Social Games Workshop
ITP499 (3 Units)
Spring 2010 (2010-1)
Summary The best games are those played between people. The connected
networked world lets people play with others anywhere on the planet. For new games to be successful, the social component must be exploited in numerous ways: not only in-game, but also by creation of a full
community. Chat, transactions, leader boards, PM, hosted tournaments.
Objectives To examine and analyze the social aspects of numerous multiplayer online games, big and small, to see what works best and to formulate a set of principles for development of future games in order to ensure success in the marketplace.
Outline The class will jointly explore several online games, in order to analyze and
evaluate how best to handle the most important social aspects:
• In-game communication (chat) • Community building
• Matchmaking • Party invites
• Excluding / booting • Host migration
• Player notification and error handling • Mobile games and cross-platform support • The effects of lag
• Cheating / hacking / bots
• Transactions (trading, buying, selling, gambling)
• The "gotchas" that inevitably occur (griefing, theft, etc.), necessitating creation of new "laws"
Course
Structure In each class, students will meet online and work through some example gameplay together, then discuss, contrast, and compare findings afterwards. Standard midterm and final exams, plus a final report project to summarize the semester's findings.
Guest speakers to include experts in building online social games and mobile social games, and legal aspects of social games. For example:
• Cynthia Woll, creator of Burb Wars
• William Volk, CEO Playscreen (The Social Entertainment Company) • Darian Hickman, founder, VillageTheGame.com
• Shaun Foust, game attorney
• Bill Black, former audio director for World of Warcraft
Prerequisites ITP 280
Materials Second Life, World of Warcraft, Lexulous (formerly Scrabbulous), Burb Wars, facebook.poker.zynga.com, godance.gopets.com, Yahoo games Poker, Pixie Hollow, Toontown, Nick.com games, Steam games, VillageTheGame
Web Site Blackboard is used extensively - https://blackboard.usc.edu/
Instructor Tom Sloper
Contacting the
Instructor Email: [email protected] (put “ITP391” in the subject) Telephone: 213-740-3916 (email if no answer)
Office Hours 2-3 PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays, OHE 530A
12-1PM Mondays and 10-11AM Fridays in OHE 530A
Lab Assistants None
Lecture Average 3 hours per week.
Lab No lab.
Grading The following point structure will be used in determining the grade for the course. Final grade will be based upon the total points received, the highest total in the class, and the average of the class.
Criteria % of
Grade Frequency Deliverables
Assignments/ team exercises
40% Weekly Enthusiastic
participation in class projects, exercises Midterm 25% Once during
semester Written exam Final exam and
project 25% Once during semester Delivery of final project and written exam Attendance 10% Twice
weekly
Show up in class or give advance notice Total 100% Grading scale: A 100-93 A- 92-90 B+ 89-87 B 86-83 B- 82-80 C+ 79-77 C 76-73 C- 72-70 D+ 69-67 D 66-65 F 64 or below
Policies Instructor Policies
class will be missed. Students are expected to come to class on time and attend each class.
Assignments - Weekly assignments should be delivered online via Digital Dropbox. Assignments are to be in Microsoft Word format unless
otherwise specified. Assignments are to be presented and critiqued in class, and graded within 2 weeks of due date.
Late Submissions - Late assignments will be reduced by one letter grade for every week late.
Make-up policies - To make up for a missed exam, the student must provide a satisfactory reason (as determined by the instructor) along with proper documentation. Make-up exams are only allowed under
extraordinary circumstances. ITP Policies
Classroom Computers - Before logging off a computer, students must ensure that they have emailed or saved projects created during the class or lab session. Any work saved to the computer will erased after
restarting the computer. ITP is not responsible for any work lost. Open Lab - ITP offers Open Lab use for all students enrolled in ITP classes. These open labs are held beginning the second week of classes through the last week of classes. Please contact your instructor for specific times and days for the current semester.
Academic
Integrity The use of unauthorized material, communication with fellow students during an examination, attempting to benefit from the work of another student, and similar behavior that defeats the intent of an examination or other class work is unacceptable to the University. It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and inadvertent behavior resulting from the nervous tension accompanying examinations. When the
professor determines that a violation has occurred, appropriate action, as determined by the instructor, will be taken.
Although working together is encouraged, all work claimed as yours must in fact be your own effort. Students who plagiarize the work of other students will receive zero points and possibly be referred to Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards (SJACS).
All students should read, understand, and abide by the University Student Conduct Code listed in SCampus, and available at:
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/nonacademicreview.html
Students with
Disabilities Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to your TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
