GAMER PUNK 2077

For your final… I ask you to predict the future!

Yup, you read that right, tell the future for me! We have spent an entire semester talking about the history of games, retro game industry controversy, past social reactions to issues like violence and sexual representation in games… We’ve even tried to generate a clear image of what we think the modern gamer looks like and wrote glorious stories of their trials, tribulations and successes. So now let’s take what we’ve learned and imagined and transpose that information into a long view of what is yet to come.

GAMERPUNK 2077 will be your tale of the games industry, the entertainment scene and the gamers of the year 2077. This will be a paper, but don’t worry, it should be fun!

The prediction will be broken into three parts:

1. The Image: Write a compelling 3 page short setup for the world you predict. Think of this as an establishing scenario for a book, the prologue that explains the world and its denizens. I want to know a few specific things-
a. What does the world look like now? Have we made a lot of progress with technology? How has that changed the visual landscape of the world at large? Are arcades back and dominating empty mall complexes? Are there VR headsets installed in every restaurant booth? What impact has game technology and culture had on the world?

b. What are games like now? Is it all VR? Is it something else entirely or are we still poking at keyboards and controllers like cavemen?

c. How far have gamers come in the public eye? Are they still geeks? Are they the new jocks? Do the same old stereotypes apply and how has the change, or lack of change affected the community?

d. What has become of the games industry? Are companies like Activision and Blizzard even bigger or has the structure completely changed?

e. Tell me about at least one major event that happened between now and 2077 that really changed the way games are played, how companies make games and/or how gamers are perceived. Think of this like a “world war three” type of event, some controversy or breakthrough so huge that it became the catalyst for incredible change or a complete end to progress. I’m asking for one event, but I will happily read about more.

2. The Reasoning: Tell me what events you learned of or uncovered during this class that informed your predictions. I’d also love to hear about events, preconceptions or readings/viewings outside of this class and this semester that helped to inform this prediction.
a. For this section I want at least two full pages of items. It can be a bulleted list. Include links wherever possible.

b. Be sure to explain what aspects of your predictions the various findings informed. For instance, if you really learned a lot about Gamer Gate and you predicted some major change in gender representation in games, connect the two. Make sure I know why you made the predictions you made!

3. The Impact: Spend one page thinking back on the class and tell me if your predictions would have been the same before this semester. What has this class meant to you? Was it just a fun chance to think about games and their “social impacts” or did you come away with new opinions or ideas? If it didn’t change the way you think about things, did it reinforce your original opinions or were you simply unaffected. Be honest, I’d love to know what I might do differently in the future to add more to this experience and inform some really fun exciting predictions!

So that’s it. 6 pages in total, double spaced, more if you’re feeling ambitious. Have fun with this, but really think about what we’ve discussed and what these conversations and controversies might mean for the future of a growing industry and a long-misunderstood subculture.

I will be grading based on your ability to tie leanings and past experiences to your predictions, you adherence to the page counts and your overall grammar and writing.