| Unit name | Writing with Emerging Technologies in Games |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HUMSM0028 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Cole |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
N/A |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | School of Humanities |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
There is equal part excitement and apprehension around the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other emergent technologies across the creative sector. While it seems like a recent phenomenon, in the context of the history of videogames, discussions around - and applications of - AI are nothing new. Moreover, games have been a testbed for the possibilities of immersive technologies and experiences, including augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality. This unit investigates the historic relationship between technology and narrative design in pursuit of answers to the following questions: How is GenAI redefining the role of the narrative designer? How can a narrative designer creatively work with AI technologies to develop games? What opportunities do immersive technologies present when it comes to narrative design? The unit engages a horizon scanning approach to reflect on current and future issues in writing with technology while foregrounding human creativity.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit follows the TB1 units Writing for Games and Storytelling and Games. It historicises the relationship between writing and technology while encouraging experimentation with the latest tools in a responsible manner. Where Storytelling and Games illustrated the debt that games have to traditional narrative frameworks, this unit embodies current debates around hype as it relates to technological progress, critiquing the perceived intrusion of technology on the creative process while examining the art of the possible. It sits alongside the 40-credit unit Implementing Stories in Games, where you will be employing narrative design principles in agile game development cycles.
An overview of content
This unit will contextualise current debates around emerging technologies and games. This includes the implications of AI broadly conceived on the games industry, the opportunities presented by the Metaverse, and the application of digital twins in a gaming context. You will familiarise yourself with a range of case studies where developers have used AI in the context of narrative design. This will cover historical examples through to new genres and enhanced game modes made possible by GenAI. You will also familiarise yourself with narrative experiences that rely on XR technology. This includes AAA titles in VR, ground breaking uses of AR, and opportunities for mixed reality games. Digital twins, meanwhile, will be discussed in relation to worldbuilding and realism in games. Throughout, we will consider the ethical, environmental, and social costs of engaging with emerging technologies, while also critically assessing their use in the creative context of narrative design.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will have a nuanced understanding of the long history of games and emerging technologies. You will be aware of the ways in which, for good and for ill, emerging technologies have impacted narrative design. Furthermore, by exploring such questions as those stated above, you will be able to adopt a pragmatic, grounded approach to technological innovation and hype, finding ways to work with technology.
Learning Outcomes
A weekly 2h seminar/workshop and 3h active play session plus a series of industry guest lectures.
As in Storytelling and Games, the previous 20-credit unit, you will learn via a weekly 2h seminar/workshop, followed by a 3h active play session with additional industry guest lectures. In the seminar/workshop, you will discuss and debate the influence of AI and emerging technologies on the video game industry and videogame form, focusing on the impact for narrative design. In the weekly 3h active play sessions, you will have the opportunity to analyse games that have made use of emerging technologies, as well as experiment with new tooling in concept game jams. It is the aim of these combined sessions to offer a critical and pragmatic outlook on technology innovation.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will write a blog post reflecting on the ethics and affordances of emerging technologies, drawing on your game diary. Feedback will be given by peers in your learning group. This will enable you to practice constructing arguments based on a historical understanding of technology for the essay. You will also take part in concept game jams to examine and critique emerging technologies and explore alternative technology futures.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Let's Play recorded playthrough, 5 minutes per group member (30%) [ILO 1-3] (group project)
2,500-word essay or video essay / podcast equivalent responding to questions posed about the relationship between games and emerging technologies (70%) [ILOs 1, 2, 4] (individual)
When assessment does not go to plan
Reassessment for the essay component will take the same form as the original brief. For the Let’s Play recorded playthrough, if there are sufficient numbers a new group will be formed, enabling students to be assessed in the same manner as the original brief. If numbers are insufficient to create a group, students will individually create a 5-minute Let’s Play recorded playthrough and comment on how it would have added to their group’s original attempt.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HUMSM0028).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
