Trying To Desperately Not Be An Obnoxious Know-It-All

This is going to be something of a summary of the past few weeks, since I'm lagging behind. I really should adopt some sort of schedule. Also, I'm having an unusual amount of trouble with the grammar in that title...

Our first assignment this semester was to read Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. While enlightening in some areas, by and large I found I was rarely reading what I hadn't already known. Several art classes throughout the span of my life had already taught me the importance and subconscious effects of lines, shapes, and colors, along with differences between realism and abstract art forms. Additionally, I was aware of the problems with color during the early years of print comics, knowledge garnered from documentaries and late-night outings on the Wikipedia.

I did gain a stronger appreciation for the interplay between art and writing, though I still tend to take the art for granted, unless it's mind-blowing like the works of Alex Ross. I also now catch myself paying more attention to the space between panels. Beforehand, by perception of time/space was more automatic (which isn't necessarily bad); now, I find myself analyzing the transitions, determining whether the artist could have done something different to enhance an emotion or effect.

The weeks following this bit of required reading were filled with presentations, by individuals and groups, either discussing Understanding Comics or relating another required reading (such as the graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson) to the content of Understanding Comics. As a man who thrives on variety, I found this disheartening display of uninspired regularity nothing short of mental torture. I still voted that the groups earn credit for their presentations of course; soulless fiend that I am, they did the work, so they deserved to get credit.

Last week, I finally got my chance to perform my "Trainer Quest" (the first project in our Class paths; see first post for clarification). Not wanting to present on the same stuff as all the other groups, I opted for something a bit more esoteric: webcomics. My partner for the presentation discussed the history of webcomics, while I provided a comparison of defining features that differentiated webcomics from traditional print comics.

Overall, it went rather well, and we managed to engage the class throughout the entire presentation. Being my own worst critic, I feel obligated to state that I know the presentation could have been better. We could have included more pictures, we could have rehearsed, we could have turned the entire presentation into a game, etc. My partner stumbled a bit despite having note cards, and I rambled because I didn't have anything prepared beyond my own jumbled thoughts and some Powerpoint slides to keep me on track.

In the end though, I feel I succeeded in achieving a personal goal. The subject matter of the presentation was unique, I didn't repeat info that I had been spoon-fed, or that I had been assigned to learn in the first place, and I kept things interesting, somehow managing to not bore myself nor my audience. These are things I strive for in most of my personal projects, and I rarely have a chance to exercise such freedom. So, in summary, as long as I continue to have the opportunity to do stuff like this, I think I'm going to have fun in this class.

Better Late Than Never

I probably should have started this back in January, but oh well, I don't think it's too late. This blog here is for a class I'm taking right now, ENG-336: Theories and Approach. That's its technical name by the way, the name in the course catalog and scheduling system. The real name of the course, as per the title page of the syllabus, is Graphics and Gaming: The Language, Literacy, and Learning of Art and Play.

It is a course about comic books and video games. I am getting college credit for reading/playing/discussing/analyzing comic books and video games. Based on concept alone, this is probably one of the most awesome courses I've taken thus far (I had a course on video game programming/design last semester, along with a course on world religions, so it's really hard for me to pick a favorite).

One of the quests offered in the course is to create a blog and discuss my progress through the course, what's going on in the class, etc. And yes, I said "quest." There are no tests or quizzes, final grades are based on total experience points accumulated, and experience points are acquired via class participation, playing assigned video games/reading assigned comic books, progressing through class paths ("Guru", "Scholar", and "Sage") and by performing "side quests." I am being completely serious, by the way.

Aside from the grading system, the course is no different from any other really. There are lectures, there is required reading (some graphic novels, some actual books), and the various "quests" are just your average projects (give presentation, write paper, watch/discuss a film, etc.), with the exception that you get to choose what quests to do and when. Not so crazy when you lay it all out.

Now that this little intro is out of the way, from here on out, posts will be summaries of material covered in class, along with the occasional commentary about the class or some game I happen to be playing at the time. Depending on how well this goes, and how much free time I have afterward, I may keep updating this once the semester is over. I normally don't play enough games or read enough comics to maintain something like this, but we'll see how this pans out.