5. Writing up Game reference notes*
Due 10am, Tuesday October 10th.
Goals
This week, you are asked to write up reference notes for two games:
a reference note for a published modern/ contemporary game (game reference note)
a reference note for a historical game, game piece/ object (game object note)
Since references are made to sources/objects that could theoretically be consulted by other people, childhood games (tag, hide-and-go-seek) cannot be referenced bibliographically so, I want you to limit this work to reference-able games.
Game Reference Note
Your first goal is to create a game reference note. Find a game you want to reference. Any game works (I would of course prefer if it was a game that could be considered "medieval-ish", i.e. a game that seems to take place in the Middle Ages), but it should be something you have at hand (or could borrow from a library) – something released in the last 40 years maybe, so that the publication information is clear. I've posted a sample note on google docs.
Create a new game reference note from the google docs template. Click on this link and copy the template with a new name, "Your name - Game Title - Game Reference".
Your goal is now to add a reference to a game of your choice.
If you need a game to cite, I have several in my office that you can borrow/ look at to get the key information. Or various other medievalish games are posted on Teams (folder here).
4. Populate the template with information, starting with the bibliographic information for your game. Essentially, the game does not matter, it is the process of putting information into a consultable format that is the goal here.
5. In the Game Reference Template I have offered two citation models - one for citing a boardgame and the other for a videogame. The first is easier usually, because there is less information to capture (videogames usually have much larger design teams etc) and the information to capture has more variability (you need to specify the platform, version, if you have any DLC added etc.)
6. Write up a note outlining the game information, provide a short summary of what the game is, add tags, links to marketing/distribution sites online, rulebooks, etc. If you are referencing a boardgame, often Board Game Geek (an online database of games and reviews) is a useful link. It can also be useful, especially at this point, to see how boardgames are tagged by designers/ superfans to get a sense of how games are perceived/categorized. For videogames, Yannick Rochat (whom you could read if you wish) suggests using the MobyGames database for searching for videogame trends.
When you are done, upload the note or a link to it to your student work folder.
Game Object Note:
Your second goal this week is to produce a reference note for a game object, i.e. a game piece, board, playing card etc. It can be something you find in a museum, online, or in your game closet. If you want some examples of how museums catalogue game pieces, I'll point you to a list of examples of medieval chess pieces. This page also has links to a few museum game collections at the bottom.
Game object notes are usually made to describe and reference pre-industrial games and game pieces or bespoke handmade games today (one-offs). Like handwritten manuscripts ,works of art, or other forms of material culture held in collections, we cite objects by their location (city, repository and reference code) before describing them in detail.
Click on the link to the Game Object Template on google docs. Copy the template and rename it, "YourName - Game Object Note".
Choose a game piece to describe. It needs to be something physical. So this could be an antiquated cd-rom game, or an Atari game cartridge of particular significance, but it might work best if you were to search online museum catalogues to find a game piece from the Middle Ages. Or locate an orphaned game piece in your closet that you want to track down where it is from...
The game object template has loads of potential information for you to add, but you will not always be able to fill in information for all the headings. Try to fill out the template as much as possible, but again know that it is the practice of putting data into a consultable form which is the goal.
When you are done, upload a copy or a link to a file into your Student work folder on Teams.
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