tncgaming

A few years ago, a Trinity student named Grady Phillips produced these two strips on group projects for the Trinitonian. Yesterday's discussion about the perils of traditional group projects reminded me of these comics. Thanks, Grady, for forwarding these strips so quickly!


 

 Objectives of this exercise

Now that the class has spent at least ten hours in DDO, we will take another look at Free Realms. During today’s exercise, your group is charged with the following quests:

·         As game designers, your quest is to identify the most important differences and similarities between these two virtual worlds?  To guide your comparisons, think about the analytical components of your game concept documents. How are these games similar or different in terms of target market, required entry behaviors, genre, hardware requirements, game-play activities, game dynamics, user interface (UI), artistic style and sound effects? Take notes on these things as you explore Free Realms with your group.

 

·         As researchers who will soon start interviewing other players, your group’s quest is to master the game’s chat tools. First, make sure that everyone in your group understands how to communicate using the “party chat” features. After you have mastered this, your group should begin making forays into the public chat channels. Pose questions about how the game works, and see who offers assistance. Strike up polite conversations with strangers. Try to find players from other countries.

 

·         As players, your quest is to take a screenshot of your group in front of a scenic location. Each player should take screenshots and practice using the interface controls.

Your group should pursue these quests simultaneously. After the first five minutes of this exercise, to fully immerse ourselves in the game chat tools, we will all go silent. Conversation will only be permitted within the game. 

Take notes on these quests as you explore Free Realms. These notes will provide the basis for a blog posting that is due before midnight on Monday, October 5^th. In approximately four paragraphs, your posting should focus on (1) key comparative findings about Free Realms and DDO, and (2) what you learned about other players using the game’s chat tools. Your posting should also include a link to a snapshot that you took of your group.