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Summary
IN ONE TO TWO SENTENCES, DESCRIBE WHAT GAME YOU ANALYZED FOR THIS PROJECT AND WHY YOU CHOSE IT
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Game Play Analysis
Formal Elements
The Basics
REMINDER: PLACE YOUR RESPONSES IN THIS COLUMN (DELETE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE YOU WRITE)
Name of the game
The platform
Time played (should be at least 30 minutes)
If you could work on this game (change it), what would you change and why?
Players
NOTES
How many players are supported?
Does it need to be an exact number?
How does this affect play?
Some types of player frameworks:
Single Player – like Solitare.
Head-to-head – 1 vs. 1, Chess.
PvE – Player vs. Environment, or multiple players vs. the game. Common in MMOs like World of Warcraft.
One against Many – Single-player vs. multiple (obvy).
Free-for-all – Every man for himself (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1..). Most common for multiplayer games, from Monopoly to Modern Warfare.
Individuals Against the System – Like Blackjack, where the Dealer is playing against multiple players, but those players have no effect on each other.
Team Competition – Multiple vs. multiple, i.e. sports.
Predator-prey – Players form a circle and everyone’s goal is to attack the player on their left and defend themselves from the player on their right.
Five-pointed Star – Eliminate both players who are not on either side of you.
Objectives/Goals
NOTES
What are the players trying to do?
Some common objectives include:
Capture/Destroy – Eliminate all your opponents pieces (Chess).
Territorial Acquisition – Control as much territory as you can, not necessarily harming other players (RISK).
Collection – Collect a certain number of objects throughout the game (Pokemon).
Solve – Solve a puzzle or crime (Clue).
Chase/race/escape – Anything where you are running towards or away from something (playground game Tag).
Spatial Alignment – Anything involving the positioning of elements (Tetris or Tic-Tac-Toe or that game at Cracker Barrel).
Build – Advance your characters or build your resources to a certain point (The Sims).
Negation of another goal – The game ends if you perform an act that is forbidden by the rules (Jenga or Twister).
Rules/Mechanics
There are three categories of (what the book Rules of Play calls) operational rules:
Setup – the things you do at the beginning of a game.
Progression of Play – what happens during the game.
Resolution – How an outcome is determined based on the game state.
Controls
NOTES
What controls are used?
Was there a clear introductory tutorial?
Were they easy to understand or did you find yourself spamming the controller?
Resources & Resource Management
NOTES
What kinds of resources do players control?
How are they maintained during play?
What is their role?
A resource is everything under the control of a single player. Could be the money in Monopoly or health in WoW. Other examples are:
Territory in RISKThe number of questions remaining in 20 QuestionsObjects picked up during videogames (guns, health packs, etc.)
Time (game time, real-time, or both)
Known information (like suspects in Clue)
Game State
NOTES
How much information in the game state is visible to the player?
A snapshot of the game at a single point is the game state. The resources you have, the un-owned properties in Monopoly, your opponent’s Archery skill all count towards the game state. Some example information structures are:
Total Information – Nothing is hidden, like Chess.
Info per player – Your hand of cards is only visible to you.
One player has privileged info – Like a Dungeon Master.
The game hides info from all players – Like Clue, where no one knows the victory condition.
Fog of War – In video games, where certain sections of the map are concealed if you do not have a unit in sight range of that area. You also cannot see other players’ screens, so each player is unaware of the other’s information.
Sequencing
NOTES
In what order do players take their actions?
How does play flow from one action to another?
Some structures include:
Turn-based – Standard board game technique.
Turn-based with simultaneous play – where everyone takes their turn at the same time (like writing something down or putting a card down in War).
Real-time – Actions happen as fast as players can make them. Action-based video games.
Turn-based and time limits – You have this long to take your turn.
Player Interaction
Some examples:
Direct Conflict – I attack you.
Negotiation – If you support me here, I’ll help you there.
Trading – I’ll give you this for that.
Information Sharing – If you go there, I’m warning you, a trap will go off.
Theme & Narrative
NOTES
Does it have an actual story structure?
Is it based on a historical event (or similar)?
Does the theme or narrative help you know how to play?
Does it have emotional impacts?
Also, look for en media res (does it start in the middle of the game)?
The Elements in Motion
NOTES
How do the different elements interact?
What is the gameplay like?
Is it effective?
Are there any points where the design choices break down?
Design Critique
NOTES
Why did the designer make these particular choices?
Why this set of resources?
What if they made different decisions?
Does the design break down at any point?
Graphics & Sound
NOTES
Does the game art pair well with the mechanics?
Did you find any bugs or glitches?
What about sound?
Can you spot any technical shortcuts?
Various Stages of the Game
NOTES
To wrap up, some things to keep in mind (as if there aren’t enough already) as you play:
What challenges do you face, and how do you overcome them?
Is the game fair?
Is it replayable? Are there multiple paths to victory or optional rules that can change the experience?
What is the intended audience?
What is the core, the one thing you do over and over, and is it fun?
“Theory is a six-letter dirty word to most musicians, but hey, musicians love dirty words, right? And just like all the other dirty words, theory is easy to learn and fun to use!”
― Ray Harmony, Hack Music Theory, Part 1: Learn Scales & Chords in 30 minutes
SUMMARY
Write your weekly summary here, last, at the end of the week…
Only one to two sentences of WHAT YOU DID
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CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
Set a timer
Spend 30 minutes in this ‘room’
Listen to a song of your own choice
Create a blog post titled, Song Analysis: NAME OF SONG
As you view films, consider how the cuts, camera angles, shots, and movement work to create particular meanings. Think about how they establish space, privilege certain characters, suggest relationships, and emphasize themes. In addition to shot distances, angles, editing, and camera movement, note details of the narrative, setting, characters, lighting, props, costume, tone, and sound.
6. What “happens” in the plot (Brief description)?
7. How does the film influence particular reactions on the part of viewers (sound, editing,
characterization, camera movement, etc.)? Why does the film encourage such
reactions?
9. How are the characters costumed and made-up? What does their clothing or makeup reveal about their social standing, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age? How do costume and makeup convey character?
10. How does the lighting design shape our perception of character, space, or mood?
12. What is the music’s purpose in the film? How does it direct our attention within the image? How does it shape our interpretation of the image? What stands out about the music?
Example: “The Shawshank Redemption Movie Review (1994) | Roger Ebert.” All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2015.
15. Select one scene no longer than 5 minutes that represents well the whole film and shows relevant cinematic elements. Write a one-sentence description of the scene and record the time of the scene.
Example: from 1:05:00 to 1:10:00.
Explain why you chose this scene.
PLACE THE TIME STAMP FROM THE SCENE HERE… Example: 00:00:00 – 00:05:00
16.In the selected scene: write a sentence for each of the elements below to justify why this scene best represents the film:
Mechanics are the base components of the game – its rules, every basic action the player can take in the game, the algorithms and data structures in the game engine etc.
Dynamics are the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on player input and “cooperating” with other mechanics.
Aesthetics are the emotional responses evoked in the player.
Brainstorm Ideas for Each of the Eight Categories
At least one idea per category, but feel free to add more you your favorite categories
Write a short sentence for each idea with these three elements included in each description
Someone or thing fighting/struggling against Someone or thing for Someone or thing
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Sensation (Game as sense-pleasure): The player enjoys memorable audio-visual effects.
Place idea here…
Fantasy (Game as make-believe): Imaginary world.
Place idea here…
Narrative (Game as drama): A story that drives the player to keep coming back
Place idea here…
Challenge (Game as obstacle course): Urge to master something. Boosts a game’s replayability.
Place idea here…
Fellowship (Game as social framework): A community where the player is an active part of it. Almost exclusive for multiplayer games.
Place idea here…
Discovery (Game as uncharted territory): Urge to explore the game world.
Place idea here…
Expression (Game as self-discovery): Own creativity. For example, creating a character resembling player’s own avatar.
Place idea here…
Submission (Game as pastime): Connection to the game, as a whole, despite of constraints.
“Simple formative analysis of film elements, no matter how precise or insightful, won’t cut it which is why the research question needs to be crafted in such a way that it provides scope for theoretical and socio-historic exploration. It’s basically an EE in disguise but focusing on two very different textual sources.”
Brainstorm possible films for the task. You must select TWO films from contrasting cultural contexts.
Brainstorm and justify at least three different areas of FILM FOCUS for your two chosen films.
Brainstorm and justify at least two different CULTURAL CONTEXTS for your two chosen films.
Consolidate your ideas and develop at least three different RESEARCH QUESTION topics for your study.
Finalize your choices and select your RESEARCH QUESTION. Choose two films for comparison.
Develop the main arguments you will make about your topic.
Collectevidence from the films that support your argument.
Researchsecondary sources for information that supports your argument.
Write your Narration and plan the audio-visual components of your video essay.
Record, assemble, and edit your Comparative Study Video Essay.
Create a Works Cited document (separately) once your Comparative Study is finished.
Comparative Study Task Components
For this assessment task, each student identifies, selects, and researches each of the following task components.
TASK 1: One area of film focus.
TASK 2: Two films for comparison from within the chosen area of film focus, one of which originates from a contrasting time (historical) or space (geographical) to the personal context of the student, and the other film identified for comparison must arise from a contrasting cultural context to the first film. Students are required to select films they have not previously studied in depth. The selected films cannot come from the prescribed list of film texts provided for the textual analysis assessment task and, once selected, the films cannot be used by the student in any other assessment task for the DP film course or the extended essay.
TASK 3: A clearly defined topic for a recorded multimedia comparative study, which links both the selected films and the identified area of film focus. Each student should invest time in researching, developing, and honingtheir topic (which in most cases is likely to be expressed in the form of a research question) to ensure it is clear, focused and concise, in order to provide them with the maximum potential for success in this task. The topic should seek to enrich the student’s understanding of the chosen area of film focus and should avoid a plot-driven approach to the comparison.
The assessment criteria for this task requires students to provide a strong justification for the choice of task components as part of the recorded multimedia comparative study. This includes the student’s justification for how films arise from contrasting cultural contexts.
1. FILM Choices List
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Which films are you considering for your final Comparative Study? List as many as you wish below as part of an initial brainstorm. Remember that you must select TWO films from contrasting cultural contexts for this task.
See the Examples of Possible Task Components section further down this document
Film Focus Possibility – identify the broad focus area and then add specifics (e.g. “THEORY – Auteur theory” or “GENRE – Horror”). Develop at least THREE options…you can create more by adding more rows.
Justification for this Film Focus. Be as specific as possible.
3. Chosen CULTURAL CONTEXT
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
For this assessment task, “cultural context” involves consideration of some of the following factors, some of which may be blended (such as socioeconomic factors).
Identify at least TWO Cultural Context possibilities for your chosen films.
Justification for this Cultural Context. Be as specific as possible.
4. RESEARCH QUESTION Possibilities
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Consolidate your thoughts above and develop at least THREE different research question possibilities. More are possible by adding additional rows to the table below. FYI these will be shared with the full class for discussion of strengths and weaknesses.
Your Chosen Area of Film Focus
Topic for Comparative Study (written as a research question)
5. Final Decisions
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Using your topic options in the table above, select ONE to be your final topic for this Comparative Study task. NOTE: There are examples from the IB of what this should look like below this table.
Your Chosen Area of Film Focus
Film 1
Film 2
Contrasting Cultural Context
Topic for Comparative Study practice task (written as a research question)
6. Developing Your Topic
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Develop 3-5 main arguments that can be made about your topic based on your research question and chosen film focus.
Brainstorm how you could support these arguments within your video essay.
7. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Primary)
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Identify at least 15 scenes from your chosen films that will help support the arguments you have outlined above. Screen clip a frame from each scene below.
Write notes about how this scene helps support your argument. (These notes will help form your voice-over narration.)
*Add more rows as needed.
8. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Secondary)
Set a timer
How much time did you spend: ?
Identify at least 3-5 secondary sources (articles, books, websites, video essays, etc.) which provide information that help support your arguments being made. In this column include the specific source citations.
Summarize the detailed information from the secondary source that you can use in this column. (You can copy+paste if they are from online sources.)
*Add more rows as needed.
9. Writing Your Narration
Set a timer
How much time did you spend on the first draft: ?
How much time did you spend on the final draft: ?
Using the information, scene choices, and external sources you have compiled in steps 6-8, you will now write your voiceover narration and match it up to your chosen visual examples.
Length (</= 10 Minutes)
For the final Comparative Study, your narration should be no longer than 10 minutes in length.
Remember that you need to:
COMPARE and CONTRAST your two chosen film using the arguments and evidence you identified in parts 6-8, above
Begin your narration with a detailed justification for the chosen cultural contrast
Use an equal balance of the two selected films.
Write in a third-person voice to construct your argument (similar in tone to your Extended Essay and other
comparative analytical work you have written in Film class).
Identify where any WRITTEN TEXT will appear on the screen and highlight this (to reference during the
creation/editing stage)
Which Visual Evidence/Scenes line up to this part of the narration?
Now you will collect all media resources needed for the task and construct your video essay.
REQUIRED STEPS
Import the digital copy of your chosen films into editing software
Identify and extract chosen scenes and clips
Place and edit clips into a rough timeline for your video essay
Record audio narration (both partners should participate in narrating this practice task)
into an audio file using recording equipment (Zoom recorders, iPhone, DSLR Rode video
mic, etc.)
Import your recorded narration audio file into your project timeline
Assemble, edit and fine-tune clips and narration until your video essay takes shape
Create and add any required textual information in the timeline (including black slate at the start)
Audio mixing of narration and movie clips (adjust levels so that narration and movie sounds complement each other)
Mr. Le Duc considers him the best beginning guitar teacher online. He’s not the only one that thinks this. Check out some of the celebrity endorsements at justinguitar.com.
How interested in learning more about playing the guitar?
Write a reflection of the key topics that got your attention.
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Holistic Songwriting by Friedemann Findeisen
Screenshot from Holistic Songwriting’s Channel at YouTube
An Example: The Swift Formula – One Note Melodies
From Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTubeFrom Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTubeFrom Holistic Songwriting’s How Taylor Swift Writes Melodies at YouTube
How interested in learning more about music theory and song analysis?
1 (YUCK!)
2 (not really)
3 (sorta interested)
4 (interested)
5 (YES!)
Your score: ?
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
Set a timer
Spend 15 minutes in this ‘room’
Write a reflection of the key topics that got your attention.
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Screenshot of Lyrics Melody and Chord Progressions from HookTab at YouTube
Explore the tutorials (but you do not need to watch all of them – just pick what looks interesting to you) from the:
Be curious about Justin.
