2 - game design and general principles

- General principles;

- The development process;

- Analysis of the public;

- Analysis of the devices;

- Analysis of development tools;

Units 3 - society effects of digital games

- Effects (psychological, cognitive, behavioral, ...);

- Specific audiences;

Unit 4 - analysis of digital games

- Study cases;

- Ratings heuristics.

Mandatory literature

Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (coord.), (2006). ; The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology., Massachusetts: MIT press., 2006
Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2004); Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. , Massachusetts: MIT press., 2004

Teaching methods and learning activities

Expositive teaching, supported by projections, in order to supply the basic theoretical concepts; discussion among the class of the theoretical foundations of the subjects; practical assessments to analyse the various theories, models and concepts presented about digital storytelling and interactive games.

Evaluation: oral and written presentation of a theoretical/practical assessment on digital storytelling and interactive games research.

Software

N/A

keywords

Social sciences

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Defesa pública de dissertação, de relatório de projeto ou estágio, ou de tese	20,00
Participação presencial	10,00
Trabalho escrito	70,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	30,00
Trabalho de investigação	70,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

N/A

Calculation formula of final grade

Nota Final = 10% AP inicial + 10% Presença + 70% Artigo Escrito + 10% AP Final

Examinations or Special Assignments

N/A

Internship work/project

N/A

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

N/A

Classification improvement

N/A

Observations

N/A