Rather than overdetermine the kind of exploratory research you during afternoon exercises I want to provide some basic introductory questions each week to help guide your time. The afternoons should also be strongly informed by the themes we are dealing with in the morning session, i.e. identity, intellectual property, socialization, and the like. Coupled with those themes, here are some additional initial angles to consider:

Week 1 : No lab

Week 2: Introduction

Read the Terms of Service (TOS) and End User License Agreement (EULA) for each of the games. What is the framework for using the game that it lays out? Are there rules noted there? How does it handle questions of intellectual property, i.e. do you or the company own your avatar?

Visit the official website for the game. What kinds of information does it contain? Does it give you clues/links about other players? The community?

Consider the initial experience of starting the game. Was it difficult, easy, disorienting? How do you figure out how to play? Are there activities that seem outside of the strict definitions of gameplay? Can you win the game? Is there a community within the game?

Week 3: Identity

Think about the process of creating an identity in the game. Do you select a prepackaged game character? Create your own? If you create your own, what kinds of things can you select/alter and what can you not? Can you pick your own name? Can you have more than one character?

Stone proposes we might think about bodies online. Do you experience any sense of embodiment in the game space? Do you feel "there" in some regard? What happens to your corporeal body as you play? Do you forget it? Lean into the computer? React to what happens onscreen? Here is where group members watching each other play can be very useful?

Can you see yourself tending toward one of the styles of play Bartle proposes? Does the game favor one style over another? Does everyone in your group play the same?

Week 4: Gender

Consider the representation in gender in the game. What do the avatars look like? How is masculinity and feminity represented within the game? Does gender affect gameplay formally (i.e. do the characters have different skills or limitations based on gender)? Do you notice gender playing an informal role in any way (both within the game and in terms of yourself as a group)? Do people seem to act or communicate in gendered ways within the gamespace even if there is no real need to based on the rules? Consider the styles of play/outcomes issue - does the game favor one one form over another and do you find that a compelling mode of explanation when you look at your own gameplay? Would you call the game a "pink game" and why or not?

Week 5: Race

In much the same way you did with the section on gender I want you to consider the representation of race in the game. What are the possibilities for racial representation, if any? Make sure to not only think about "blackness" for example, but how is "whiteness" similarly constructed? What kinds of characteristics (again, if any) are tied to race in the game? Does race have any formal role in how the gameplay proceeds? Informal? If there aren't explicitly racialized avatars, are there implicit cues? Does racial representation (if present) seem to affect the social/interaction aspects of the game at all? Finally, consider the ways categories intersect - how does gender and race work together in the game (i.e. Adams' discussion of a black woman).

Week 6: Socialization

Using some of structures presented in class and the readings, consider the kinds of social activities taking place "in and around the game" (Stald). What are the forms of communication? Special types of language/shorthands? Does "out-game" communication leak into the game space? How are social networks formed? Used? Maintained? Do reputation, trust, responsibility, and status play a role? What are the structures of participation both within the game and outside of it? What kinds of groups do you observe? Informal? Formal? How are they intiated, structured, and maintained? Would you say there is a community aspect to the game and if so, what is its form? If you haven't yet already now is a good time to start exploring the ways the game has a life outside of the literal game. Look at community webpages and newspapers, guild sites, hints and tips, information portals (like EQAtlas or Allakhazam), and other related pages to get a sense of how the gamers are interacting with the game and each other outside of the game itself. Finally, consider the issue of globalized vs localized community for the game.

Week 7: No lab

Week 8: Socialization II

Consider Bartles playertypes and evaluate 1) the kinds of behavior you observe in the space and 2) how the game design and mechanics support or limit each of the categories. Think about the issue of cheating within the game - is what it means to cheat clear-cut? Are there explicit prohibitions? Informal social sanctions? What kinds of technological interventions have arisen around the game to deal with cheating? Finally, reflect upon the issue of community. Check out webpages and see how the players work through the idea and notions of authentic relationships. Are there moments where the notion is contested? What kinds of lines to different players draw around the "it's just a game" question?

Week 9: Governance and Design

Drawing on the readings (especially the work of the designers) critically examine the ways community governance and maintenance is performed in the game. What is built into the actual design of the system? Are there mechanisms for dispute resolution? How are griefers handled? Is there any management of the space being done by the players themselves? If so, are their activities formally supported or existing without any actual recognition/support from the game company?

Week 10: Productive Players

Explore the ways the game you are working with is extended/amended/enhanced/etc via player produced interventions. Has any software been developed for the game and if so, how is it being distributed and integrated. Consider as well the creation of webpages, info guides, and databases which are fan created - how much do they factor into satisfactory gameplay? Finally, does the game allow for actual content creation and if so, how is it integrated? Do the original game designers/company have explicit guidelines/mechanisms for dealing with productive players in their community?

Week 11: Intellectual Property, Commodification, and Culture

Using Koster's piece on the rights of players as a jumping off point, analyze how the game approaches not only the issue of IP but general considerations of player ownership of their gamespace. Make sure to not only take a look at the EULA and ToS, but any discussions on websites (official and not) that may address this issue. How closely does the game match some of the imagined proposals in Koster's piece. How differently would the game be designed, or the support system managed, if it took such proposals seriously? Also, do you find any instances similar to what is discussed in Taylor, or at the Chilling Effects site? If so, how were things handled?

Ongoing weeks:Game Cafes/Stores

In this section I'd like for you to think about alternative spaces games are played in. There are (at least) two types of game cafes to explore, more "polished" ones like Boomtown (which is sponsored by TDC) and "mom and pop" varieties. How does the physical setup vary and does it seem to affect interactions/play in any way? Do people seem to know each other and actively game together? Is it daunting to enter as a newcomer? How available is help? Do people customize their play area in any way? Is there much talking going on? What is the demographic like (gender, age, race, etc.)? What games are available? How would you describe the culture of the game cafe? In terms of a game stores, compare a place like EB Games to one of the smaller shops. How is the store laid out? Are titles arranged in particular ways? What is the demographic of the shoppers? Can you buy things other than games? Basically for this section of the exercises I'd like you to get a feel for the non-home environments game circulate in. How are they purchased and consumed? Does playing in a public space alter the activity at all?