NKTA1091 Special issues in game studies I (3–5 cr)

The course gives an overview of the quickly developing field of competitive gaming, covering various forms of games, and the main concepts used. The main actors and their roles will discussed, with special emphasis on audiences and audience practices, both in online streams and LAN events. The course also looks at the historical development of competitive gaming since the first Arcade Game tournaments. Other topics include sportification and the relation of esports to traditional sports and physical exercise, esport transmediality, and esports as business and profession. The course consists of lectures, selection of research literature, and assignments.

The course gives an overview of the quickly developing field of competitive gaming, covering various forms of games, and the main concepts used. The main actors and their roles will discussed, with special emphasis on audiences and audience practices, both in online streams and LAN events. The course also looks at the historical development of competitive gaming since the first Arcade Game tournaments. Other topics include sportification and the relation of esports to traditional sports and physical exercise, esport transmediality, and esports as business and profession. This self-study course consists of recorded lectures and videos, selection of research literature, and three assignments. Passing the course requires completion of all required assignments in line with stated learning outcomes.

Workshops (bring your own laptop and see further instructions at: https://itch.io/jam/jamming-jam-2022)

1) GAME MAKING WORKSHOP WITH UNITY FOR BEGINNERS
In this workshop you will learn the basics of Unity and learn how to make a simple 2D game including both graphical Unity editor as well as using simple C# scripting. You will explore all basic parts of Unity, including user input, text, sound and elementary physics. After that you will have a chance to be creative and make the game of your own with expert support. No previous knowledge of Unity required!

2) ART WORKSHOP WITH PHOTOPEA FOR BEGINNERS
In this workshop you will learn the basics of online free graphical editor Photopea. You will learn how to create new documents, use its drawing tools, work with layers, and enhance your result with graphical filters. In a practical part, you will be set free to draw a few images for a chosen 2D game. Then, you will learn the basics of graphical formats and how to export images from Photopea. Finally, you will learn how to import your creations into Unity and use them to compose 2D game scenes. No previous knowledge of Photopea (or any other photo editor) is required!

3) GAME IDEATION, PRODUCTION AND DESIGN WORKSHOP FOR GAME JAMS
The general objective of the workshop is to help you to effectively organize your work during the game jam in a smaller team. You will learn how to ideate, design and effectively produce your game in a relatively short time-frame. First, we will go through several approaches to ideation of your game and the game design process. Then, we will focus on the skills from game production and management necessary to deliver a video game during the game jam while avoiding unnecessary “crunches”. No previous knowledge is required.