Joshua Gonzalez Schley English 1101 October 23 2013 Discourse Community

In today s society it has become increasingly di!!icult to go "laces #ithout seeing or hearing about some o! the latest games or de$ices coming out% &hese games ha$e become one o! the ma'or !orms o! entertainment in not only (merica) but the entire #orld leading to the game industry becoming "o#erhouses !or income% *ith so much money coming !rom ma+ing games it ma+e you #onder #hy they re are not many more "eo"le lining u" to become game de$elo"ers% &he truth is that line really does e,ist and it gets larger e$eryday #ith ne# young "eo"le !resh out o! college #ho thin+ that this +ind o! 'ob is a one #ay tic+et to an easy "aychec+% Sadly this is !ar !rom the truth% (t times creating a game along #ith a team can be satis!ying or e$en !un) but the #or+ is grueling and ta+es many slee"less #ee+s to com"lete% E$en #ith such demanding #or+ the students here at the -ni$ersity o! .orth Carolina at Charlotte ha$e come together to !orm the Games De$elo"ers Club to study game design #ith "eo"le #ho share similar "assions% (s a com"uter science ma'or mysel! I decided to 'oin in some o! the club meetings to get the ans#er to a /uestion that is the $ery +ey to becoming a great game designer% 0o# do "eo"le #ho come !rom di!!erent bac+grounds) both in ho# they re raised and their educational bac+ground) come together to create games1

Literacy and Contemporary Theory

2e!ore anything else can be said or done it is im"erati$e that one understands the idea behind a discourse community% ( discourse community is de!ined by S#ales to ha$e si, +ey characteristics that

include a common goal) in!ormation e,change) community s"eci!ic genres) highly s"ecialized terminology) an e,"ertise) and "artici"atory mechanisms% &hese +ey terms are used to se"arate any grou" o! "eo"le #ith common language s+ills !rom a !ully !ormed discourse community% Some o! these elements are much easier to determine then other% In e,am"le a common goal !or the Games De$elo"ers Club is in its o#n name) to come together as a grou" to learn to de$elo" games% 0o#e$er many other elements are not as sim"le to determine #ithout some sort o! "artici"ation #ith the community itsel!% &he elements such as in!ormation e,change and terminology are things that an a$erage "erson could not 'ust #al+ u" and understand immediately% In his essay 3irabelli states 4%%% there is a decided !ocus on "rinted te,ts o$er other mediums o! communication li+e $isual and audio% Such a !ocus limits our understanding o! literacy in terms o! its us in s"eci!ic situations%%%5% O! course #ritten te,t is in$aluable in any grou" due to easy com"rehension !rom all members) ho#e$er other !orms o! communication such as "rogramming languages and rules ha$e to be im"lemented !or anything to #or+ in a club such as this% &his club is based on the conce"t o! game design in general so art and music "lay +ey rules as #ell as the actual code used to ma+e games% .ot e$eryone +no#s ho# to code in C66 or J(7( and it is not e,"ected but there has to be a common ground bet#een those #ho can and those #ho can not !or any #or+ to be done% 8inally #ithout some sort o! e,"ert or leader to bring e$eryone together there #ill be natural discord amongst the grou"% .o one can e,"ect a team o! "eo"le #ho ha$e ne$er touched a game to be able to ma+e one and so there is a need !or a "erson #ho has e,"erience in this area to be a guide !or the other members%

Methodology
(s a!orementioned I am a com"uter science ma'or #ho is currently studying game design as a "ro!ession so my interest in a club such as this one is "retty straight !or#ard% 3y research #ith the club #as conducted throughout se$eral #ee+s in #hich I both sat in on meetings to ta+e notes or "artici"ate

in the actual acti$ities o! that certain day% (s #ell as this hands on e,"erience I ha$e gotten an inter$ie# !rom one o! the !ounding members o! the club #ho has stuc+ #ith it in its short history% 3ost o! the club #as di$ided into sub grou"s to "romote communication bet#een a team o! "eo"le% I too+ ad$antage o! this situation on the !irst meeting I sat in on to go around each di!!erent grou" and ta+e note on ho# their interactions di!!ered !rom the grou" across !rom them% On the second meeting in #hich the club #as se"arated into grou" I 'oined one o! them !or the entire course o! the meeting and "artici"ated in the tas+ #e #ere gi$en% *hile ta+ing notes I too+ e,am"les !rom essays in the te,t boo+ such as 3irabelli s and *ardle s to gi$e me a bit o! insight as to #hat to loo+ !or in the community%

Game Developers Club

&he Game De$elo"ers Club is a !airly ne# club that #as created in the s"ring semester o! this year% It is o"erated by three o! the !ounding members #ho are all seniors in com"uter science% &he main goal o! the club is to ha$e an area #here "eo"le #ho may +no# ho# to "rogram games can come and !ind artist and musicians as #ell as other "rogrammers to hel" create games% It also "ro$ides an en$ironment !or those #ho are not as serious about game de$elo"ment #ho 'ust come because o! a basic interest #ith no real "lan on "ursuing it as a career% &he club #ill not turn its bac+ on anyone #ho may not +no# $ery much about game design) but is #illing to learn% &he "artici"ants in the club $ery !rom $eteran "rogrammers) artist) and musicians to a$erage "eo"le #ho li+e to en'oy a good $ideo game e$ery once in a #hile% &his ride range o! "eo"le ma+e it increasingly easy to !ind li+e minded students #ho can hel" you #ith any "roblems one might ha$e #ith a game they dream o! ma+ing) or 'ust a "lace to ma+e ne# !riends #ho "lay the same games as you% Either #ay the club o"enly #elcomes any one #ho #ishes to ta+e "art in its acti$ities% The Meetings 3a+ing a game is a ma'or tas+) but #ith a team o! li+e minded indi$iduals it can be di$ided into

much smaller sections that can ma+e the entire "rocess a sim"le goal dri$en e,"erience% &o sim"li!y things all games need !our basic elements art) story) music) and controls9rules% &hough one "rogrammer can $ery #ell do all these things by themsel$es ha$ing se"arate teams #or+ing on each "art #ill cut "roduction time o! the "ro'ect considerably% *ith this conce"t in mind the Game De$elo"er Club began their meeting by se"arating the members into much smaller grou" o! about three to si, "eo"le each% &hough #e #ere gi$en a s"eci!ic tas+ to thin+ about some grou"s de$iated !rom it or com"letely ignored it and instead used the time to discuss #ith their grou" members games that they #ished to create and ho# they #ould go about ma+ing it e!!iciently during the school year% &his +ind o! beha$ior #as encouraged e$en i! it did not ha$e anything to do #ith the tas+ at hand% On the other hand some grou"s too+ the time to sim"ly "lay around #ith the cards and dice gi$en to them !or the tas+ so they could +ill time #ith their !riends% &hough it may ha$e not been $ery "roducti$e it still accom"lished a $ery sim"le goal e$en i! they #ere not thin+ing about it at the time% E$en #hen 'ust !ooling around #ith the card games and dice rolls they still had been studying ho# both o! these #or+ed% One can not 'ust suddenly start "laying a card game #ith another and e,"ect them to be in sync #ithout any sort o! rules !or the game% It is these $ery rules that hel" teach ho# to ma+e a game sim"le and easy to !ollo#% 8inally a third set o! grou"s did e,actly #hat #as intended !rom the acti$ity% &his grou" tal+ed #ith each other about game design and ho# it related to cards and other ideas they had) but they ne$er really got into anything $ery s"eci!ic% &hey +e"t on tas+ the entire time and came u" #ith se$eral idea !or small card games and board games as #as e,"ected !rom them by the club "resident% &hese !e# grou"s I li+ed to consider the a$erage o! the club% 2y that I sim"ly mean the most common students in the cam"us% &hose #ho come to meetings because o! their interest !or games and their a$erage +no#ledge in any o! the !our a!orementioned basic elements !or a game% I !ound it the most interesting to study this grou" o! "eo"le com"ared to those #ho ignore the acti$ities due to an already !irm understanding o! game design or a sim"le lac+ o! interest%

2ibliogra"hy 3irabelli) &ony% 4:earning to Ser$e; &he :anguage and :iteracy o! 8ood Ser$ice *or+ers5 About Writing% Ed% Elizabeth *ardle) Doug Do#ns% 2oston) 3() .e# 3artin=s) 2011% Writing

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*ardle) Elizabeth% 4Identity) (uthority) and :earning to *rite in .e# *or+"laces%5 Writing Writing% Ed% Elizabeth 3artin=s) 2011% *ardle) Doug Do#ns% 2oston) 3() .e# <or+) .<;

About

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S#ales) John% 4&he Conce"t o! Discourse Community%5 Writing About Writing% Ed% Elizabeth Doug Do#ns% 2oston) 3() .e# <or+) .<; 2ed!ord9St% 3artin=s) 2011%

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2ranic+) Sean% 4Coaches Can >ead &oo; (n Ethnogra"hic Study o! a 8ootball Coaching Discourse Community%5 Writing About Writing% Ed% Elizabeth *ardle) Doug Do#ns% 3() .e# <or+) .<; 2ed!ord9St% 3artin=s) 2011% 2oston)

Gonzalez) Joshua% Inter$ie# #ith .icholas ?o"lin% 10 October% 2013%

>e$ised Outline 8ormat !or Discourse Ethnogra"hy <our >esearch @uestion; 0o# do "eo"le #ho come !rom di!!erent bac+grounds Aboth in ho# they re raised and their educational bac+groundB come together to create games1

Common Goals C &o learn more about the basic elements o! game design and de$elo"ment and to ma+e !riends #ith other "rogrammers and artist to assist each other in ma+ing $ideo games%

?artici"atory 3echanisms C Since this club is di$erse in the ty"e o! members it has A"rogrammers) ne#comers) artistB the rules go along #ith interactions bet#een member% 2eing res"ect!ul and o"en to ideas and criticism are ma'or things since the club acti$ities $ary greatly de"ending on the members%

In!ormation E,change C &he leaders o! the grou" communicate #ith each other through 8aceboo+) te,t messages) and s+y"e #hile they communicate #ith other members through a #ebsite called orgsync as #ell as emails%

0ighly S"ecialized &erminology A:e,isB C &he most s"ecialized terminology used is amongst the "rogrammers #ho tend to tal+ about games seen through "rogramming languages Athe code used to ma+e the gamesB

0igh General :e$el o! E,"ertise A#ho has authority and #hyD #ho is cluelessD #ho is ne#B C the e,"ertise are the 'uniors and seniors com"uter science ma'ors #ho ha$e e,tensi$e bac+ground in "rogramming allo#ing the ne#er members to as+ them /uestion about the coding and game de$elo"ment in general% &he most clueless members are those #ho come !or the entertainment o! game design instead o! the learning !rom the club meetings%

0o# did you go about your research1 I attended a meeting o! the grou" and too+ "art in the days acti$ities% I too+ note o! ho# the "eo"le in my s"eci!ic grou" communicated #ith each other and ho# they #ent about the tas+ at hand% I also le!t the grou" on occasion to study the other grou"s o! more e,"erienced "rogrammers and artist to ta+e note on ho# they #ent about the same general tas+s%

Sources1 3y main sources are the essays in the boo+ described in my annotated bibliogra"hy as #ell as an inter$ie# #ith a senior club member9 leader%

?ersonal interest in community) or) #hy this community1 I mysel! am a com"uter science ma'or #ho ho"es to get into game design so I share a similar goal as them%

Short descri"tion o! organization C &he game de$elo"ers club has been around !or about a year #ith a steadily increase numbers o! members 'oining as time "rogresses% &he goal has been and #ill continue

to be to hel" anyone interested in game de$elo"ment #ith learning the basic or !inding other #ith similar interest%

Short descri"tion o! "artici"ants A+inds o! "eo"le in communityB &he "artici"ants in the grou" range !rom actual "rogrammers #ho come to discuss code #ith !ello# "rogrammers) artist #ho come to hel" #ith the game designers any#ay they can) the ne# comers #ho 'ust $isit the club because o! their interest in game de$elo"ment) and those #ho come sim"ly because their !riends are in it%

(ns#er C I belie$e that the club s members can come together on common ground due to their shared lo$e o! games% &his shared lo$e ins"ires them to hel" each as much as they can so no one is le!t behind since they all #ant to en'oy ne# gaming e,"eriences es"ecially those that they created themsel$es%