Exam Information

Synopsis and Exam Guidelines for Computer Game Culture

The final exam will take place on June 6-8 (room TBA) and will be an oral format with an external examiner. Exams can be taken either individually or in groups of no more than 3. If for some reason you have a special request (a conflict with other exams, for example) about which date you would like to take the exam on you must notify me when you hand in the synopsis and I will do my best to make accommodations.

A 3-5 page synopsis (2 copies) is due by Friday, April 29 @ 15:00 to the Exam Office (1C04). You should consider the synposis as both an initial presentation demonstrating your knowledge of the topic as well as a jumping off point for the oral exam.

The general subject of the exam will be around the theme of the course - game culture. Potential subjects should tackle a specific issue or question based around the general weekly topics which were:

technology & culture (relationship between systems/architectures, values, etc.)
styles of play
gender & gaming
race & gaming
social and communicative aspects of games
player-produced game culture (everything from mods to websites)
ownership and games (intellectual property, for example)
game governance & managing game communities
"real" gamespace (ie net cafes, domestic settings and games, lan parties, etc.)

You should pick a subtopic within one of the above general areas to explore in more detail. So, for example, you might do a close analysis of EULA's and intellectual property within WoW, you might examine what kinds of social networks and practices emerge in CounterStrike or the NWN game you have been playing, or you might do an analysis of the ways a particular game structure (mechanics, UI, etc.) can support or limit various forms of communication or player-produced culture. You are not required to focus on the game you have been playing during the exercise period, though for many this will be a solid natural jumping off point to run your theoretical reflections against. In all cases you should be in dialogue with existing literature and research.

The synopsis should include the following components:

1) Title and examinee info (name(s)/email(s)).
2) Articulation of the topic/question/problem to be addressed that is clearly linked to the subject of this course.
3) Brief overview (for the purposes of the future exam discussion) of the relevant literature. You must have at least 30% of your literature/reference drawn from the compendium. You should aim for somewhere between 5-7 references total which will provide context, evidence, and theoretical perspectives on your subject.
4) Preliminary statement of findings/analysis/approach.
5) A bibliography that documents the citations discussed in section #3.

You are very welcome (and encouraged!) to come speak to me before April 29 to discuss exam subjects. If you have any doubt about whether or not your topic "fits" with this course exam you should check beforehand. While I will not pre-read a synopsis, I am more than happy to talk in depth about the topic and organization, as well as provide ideas for literature searches.