English 1100 Final Project, D. Maltby, University of Missouri-St. Louis
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Final project: Dream up a Reacting To The Past game proposal
This assignment is intended to bring together many elements we’ve worked on all
semester: historical issues and moments, persuasion, the RTTP game concept,
collaboration, writing, etc.
Your assignment will involve thinking, research, and writing, but will not produce a
fully developed game (that takes years!). We will work on a good bit of this together,
in class. So it’s important to be here each day even if – especially if! -- you’re not as
far along with your game project as you’d like. We’ll help each other!
According to Nicolas W. Proctor, RTTP games need to have certain components:
- “real historical setting
- rich texts
- multiple meetings
- roles with well-developed characters
- victory objectives
- intellectual collisions
- indeterminancy
- reading, writing, and speaking
- narrative structure with drama
- possibilities for alternate historical outcomes
- accessibility to non-specialists” (Proctor 10-11).
1. Start by thinking of an important historical moment when a decision had
to be made and there was more than one issue at stake.1 The situation could
be local, statewide, nationwide, or international. It needs to be a situation for
which there is no RTTP game. To find out, see the Big List of Reacting Games
(BLORG)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GkDM2eHFRl5zv0NA7tz6HZKRsK
um603sl8k343MFXsc/pub?output=html. If the link doesn’t work, go to
https://reacting.barnard.edu, then Curriculum, and click on a link to ‘Browse
the Big List of Reacting Games (BLORG).
Examples:
o The Civil Rights Act of 1964
o The Equal Rights Amendment 1923 to 1979
o Red-light cameras: legal, or not?
2. Time and place. At what time and place did this moment occur? Where
would the debates in your game take place?
3. What were the issues and who were the significant people?
i. What groups had different opinions about these issues?
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Remember that in the game, the situation can turn out differently from the actual event.
English 1100 Final Project, D. Maltby, University of Missouri-St. Louis
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ii. What did those groups have to gain or lose, depending on the
outcome?
iii. Probably within those groups, what significant interesting
people played major roles?
iv. How would opinion/stake holders be grouped into two
factions?
v. Who will the indeterminates be (who has to be persuaded?)
4. Inherent in the issues, or surrounding them, are ‘big ideas’ that your game
will focus on. Part of the process of dreaming up a game is realizing what the
big ideas are. Here are examples of ‘big ideas’:
- The nature of science and its relationship to modern life in an industrial
society.
- The tension between natural and teleological views of the world.
- The nature of faith and the meaning of the Bible; how does it relate to
scientific principles and methods?
- How to reconcile religious identity with nation building.
- How the majority can rule in a democracy while still protecting the rights of
minorities.
- How advancements in technology can be incorporated into workplaces when
jobs are sorely needed.
- How to maintain valuable traditions in a society and still move forward.
- How to nurture and protect family life when both partners are active as
workers or community citizens.
5. What should the students read? Find at least five relevant primary sources:
a. Primary sources will mostly be written texts that present crucial
information on the issues, the positions, and historical background.
These texts would be assigned reading for the game.
b. More thoughts on these readings:
According to the RTTP Pedagogical Introduction: “[S]tudents will be obliged, in
a very short period of time, to acquire a solid understanding of complex ideas
and difficult texts, and also to navigate through a historical situation that is
equally complicated. The readings, consequently, tend to be of two types: 1)
the works of important thinkers; and 2) books and articles that establish
the social or historical context. Students may be daunted by their first
encounter with Plato’s Republic, the Analects of Confucius, or the sermons of
Puritan ministers. These works are not easy because the ideas themselves are
(literally) so thoughtful. There are good reasons why they have influenced
civilizations so powerfully. Students must engage with these texts fully and in
the light of the historical moment that brought them to the fore” (RTTP
Pedagogical Introduction).
We’ll be sharing #s 1-5 in class as you’re working on them.
English 1100 Final Project, D. Maltby, University of Missouri-St. Louis
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WRITTEN PRODUCTS for this project
(note: I strongly suggest conferences with me!)
1. Write a preliminary proposal for the game, at least 3 but no longer than 5
pages long. Include: historical moment, time/place, issue(s), groups with
differing ideas about the issues, big ideas, significant interesting people, and
the five primary sources. Your audience for the preliminary proposal is your
classmates and me. Due on the date on the schedule. We’ll also report on
these in class on that date. I’m expecting this to be a very well thought out
proposal, but I also expect that the project will evolve and that the final product
will emerge significantly altered from your original vision.
2. Write an annotated bibliography using the primary sources. An annotated
bibliography looks much like a Works Cited page, but after each entry, you
will write a paragraph of 150-300 words in which you summarize the source,
explain the claim/thesis, and explain why the source is useful in the game
you’re developing. Your audience for the annotated bibliography is your
classmates and me. Due on the date on the schedule. See posted sample
(Handouts).
3. Steps 1 and 2 will help prepare you to write an introduction to and vignette
for your game. Your audience for these is your classmates, me, imaginary
faculty who might teach your game, and imaginary students who may have no
experience playing RTTP games.
a. The introduction and vignette must total at least 4 typed, doublespaced pages, and preferably no more than 10 pages. Your muchrevised written introduction and vignette will be due during exam
week. See the course schedule.
b. Introduction. This is an overview of the game, including the kind of
information you presented in your preliminary proposal. It will be
greatly revised from that version! To get started, review the
introductions to the Paterson and Greenwich Village games.
c. Vignette. The vignette plunges the reader into the historical moment,
setting up the situation for the students. Review the opening vignettes
for the Paterson and Greenwich Village games. Here are openings
from sample vignettes from two other games. Note the style in which
the vignettes are written: tone, personal pronouns, scenario, etc.:
“Again, your hands are fussing with your wig. You can’t help it. When
you rose from your seat, walked down the long aisle, and joined the line
to speak, you knew you could do it. You WOULD address the National
Assembly of France. But now, you stand behind Abbé Maury and there
are only three speakers ahead of him. Your heart is beating fast. The
room has become stiflingly hot . . .” (Carnes and Popiel)
English 1100 Final Project, D. Maltby, University of Missouri-St. Louis
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“Through the train’s window, smeared with grit and soot, you can
barely make out the faces of the torrent of people surging along the
station platform. But that swirling chaos is India: a red-turbaned Sikh,
with a long, dark beard, three dark barefooted children begging for
food, a Muslim woman swathed in black . . . sprinkled throughout are
British soldiers in khaki, walking with that brisk, purposeful swagger
that won an empire . . . “ (Embree and Carnes)
ORAL PRODUCT
During the last week of class, you’ll share your final game idea with the class in a
polished presentation. Your audience for the presentation is your classmates and
me. Your presentation should be between 10-15 minutes long and may include
slides, video, handouts, etc. If you decide to use Powerpoint, see below.2 The game
idea should demonstrate considerable growth and evolution since we heard your
preliminary proposal. Many students revise the final introduction and vignette
again after hearing feedback from the class on the presentation. This always
improves the final product!
Works Cited
Carnes, Mark and Jennifer Popiel. “Prologue: A Night at the National Assembly.”
Rosseau, Burke, and the Revolution in France, 1791. Manuscript. Norton 2.0,
2014. N.p.
Embree, Ainslie T. and Mark Carnes. “The Train to Simla.” Defining a Nation: India on
the Eve of Independence, 1945. New York: Barnard College and Boston:
Pearson, 2006.
Proctor, Nicholas W. Reacting to the Past Game Designer’s Handbook. Third edition.
2011.
RTTP Pedagogical Introduction. Reacting the Past website.
http://reacting.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/reacting_pedagogical_
introduction-9-20-2010.pdf
*Powerpoint is one of the rampant evils of the 21 st century; most people do a terrible job with it. If
you MUST use it, rigorously adhere to these guidelines:
- Never put your presentation text or script on the slides.
- Slides should be simple but attractive. Think classy: imagine you’re presenting this to the deans of
the university.
- Have as few slides as possible; use them only to keep yourself and the audience organized.
- Only put a few key words or appropriate visuals on the slides.
- Never read your slides aloud. The audience already knows how to read.
- Proofread carefully. Powerpoint errors are huge on the screen. They make you look stupid. Major
points will be deducted for errors on slides or handouts.
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