Syllabus

WSU Department Name

Computer Science

WSU Course Number & Listing

CS CA1010: Introduction to Interactive Entertainment

High School: [High School Name]
WSU Concurrent Adjunct Instructor: [Name]

High School Course Name: [Concurrent High School Course]

[School Year]

Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s Office Hours

[Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s office hours]

Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s phone and email

[Concurrent Adjunct Instructor’s phone and email]

Prerequisite High School Courses if any

[Prerequisite High School Courses if any]

WSU Course Description:

This course examines and analyzes the history and impact of interactive entertainment (video games, computer games, and simulations) and its technology on an individual and society from the perspective of the game designer and player. Students take a critical look at the artistic, technical, cultural, economic and social aspects of this expressive medium. Students will analyze how advances in hardware have driven game design and capability. Coursework will enable students to better understand the design implications of the game in terms of ethics, creativity and socio-cultural impact. Students will be required to play video and computer games outside of the regularly scheduled class times. Students will work as a team to design a game. A lab fee is required for this class.

WSU Course Objectives:

1.) Students will create works of art and/or increase their understanding of creative processes in writing, visual arts, interactive entertainment, or performing arts.

2.) Students will demonstrate knowledge of key themes, concepts, issues, terminology and ethical standards employed in creative arts disciplines. They will use this knowledge to analyze works of art from various traditions, time periods, and cultures.

WSU Required Textbook & Materials:

Fundamentals of Game Design,2ndEdition,Ernest Adams,ISBN-978-0-321-64337-7

The course is also supplemented with scholarly research articles and videos pertaining to course objectives.

Class: Class will consist of lectures, group discussions, assignments, and a large group project. This class is structured to be flexible, and our schedule may change to reflect that. Any changes to our schedule will be announced in class, and posted on the course website.

Allocated Time: You should anticipate spending three hours of study per week for each credit hour of a university course.

Homework, Group papers, and Group Projects: Homework problems are to be submitted for grading on the date specified in the schedule. It is HIGHLY recommended that you complete the assigned homework problems since the final project is based on the material learned within the assigned chapters.

Cheating: Cheating on any assignment will not be tolerated. This includes any form of copying without documenting the source, copying answers on a test, copying text without documenting, and all other forms of plagiarism and unethical academic behavior. Cheating will result in an automatic failure from the course regardless of the situation! It will also result in your records being turned over to the institution for further action if needed.

There is a lot of writing and group work in the course. You can be successful by participating with your team and by just doing the homework.

WSU Grading:

Category / Total
Individual Assignments / 30%
Game Reviews (7 will be due) / 25%
Final Group Project (includes Final Group Eval) / 25%
Group work / 20%

Standard grading will apply:
A 100-94 C+ 79-77 D- 63-60
A- 93-90 C 76-74 E 59 or below
B+ 89-87 C- 73-70
B 86-84 D+ 69-67
B- 83-80 D 66-64
You will be grouped into teams for your final project a few weeks into the semester. Because you will spend much of your career working in teams, team participation is critical to your success in this class. Teams will have the option of ‘firing’ you if they feel that you are not equitably participating in the project. This means that if you are fired, you will not be on a team, and may receive a zero on the final project and evaluation (aka 45% of your grade.) You may petition other teams to ‘hire’ you, but if no other team will hire you it will result in a failure for the course.
Please note that as the instructor for this class, I will evaluate all firings for merit. I will not punish you if the firing was unjustified.

Policies:

Late Work:

I do not believe that it is equitable to other students to allow work to be submitted past the deadline. Because of this I have a very strict late policy. I will not accept any late assignment beyondone weekpast the due date. This includes group submissions. Also, any work that is turned in within that window will incur a50% penalty. Exceptions to this policy willonly be granted in advance, and with significant justification. As a personal note this policy is morelenientthan most of your employer's will likely be.

Cheating:

I have zero tolerance for cheating, and it will not be tolerated under any circumstance. Students are expected to maintain academic ethics and integrity in regard to performing their own work. The WSU Student Code clarifies cheating.
Cheating, which includes but is not limited to:

  1. Copying from another student’s test paper;
  2. Using materials during a test not authorized by the person giving the test;
  3. Collaborating with any other person during a test without authority; Knowingly obtaining, using, buying, selling, transporting, or soliciting in whole or in part the contents of any test, without authorization of the appropriate official;
  4. Bribing any other person to obtain any test;
  5. Soliciting or receiving unauthorized information about any test;
  6. Substituting for another student or permitting any other person to substitute for oneself to take a test;
  7. Plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged (uncited) use of any other person of group’s ideas or work. This includes purchased or borrowed papers;
  8. Collusion, which is the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing work offered for credit;
  9. Falsification, which is the intentional and unauthorized altering or inventing of any information of citation in an academic exercise, activity, or record-keeping process;
  10. Giving, selling or receiving unauthorized course or test information;
  11. Using any unauthorized resource or aid in the preparation or completion of any course work, exercise or activity;
  12. Infringing on the copyright law of the United States which prohibits the making of reproductions of copyrighted material except under certain specified conditions;

CS Department policy dictates that any verifiable evidence of student academic cheating, as defined and determined by the instructor, will result in: 1) an automatic failing grade for the class and 2) a report to the Dean of Students that will include the student's name and a description of the student's dishonest conduct.

The University affords you certain rights, including the right to challenge the accusation of cheating. The Dean of Students will explains these rights to you if you are accused of cheating.

WSU subscribes to TurnItIn.com, an electronic service that verifies the originality of student work. Enrollment in this course may require you to submit some or all of your assignments to it this semester, and documents submitted to TurnItIn.com are retained, anonymously, in their databases. Continued enrollment in this course constitutes an understanding of and agreement with this policy.

WSU Course Evaluation:
As a concurrent student, you are given the privilege of evaluating this course. This is an anonymous evaluation which allows you an opportunity to express your opinions of the course and the instructor.


WSU Student Code of Conduct

Download the WSU Student Code of Conduct at:

www.weber.edu/concurrent/students/CodeOfConduct.asp

SAMPLE CALENDAR

Date / Day / Details /
Jan 12 / Sun / Peer Survey / due by 11:59pm
Jan 19 / Sun / Individual #2 / due by 11:59pm
Jan 26 / Sun / Game Pitch / due by 11:59pm
Individual #3 / due by 11:59pm
Feb 2 / Sun / Game Review 1 / due by 11:59pm
Group #2 / due by 11:59pm
Feb 9 / Sun / Game Review 2 / due by 11:59pm
Group #3 / due by 11:59pm
Feb 16 / Sun / Game Review 3 / due by 11:59pm
Group #4 / due by 11:59pm
Feb 23 / Sun / Game Review 4 / due by 11:59pm
Group #5 / due by 11:59pm
Mar 2 / Sun / Game Review 5 / due by 11:59pm
Group #6 / due by 11:59pm
Mar 9 / Sun / Game Review 6 / due by 11:59pm
Group #7 / due by 11:59pm
Mar 23 / Sun / Group #8 / due by 11:59pm
Individual #4 / due by 11:59pm
Mar 30 / Sun / Individual #5 / due by 11:59pm
Apr 6 / Sun / Individual #6 / due by 11:59pm
Apr 13 / Sun / Individual #7 -- Peer review / due by 11:59pm
Apr 14 / Mon / Final Group Submission / due by 11:59pm
Apr 21 / Mon / Class Presentation / due by 11:59pm