Black Mountain College Game and Transmedia Website
For the second project in this course, you will be developing a website for a video game concept. From the initial idea for a game, described in your blog post, you will outline the components below into separate sections and pages of your site.
NOTE: This assignment is NOT linked to the course blog website. You must make a NEW website of your own for this assignment.
Theme: Black Mountain College
The overall theme of your game should be related truthfully and fully to Black Mountain College. This could be about some aspect of its history, people, place, art, theories, etc. The link must be true, and it must be strong. It cannot be loosely based on something at Black Mountain College and then move on to something completely different, and it cannot include untrue elements, e.g., an alien invasion.
Working Individually or Collaboratively
You can work on this project either as an individual or in a group of 2 to 3 students. If you work as a group, you must either:
- Everyone complete an individual website, content, and a separate main character each, but your group can share a game idea and title.
- Or, create a single website together for your game, with unique central characters and 3 distinct media elements from each member of your group (included on different pages/sections of the site).
Media Elements
Your website must contain at least 3 media elements, on at least 3 different pages/sections, and developed specifically for this project. We will be looking at some examples of the following types of media, and simple tools that can be used to create these, in the upcoming weeks.
Each project must contain at least one each of the following media element categories (e.g., create one element from the choices for each category #1 to 3 below):
- Cinematic sequence, launch trailer, and/or gameplay example
- Cinematic sequence (cutscene, in-game movie) – A non-playing storytelling sequence within the game, developed as an animation or video -- coded and created by you.
- Launch trailer – A short video designed to promote your game -- video created by you with footage that is your own.
- Gameplay example – An animation or interactive element to show an example of gameplay -- video created by you, with footage that is your own.
- Character or world design
- Character sketch – A visual depiction of a central character of your game -- sketched or created by you.
- 3D character design – A 3D design of a central character of your game -- created by you.
- World design - Map or 3D design of one area of the game world -- created by you.
- Merchandise, soundtrack, and/or graphic novel
- Merchandise design – Digital designs of t-shirts, hats, action figures, and other merchandise for your game--must have designs created by you.
- Soundtrack or background music – A short musical piece to accompany gameplay or cinematic sequence -- this music must be created and played (or mixed) by you.
- Graphic novel - A short example (1 or 2 pages) of a graphic novel, manga, or comic that extends your story into printed media, drawn by you.
Other ideas - If you have another media idea that might work well for your game, let me know...
Deliverables
Your final project will be developed into a website, with several required sections and/or pages (see below). You may use any tool to create your site -- Wordpress, Weebly, Wix, Google Sites are free online tools that allow you to create websites based on templates.
The following sections/pages are required. You may wish to develop these as sections, with subpages, or as individual pages – depending on your theme and the amount of content.
| 1. Homepage | On this page, include a short introduction to your game, providing a brief background story related to Black Mountain College that comes from outside, credible sources that are cited and referenced correctly. Include here the launch trailer or example cinematic sequence (media element), if you created one for your game. |
| 2. Game Concept | On this page, or in this section, of your site, describe the game in a bit more detail that on the homepage. In addition, provide a list or table to let the audience know about the genre (action, shooter, adventure, role-playing, etc.), target audience and rating, game mechanics, and game platform(s). You could include a gameplay sample (media element) on this page, if you create one. |
| 3. Character | Include a description of a central character, and how she or he fits into the folklore or myth -- what is this character's background story? Here would be a good place to include images or 3D design and print (media element) of this character. You may also include your own representation of the world of the game as your media element here (you still need to describe your characters even if it is not your media element). |
| 4. Merchandise | What type of merchandise will you be selling related to your game? Include the descriptions of sample items such as character action figures, t-shirt, and other items. Media elements in this section could be 3D designs and prints of characters, t-shirt designs, and other ideas. |
| 5. Transmedia |
What is your strategy for social media and transmedia? In this section, describe social media plans for transmedia storytelling for your game, which may include anime/animation, comic/manga, web video, (media elements) and other outlets for the parts of the game story to be told. You may instead have an alternate reality game (ARG) that is used to promote or extend your game into the real world. If so, describe these strategies here with examples. This is not an ad campaign for your game or a way to get people interested in buying the game. Your transmedia must move beyond a social media or ad campaign to true engagement with the players and others in developing or continuing the story of the game in some significant way. |
| 6. About | On this page, or in this section, of your site, include a short biography (real life) of yourself, and what was your interest in creating a game idea on this subject. |
| 7. Resources |
Provide a list of all online resources you used for your project. Include citations and attributions for images, multimedia, and text content. |
Due
This project is due Week 11 (see course calendar for due date). During that meeting you will present your Game and Transmedia Project Website to the class. Input the URL for your project website into this assignment link in AsULearn before our class meeting that day. Any revisions or other work can be completed after class with the official deadline of midnight on your classday.
NOTE: Your website will be linked to the Digital Timeline for Black Mountain College.