Research+Paper

=**__Research Paper__**=

__**Final Paper Due Date: 12/02/2010**__
If students have any questions or problems, they should ask me either in person or via email before the assignment is due.
 * __ASSIGNMENT__ – Students are to research an //__approved__// Video Game Console, an __//approved//__ Gaming Company (video game company or non-video game company), or an //__approved__// Important Figure from the history of the gaming industry.** The purpose of this paper is to have students evaluate various aspects of the gaming industry in terms of real-world examples of real-world gaming icons, events, and products.


 * __ To be clear, students need only write ONE paper, choosing a topic from one of these three categories __ : **


 * 1. If students choose to research a Console, students are to select any video game console, Dreamcast or earlier, and write an in-depth evaluation of said console. Hand-held game consoles also count as paper topics. Certain gaming-based computers, such as the Commodore 64, MAY also count as game consoles, (please see me if you have any questions about the validity of your selection).**


 * 2. If students choose to research a __Gaming Company__, students are to select either from the following list of companies, or __submit a potential company to me for approval__:**


 * 3DO**
 * Acclaim Entertainment**
 * Activision**
 * Atari**
 * Bally**
 * Capcom**
 * Coleco**
 * Commodore International**
 * Electronic Arts**
 * Hasbro**
 * Konami**
 * Mattel**
 * Midway**
 * Namco**
 * Nintendo**
 * Parker Brothers**
 * SNK**
 * Square-Enix**
 * Sega**


 * NOTE: Certain companies that make gaming products, like Sony, Microsoft, etc. have been left off of this list, as they produce many more products than just those that relate to gaming, potentially making it difficult to create a focused paper - however, if a student wishes to take on these companies, they may come speak to me and we can discuss it.**


 * 3. If students choose to research an __Important Figure__ from gaming history, students are to select either from the following list of people, or __submit a potential person to me for approval__:**

**Ralph Baer** **Brenda Brathwaite** **Nolan Bushnell** **Bill Gates** **Gary Gygax** **Trip Hawkins** **Sotoru Iwata** **Steve Jobs** **Hideo Kojima** **Ken Kutaragi** **Sid Meier** **Shigeru Miyamoto** **Peter Molyneux** **Peter Moore** **Yu Suzuki** **Jack Tramiel** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Will Wright** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Hiroshi Yamauchi** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Gunpei Yokoi**
 * Note: While some of these figures may have had extremely important roles and careers outside of the gaming industry, all of them have played vital roles in shaping or defining parts of gaming history - these game-specific parts of their lives must be covered in the paper at some length.**


 * The Paper will be graded in 2 parts : the rough draft will count as 25% of the paper grade, and the final paper will count as the remaining 75%. Therefore, ** **if you fail to turn in a rough draft, you will receive a 0 on the draft, meaning the highest grade you can //possibly// receive on the paper will be a 75%, or a mid-range C** **(and this is only if you do PERFECTLY on the final paper!).**

**Failure to have an approved paper topic by 09/09/2010 will result in a grade of 0 for the paper!**
 * __ONLY 1 TOPIC CAN BE CHOSEN PER STUDENT PER CLASS, SO SUBMIT YOUR TOPIC CHOICES AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE__.**

__The full paper grade (Rough Draft and Final) will count as 30% of your overall final grade.__
__**GUIDELINES**__ **–** Since the paper can be chosen from 3 separate topic topics, the guidelines will vary slightly depending on what topic is chosen.

If a game-console is chosen, the console can not include Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Irix, Solaris, Amiga, or any other “Modern” Personal Computer. As noted above, gaming computers (such as Commodore 64 and Adam computers), are allowed. Add-ons (such as Sega CD or 32-X) may also qualify as their own consoles. Please see me if you are unsure whether or not your selection qualifies as a valid selection.

If a company is chosen, the company must either be chosen from the above list or submitted to me for approval - any company not chosen from the list must be clearly a gaming company and must receive definitive approval from me ** BEFORE ** the topic due date. I reserve the right to disapprove any topic for any reason.

If a person is chosen, they must either be chosen from the above list or submitted to me for approval - any person not chosen from the list must be clearly a gaming-related individual (or had a clear impact on the gaming industry) and must receive definitive approval from me ** BEFORE ** the topic due date. I reserve the right to disapprove any topic for any reason.

**__Papers on GAME CONSOLES must include the following information:__**
You must discuss the graphics, as well as the characters and game play. // Discussing more than one game is allowed, as long as at there are descriptions for each, and reasoning for choosing the games //
 * 1) ** Detailed description of the videogame console, including, technical specifications, storage medium (cartridge, CD, disc, game-card, etc.), and controller information. ** __NOTE: technical specifications must be explained, not just listed__. So, things such as processor speed, RAM, etc., must be defined and explained in terms of how it helped or hurt the console itself. This prevents students from simply regurgitating information without understanding it. __Failure to explain how any particular specification contributed to the system and compared to other systems will result in a lower grade on the paper__. If you are unsure about what any specification means, look it up!
 * 2) ** Information about the company that created the console, and any events leading up to the console's release (as well as the actual release date of the console). ** This will help establish an understanding for how a console came about, as no console just appears out of thin air. __This includes company history__ (where the company came from and how it came to make game consoles) __as well as how the specific console came into existence__ (why it was conceived and what it was intended to do).
 * 3) ** Descriptions of __at least__ one game for the system, of your choice. ** The game itself must also be thoroughly analyzed, and should include an evaluation of how the game either helped or hurt the console. __Students should try to choose games that were important to the specific console, not just a game that they, personally, enjoyed__.
 * **Descriptions of the console's leading competitors, both competing consoles and the companies that made them**. These descriptions do not need to be as in-depth as the description of the main console, but must include information that establishes why the console/company was considered competition, what features and/or specifications of the competition were beneficial/detrimental compared to the main console being researched, and how the competition impacted the main console.
 * ** Whether the console of choice was a failure or a success. ** Reasons and thorough explanations must be provided to explain why the chosen console failed or succeeded. __Students should not just rely on their own opinions of the console and should provide concrete reasons for the console's status__.

All required information can and should be interwoven throughout the paper in a logical way, rather than separating the paper into discrete sections for every piece of information. In other words, there should not be a "description" section, "competition" section, "game" section, etc. Instead, the paper should be a fluid, cohesive paper, without clear breaks and sections.

**__Papers on a GAME COMPANY must include the following information:__**
>>> // Discussing more than one game–related product is allowed, as long as at there are descriptions for each, and reasoning for choosing the product. //
 * 1) ** Detailed description of the company’s history, including founding members, original products/industry if different from gaming (or electronic gaming), and path taken toward modern status. ** The idea with the paper is that you are tracing a path with the company, showing how it came to become a player in the gaming industry – even if that company no longer exists, you need to show how it rose and fell, and if it is a huge player today, you need to show how and why it has gained that status, and the various choices, opportunities, and individual players that have allowed it to do this along the way.
 * 2) ** Important events and people in the company’s history. ** This includes founders, as listed above, but also people who caused a major transition in the company and analysis of their reasons for doing so, inventions/innovations that led the company in new directions, new ideas or business plans that either proved successful or disastrous, media stars or public targets at the company, etc.
 * 3) ** Descriptions of __at least__ one major game-related product released by the company. ** This could be a successful game console (or a monumental failure of a game console, sending the company into bankruptcy), a huge video game release (or video game series), a software concept or technology, business model that revolutionized the game industry, board-game concept, etc.
 * 1) ** Descriptions of the company’s leading competitors, both rival companies and allies in the field. ** The descriptions of these other companies do not need to be as in-depth as the description of the main company, but you do need to provide some history and analysis of these competitors and allies, to give a context to the state of the industry at various points in your chosen paper topic’s history.
 * 2) ** Whether the company, as a whole, is currently succeeding or failing in the industry, and an analysis as to why this is the case. ** This part may be a little more opinion-based, but you MUST resist the urge to put in “I feel.” Instead, base your analysis on research. This may be trickier than just saying, “the company has sold a lot of product, and is thus successful.” Also, if the company is no longer in business, don’t just say, “the company is now bankrupt, so clearly it has failed.” Give reasons why it failed, things it may have been able to do differently, and ways it may have potentially succeed if it was in business today.

All required information can and should be interwoven throughout the paper in a logical way, rather than separating the paper into discrete sections for every piece of information. In other words, there should not be a "history" section, "competition" section, "product" section, etc. Instead, the paper should be a fluid, cohesive paper, without clear breaks and sections.

Papers on an IMPORTANT PERSON must include the following information:
>>> // Discussing more than one contribution/invention is allowed, as long as at there are descriptions for each, and reasoning for choosing them - depending on the individual, more than one contribution or invention may be __ **necessary** __ to discuss. //
 * 1) ** Detailed description of the person’s personal history, including what drove them to the gaming industry and an analysis of the person’s thoughts and views, where applicable. ** People enter the gaming industry for many reasons. Some of them have always been interested in gaming and never had any other ambition, whereas others entered the industry through sheer happenstance. Through analyzing a person’s history, a sense of their personality and individual philosophies will also arise, giving you a sense of their attitudes toward their work, life, and, in many cases, thoughts on game design (where applicable).
 * 2) ** Important jobs and roles in the gaming industry, as well as important positions before and after their time in the gaming industry that impacted their lives and careers. ** Many people in the gaming industry have had various careers and positions, serving several functions in the field. Others have had one long-term, extremely important job. Explore and analyze the various roles in the person's life.
 * 3) ** Major contributions and/or inventions. ** Your chosen person wouldn't be worth of being on this list unless they made some significant contributions or inventions that impacted the gaming industry - discuss these and analyze them, not only in terms of what the contributions/inventions were, but how they were different from what was already available, how they were similar, what they actually changed about the industry, what their short-term and long-term effects were, whether the effects are still felt, etc.
 * 1) ** Influences, contemporaries, and protégés. ** Every person has people they are influenced by and who inspire them, people they work with and compete with, known as their contemporaries, and people who come after them and follow in their footsteps – their protégés. Find out who your chosen person learned from, considers his or her influences and teachers, who was working at the same time and competing with or collaborating with them, and who has come after and followed in their footsteps. Through your own analysis, you can show people who you feel have influenced your person or have been influenced by them, even without others ever having mentioned the comparisons before – as long as you make thoughtful, rational arguments for your ideas.
 * 2) ** Lasting impact and legacy. ** How is this person viewed today? Even if they are not remembered, are their influences still being shown, even subconsciously, in the modern gaming industry? Using analysis and examples, show what kind of legacy has been left by this person. If the person is still active, discuss that, but also discuss how their past and present actions are felt in the rest of the industry – how are they affecting others, if at all, indirectly?

All required information can and should be interwoven throughout the paper in a logical way, rather than separating the paper into discrete sections for every piece of information. In other words, there should not be a "personal history" section, "inventions" section, "legacy" section, etc. Instead, the paper should be a fluid, cohesive paper, without clear breaks and sections.

=__**English Writing Requirements**__=

Papers must be typed and have a cover-page. **__Grammar and spelling will be graded__**. Using "conversational" English, including saying "I," "me," "you," etc. is generally not acceptable in research papers, and will be marked down.

There is no minimum or maximum paper length. Use as much space as is required to contain all required information. Bear in mind, however, that a single page, or even two or three, will almost certainly **__NOT__** be enough to convey all the necessary information. Additional pages for images are optional - additional pages used just for "filler" will not help a grade, but additional material used to clearly enhance the paper and explain or demonstrate discussed topics will likely help improve the paper's grade.

**Students can use the textbook as a source; however, additional sources will be required**. __** Internet as the sole source of your information will not be acceptable **__**. ****All Internet sources should be verified for legitimacy, and must, at the very least, have a clear author and creation date. __When in doubt, do not use the site__.**
 * Book and magazine sources are always preferred, though given the nature of these topics, internet sources are more prevalent - SEEK OUT LITERARY SOURCES FIRST (from libraries and library databases, BEFORE defaulting to Internet searches).**

== __**Wikipedia, like any Encyclopedia, is NOT a valid resource for a research paper. All Encyclopedias (including Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, etc.) are a collection of information from other resources. //Original resources should be used when gathering information.//**__ ==

**__Rough Draft Requirements__**
**The rough draft (__due 10/21/2010__) is intended to show what direction you are taking with the paper, so that you can receive advice from me both on how to progress and on what needs improvement.**
 * __The rough draft needs to be in full paragraph form with complete sentences__ and __NEEDS TO HAVE PROPER CITATIONS__. The rough draft is, in essence, the first draft of your final paper. As such, __the rough draft is not a simple fill-in-the-blanks list of information__****.**

__**The minimum amount of information that the rough draft MUST contain for a GAME CONSOLE PAPER is as follows**__:
 * 1) Basic description of the console
 * 2) Basic information about the company that created the console and why the particular console was created
 * 3) Mention of chosen game, and an indication of why the game was chosen (only a very brief description of the game required at this stage, though feel free to do as much as you wish)
 * 4) Mention of the console's competitors, including the names of consoles and companies that made the console
 * 5) Brief discussion of the failure or success of the console
 * 6) Proper citation of the information given, and a list of sources acquired so far

__**The minimum amount of information that the rough draft MUST contain for a GAME COMPANY PAPER is as follows**__:
 * 1) Basic description of the company's history
 * 2) Basic information about the important events and people from the company's history
 * 3) Mention of chosen game-related product, and an indication of why the product was chosen (only a very brief description of the product and reasoning required at this stage, though feel free to do as much as you wish)
 * 4) Mention of the company's competitors and allies, including the names, products, and at least brief comparisons
 * 5) Some discussion of the failure or success of the company, and its modern standing
 * 6) Proper citation of the information given, and a list of sources acquired so far

T__**he minimum amount of information that the rough draft MUST contain for an IMPORTANT PERSON PAPER is as follows**__:
 * 1) Basic description of the personal history of the individual
 * 2) Basic information about the various jobs and roles held that relate to the person's role in the gaming industry, or had a major impact on their life
 * 3) Mention of major contributions, including brief description of why the contribution/invention was important (only a very brief description of the contribution/invention and reasoning required at this stage, though feel free to do as much as you wish)
 * 4) Mention of the influences, contemporaries, and proteges, to some degree (at this stage, names and examples/evidence can be discussed, with details and more examples and names added later - though, as with other areas, the more written now, the better the feedback, and the less work will have to be done for the final draft)
 * 5) Some discussion of the impact and legacy of the person
 * 6) Proper citation of the information given, and a list of sources acquired so far

All of this information can and should be expanded upon in the final paper. However, the more detail you have in the draft, the easier it will be for me to give you advice, and, potentially, the less you work you will need to do for the final paper. __**If you include all of the above information, written in proper format, and including proper citations, you should receive a high grade on the rough draft.**__

=__Citation Format__= **Papers must use proper notation format to cite sources, as well as contain a list of sources in the back.** The style of notation is up to the student, though MLA or Chicago style is preferred. Any valid notation style can be used, however. **SEE EXAMPLE AT THE END IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF HOW TO CITE.** **NOTE:** Information on notation styles can be found at the library and online. Two examples of online descriptions of notation styles are: **Chicago: @http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html** All Internet references must include a full URL, as well as any other information dictated by the notation style (site creation date, date that you accessed the site, etc.).
 * MLA: @http://www.docstyles.com/archive/mlacrib.pdf**

__**If a student is unsure of how to write a research paper or how to use proper notation in a research paper, they can use the writing services provided by the college**__. Further, I can help with many writing questions. __**Note: ALL in****fo****rmation taken from a source MUST be cited**__. This includes direct quotes and paraphrased ideas. If you copy something exactly from a source, you MUST put it in quotes, specify in the paper where the quote comes from, AND include a citation for that source. **ANY VIOLATION OF THIS IS CONSIDERED PLAGIARISM, AND WILL RESULT IN A 0 ON THE PAPER AND POTENTIALLY FAILING THE ENTIRE COURSE.** If you take an idea from a source, but put it into your own words, you still MUST include citation for where the idea comes from. The ONLY time you can write something in a paper without citation is when the idea is common-knowledge, or if the idea is entirely your own, taking no knowledge from another source. A brief example of proper and improper usage of sources will be discussed at the end of this document. =__**Due Dates**__= Selections for consoles MUST be submitted to me prior to the end of class on **__September 9__**. ** No late submissions will be accepted for any reason! ** Selections will be vetoed if they violate the non-console rule, are not on the approved company/person list or not discussed with me, or if the particular topic already has a student doing a paper on it.

**STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE A 0 IF THEY DO NOT SUBMIT A TOPIC ON TIME.** Students can submit a topic online or in-person, but Internet / email failure will not be a valid excuse for late submission.

Once a topic is submitted and approved by me, students should start working on their paper.
 * A Rough Draft of the paper is due at the beginning of class on __October 21__. No late submissions of the rough draft will be accepted for any reason! **

The rough draft not only ensures that the topic you think you are doing and the topic I think you are doing are, indeed, the same, but it also gives me an opportunity to see whether your ideas are cohesive and on the right track, and then let you know accordingly. Papers will be due on the last standard Thursday class of the semester (**__December 2__**), prior to final week of game presentations. **Any paper on a topic that was not approved will not be graded, and will receive a 0.** __All questions regarding paper guidelines or grading must be asked prior to the final submission date__. ** Students have the full semester to work on this paper. As such, there is no excuse for poor quality. ** **Good luck!**

__**Explanation of Proper vs. Improper Use of Sources**__
Let’s say you have a book called “Video Game Information,” written by a man named John Doe, and wish to use this source in your paper. Further, let’s say you want to talk about Nintendo as a company, and use this book as a source of information on Nintendo. You already know that Nintendo makes video games, but you have to refer to the book for some other information, specifically a sentence on the 8th page of the book that says, “Nintendo’s roots can be traced back to the late 1800’s, when it began its life as a company that created Hanafuda, or Japanese playing cards.”

You can write that Nintendo makes video-games, without requiring a source, since this is common knowledge. You can also write a commentary on Nintendo, perhaps that it makes quality video games or that its long history has given it an exceptional amount of experience, and, again, not need a citation, since this is an idea, thought, or interpretation of your own. However, if you refer to Nintendo’s history specifically (which is not common knowledge) or any specific part of a source (such as the aforementioned sentence from the aforementioned book), you need to cite where you obtained that information.

So, you can write:

**One of the biggest contributors to the modern day video game field is a company known as Nintendo.** This does not need a citation, as it is considered common knowledge, mixed with a bit of your own opinion.

If, however, you wrote the following, you would have a problem:

**One of the biggest contributors to the modern day video game field is a company known as Nintendo. What is not widely known is that Nintendo’s roots can be traced back to the late 1800’s, when it began its life as a company that created Hanafuda, or Japanese playing cards. By creating entertainment products, from simple cards to more elaborate, modern video games, Nintendo has gained invaluable experience in the field gaming. This has helped Nintendo to be one of the most influential and innovate gaming companies in the world.** In the above writing you copied a portion of the book directly (the section beginning with “Nintendo’s roots” through “playing cards”), without giving any indication that this portion was taken from another source. This is known as plagiarism, and will result in a 0 on your paper, as well as possible removal from the class. There are various ways to correct this, two of which will be described here.

First, you can keep the directly copied portion, but put the section in quotes, and indicate where the portion comes from. So, the sentence would become:

**One of the biggest contributors to the modern day video game field is a company known as Nintendo. Nintendo’s earlier history, however, is not widely known. In his book “Video Game Information,” John Doe describes Nintendo’s history as a gaming company by writing, “Nintendo’s roots can be traced back to the late 1800’s, when it began its life as a company that created Hanafuda, or Japanese playing cards.” (Doe 8) By creating entertainment products, from simple cards to more elaborate, modern video games, Nintendo has gained invaluable experience in the field gaming. This has helped Nintendo to be one of the most influential and innovate gaming companies in the world.** By placing the copied section in quotes, stating where the quote comes from, and placing a citation after the quote, you have properly used the needed section from your source, and avoided plagiarism. Note that the citation includes the author’s last name, and the page on which the quote appears in the author’s work, as is required by one of the many, many rules of the MLA format (there are many other citation rules not mentioned here, which should be referred to when writing your paper - and there are many other citation formats that may be acceptable).

Notice that the last two sentences (beginning with “By creating” and ending with “in the world”), evaluating Nintendo as a company, does not require a citation, since it only contains your own thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

The above example is fine, but using a quote in this way is a bit dry and uses a quotation when paraphrasing would probably work better for the flow of the paper. Here is a second example of how plagiarism could be avoided in this case without using a direct quote:

**One of the biggest contributors to the modern day video game field is a company known as Nintendo. Despite Nintendo’s current status as a leading corporation in the field of electronic games, it did not actually begin its life as a video game company. Rather, Nintendo was founded in the late 1800’s as a company that produced Japanese playing cards, also known as Hanafuda. (Doe 8). By creating entertainment products, from simple cards to more elaborate, modern video games, Nintendo has gained invaluable experience in the field gaming. This has helped Nintendo to be one of the most influential and innovate gaming companies in the world.** This example also avoids plagiarism and flows better than the previous version. All of the information conveyed in the original source is presented here, but it has been reworded and converted into a form that better fits into the research paper. This is known as paraphrasing. Paraphrasing also typically involves leaving out certain unimportant information, in favor of including only that information which furthers the ideas of the paper. The example here included all of the information from the original source, however.

Notice that even though the original thought was not taken word-for-word from the source, it still requires a citation (written as Doe 8) to indicate where the idea was taken from. **If a citation were not included, this would imply that the information was your own (and not taken from another author), and would thus be considered plagiarism.** In short: when in doubt, include citation.

Also note that if anyone uses the example given here in his or her paper, it will result in an instant failure. You can still use the information about Nintendo being a playing card company (and should use such information if writing about a Nintendo product, Nintendo as a company, or a former/current Nintendo employee), and you can still state an opinion about how the company's roots influenced its later history, but you must cite it from a proper resource (__not this handout or the fictional "John Doe" author__), and you must use your own wording and ideas to enhance it.