The purpose of tutorials is for students to discuss the weekly topics and readings to enrich their understanding. All students are required to participate in tutorial discussion. This means arriving at tutorials having completed set readings and being prepared to discuss issues arising.

You will be assessed on: in-class multiple choice exercises, individual participation in class discussions, and group work.

The assessment criteria is:

• Engagement with the readings
• Engagement with lecture material
• Ability to relate key theoretical ideas to previous readings and/or independent research
• Willingness to contribute to class discussion by asking relevant questions, answering other students' questions, treating other students with respect and behaving appropriately (e.g. not talking whilst tutor or other students talking)

Attendance is not the same as participation. Students receive no marks for simply attending tutorials.

Students will need to submit three questions per week to the online repository available through iLearn. These question are to be based on the week's readings and the lecture: one for each reading, and one for the lecture. They are to be multiple choice. The questions must be precisely written and engage with an important aspect from the reading/lecture. Four alternative answers must be given, with only one of them being correct. The correct answer must be made clear.

Questions need to be submitted by 5pm of the day before that week's tutorial. As tutorials for this unit start in week two, week two's questions will be due (along with week three's) before week three's tutorials.

The questions will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Engagement with key idea/s from reading/lecture
• Clarity of written expression of question and all answers

These questions will form the basis of the Online Quiz in Week 12, and may also be used for class gamification activities.

Length: 800 words Submitted Online Only through iLearn

Students should choose a concept, or set of related concepts, from one of the readings for Week 2, 3 or 4 and apply it to a video game of their choosing. You should present a detailed analysis of the concept in context of your chosen game, and put forward an argument as to how and why this concept is important for understanding this game.

For example if a student chose LeBlanc’s concept of dramatic tension in relation to Tetris, then this paper might offer a close examination of the mechanics and dynamics of Tetris, and how dramatic tension is created in the game through mechanics like game speed. It might also cover how uncertainty and inevitability are used to increase tension, and examples of positive or negative feedback in this game. It should put forward a developed argument that understanding dramatic tension is key to understanding the pleasures or experience of Tetris.

You will be assessed on four criteria:

•     Understanding of concept you are using
•     Application of the concept to your case study
•     Strength and clarity of argument
•     Written expression

This paper does not need any academic research or referencing beyond the chosen article. You are however welcome to bring in other material if you think it is relevant, but this is not required. All concepts from the chosen reading however, need to be explained in full, and correctly referenced. It must be clear what concept you are using. You can only focus on the concepts from one reading.

Students will undertake a timed online multiple choice quiz. The quiz will consist of 20 questions chosen by the unit convenor from those contributed by students for the Online Particpation task. To prepare for the quiz students should be familiar with all the unit readings and lecture material.

The quiz will be accessible Monday (9am) to Friday (5pm) of Week 12. Students must undertake the quiz individually. The quiz is 'open book', students are allowed to consult notes, readings, and other material during the quiz.

Submitted through iLearn only

Students must critically engage with one (or more) of the following topics:

• Rules and Affordances
• Emergence
• The Magic Circle
• Gamification
• Spatiality
• Cyborg Subjectivity
• Power
• Narrative
• Games and Art
• Gaming Communities

They have two options as to how they engage with this topic:

Option 1: Essay

Students must write a 2000 word essay analysing their chosen topic in context of contemporary video gaming. Students must construct an argument relating to the technological, political, and cultural contexts of their chosen academic topic. They must build this argument through a critical examination of one or more video games. For example they might argue that the cyborg subjectivity is the best way to understand the techno-cultural experience of video game play in the First Person Shooter genre, or that through the growth of the indie game scene we are starting to see the true possibilities of video games as an art form.

This is a formal academic essay and requires significant independent research. The essay should have at least 5 academic references in total, including  at least one of the unit readings and at least one article from the student's own research. Option 2: Game Design

Students must write a game design document (max 2000 words, or 8 pages including images / diagrams, whichever comes first). This game design document should detail a game of the students own creation that builds off, engages with, or critiques the academic theory from their chosen topic. For example they could choose to design a game that blurs the boundaries of the ‘magic circle’ and ultimately shows any concept of the separation of the play world and the ‘real’ world to be a false binary. Or they could design a game that embodies de Certeau’s concepts of strategies and tactics, and shows how the operation of power in video games reflects broader cultural structures.

The game design document must briefly outline the mechanics, dynamics and narrative (if any) elements of the game. The gameplay experience should be briefly but clearly articulated. The design document should not focus on the technical aspects of the game (i.e. any coding concerns, technical specifications, etc.). Most importantly the design document must articulate how the game relates to the chosen topic/theory. The game design should demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the theory, and offer an engagement with, and argument built upon, the theory. The assignment will not be judged on the strength of the game design itself, but on the strength of the engagement with theory, and articulation of the relationship between the theory and the design, i.e. it does not matter if the game sounds fun to play, it just matters whether your design document shows you understand the theory and demonstrates how and why the theory is relevant to the game you have created.

Whilst this is a game design document, it is an academically informed game design document and therefore requires significant independent research. It should situate the game design within the technological, political, and cultural contexts of the chosen academic topic. It should have at least 5 academic references in total, including at least one of the unit readings and at least one article from the student's own research.

Assessment Criteria for Both Options

This task will be assessed on four criteria:

• Understanding of the theoretical contexts of the chosen topic
• Strength and clarity of argument/design
• Depth of engagement with appropriate academic material
• Style, structure and presentation