Progression Three- Arguing Through Texts

Overview:
Progression Three will consist of three activities and an essay. Each activity is detailed below.
For Progression Three, we will be working with the video game that you have chosen as well as
these articles:

John Alberti- "Game of Reading &Writing: How Video Games Reframe Literacy."
Cracked Article- 5 Things Video Games Do Better Than Any Other Form Of Art
Cracked Article- 7 Creepy Video Game Easter Eggs We Wish We Never Found
IGN Article- Are Professional Gamers Athletes?
Gamer Gate Article
Richard Colby-Writing and Assessing Procedural Rhetoric in Student-Produced Video Games.

Progression Two Due Dates

Exercise 1: Due September 9, 2016
Exercise 2: Due November 29, 2016
Exercise 3: Due December 6, 2016
Progression Two, Essay #2, Rough Draft: Due 12/8/16
Progression Two, Essay #2, Final Draft: Due 12/15/16

Progression Two, Exercise One

DUE: 9/9/16
This exercise is a short proposal of a video that you would like to play and study as a rhetorical
text. The video game you choose must be of the post-apocalyptic or dystopian genre. Check
Moodle for a list of recommended video games. I realize that this may be new for some of you,
so take this opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and try to explore the many ways we
can approach useful texts in academia. Your proposal should explain why you think your game
fits into our course theme. What aspects of the game qualify it as a post-apocalyptic or dystopian
text? What aspects of this game appeal to you? How experienced are you with video games?
What challenges do you think you will encounter playing the video game? What challenges will
you encounter writing an essay about video game? For this assignment you should focus on

unpacking the core features of the game and explain how these features contribute to our overall
understanding of the theme of our class. Your proposal must be 2-3pages and conform to MLA
guidelines.
For this assignment, consider the following:
*What is your intended purpose for writing this proposal?
*Who is your audience? Are they familiar with your game?
* Explain your skill level/ experience with the game title or video games in general.
*How is your text similar to or different from books, movies, and television shows of the same
genre?
*How does your game surpass genre conventions?
*How does the genre of your game (FPS, RPG, Free roam, etc.) contribute to the rhetorical
effects of the text?
*How are these rhetorical effects achieved?
*How is your game likely to contribute to our course theme and class discussions?
Progression Three, Exercise Two
DUE: 11/29/16
After reading the supplemental articles about video games, you will take a critical stance on one
of the issues discussed in the readings and write a short 3- 4 page essay. You may rely on more
than one source, however, your essay should address ONE major claim or argument from our
readings. Why do you agree or disagree with the author? Explain the merit or flaws of the
authors argument? Why are these flaws significant to you position/reasoning? Has playing the
video game you chose influenced your reasoning? Explain and be specific in your reasoning and
criticism. This essay must be 3-4 pages, contain a works cited, and conform to MLA guidelines.
Things to consider:
*Authors use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
*Point of view- objective or subjective
* What social/ethical issues are addressed? Are they addressed adequately?
* What audience would read or benefit from this source?
*How does this source reveal more about the issue under consideration? If so, does this influence
your viewpoint or stance on the issue?

Progression Three, Exercise Three

DUE: 12/6/16
This assignment is similar to the previous critical analysis essays that we have written this
semester. For this exercise, you will write a short rhetorical analysis of your video game. You do
not need to analyze the entire game. Instead focus on a level, mission, character, or game mode.
Analyze this aspect of the game in conversation with the larger topics we have been discussing in
class. How does your analysis of video game composition further our understanding of videos
games as rhetorical multimodal text? You should combine the analytical and critical thinking
skills that you have used on your previous two essays. Does your video game complicate the
theoretical frameworks we have read about or explored in class? Your paper should be 3-4 pages
in length and conform to MLA guidelines. Please include a works cited as well. External sources
can be used but are not required.
Things to consider when analyzing a video game:
* How does the game expand our understanding of the post-apocalyptic/dystopian themes that
we have explored this semester?
* How does the immersive experience of video games differ from texts that we have read or
watched this semester?
* Does your game align with or refute any of the theories we have explored in class or in the
readings?
*Are the tools for analyzing literature and film adequate for video game analysis? Explain?
* How is the rhetoric of your game executed? What methods are used to convince you that the in
game experience is real or meaningful?

Essay #3 Prompt
Rough Draft Due: 12/8/16
Final Draft Due: 12/15/16
For this essay, you will create a website devoted the rhetorical analysis of your video game. Your
web-text should critically analyze the game in conversation with our readings and class
discussions. This website should demonstrate your ability to research, explicate, analyze, and
apply critical concepts that we have explored this semester. How does your video game
challenge or subvert common or mainstream assumptions associated with video games? Does
your game conform to these assumptions? If so, explain why this is problematic. What does your
game offer to the broader conversation surrounding video games as texts or works of art? In
what ways do these issues tie into the current political/socio-economic climate? Support your

reasoning with both textual and scholarly research. Your website should include a web-text that
is 5-7 pages long. This web text can be broken into smaller sections or tabs. You may also elect
to upload a Word Doc. Your website must include multimedia links and resources as well as
helpful links to articles or websites that will help guide the reader through your critical thinking
process. Include a works cited tab. I will not accept your essay unless you have had a
conference with me no later than 12/8/16.
Things to consider for this essay:
* How does the video game present character interactions with the world around them?
* What rhetorical/ideological forces shape interactions in the video game?
* What rhetorical/ideological forces shape video game reception in contemporary society?
* Critically examine one of the many settings/levels in your game. Critically analyze how these
settings/levels depict and reinforce ideology similarly or differently than other media.
(Books, movies, television, etc.)
* Social Interactions within the gameworld (gender codes, us vs. them, social codes, and etc.)
* Representations of Institutions in the gameworld (military, education, secret, police, and etc.)
* What socioeconomic ideologies are critiqued by your game?
* Video Game World vs. The Everyday World- How is ideology formed or changed? What
does this reveal about humanity?
* Mythology of the Hero- What types of heroes are present in your game? (Trickster, Anti-hero,
National Hero, etc.)