Structural Changes

Structural Changes: Making the Game Classroom-Friendly

I recently made a large structural change to the game after talking with my advisor, Dr. Clulow, about what kind of game professors would be most likely to integrate into their classrooms. Most professors are in my grandparents' generation, and all of them are at least as old as my parents. They didn't grow up with computers or cell phones, so video games are still a hard classroom sell for them. Professors have to learn the technology on top of figuring out how to fit a video game into a lesson plan they may have already been teaching for over a decade. If I want my game to be useful, I need it to very clearly match up with existing lesson plans. 

I decided to make my game episodic rather than one continuous narrative. That means it will no longer be just about the Pazzi Conspiracy. The game will still be set in 1478 Florence, as that is the height of the Renaissance under the Medici, something most syllabi and books I've read touch on. However, the game will be a series of short, 10-15 minute levels that a student can play (or a professor can assign) in any order. This makes the game highly flexible and easily integrated with existing classes.

What would be the main quest/storyline of each level, if not the Pazzi Conspiracy? To answer this question, I pulled 10 syllabi from various Italian Renaissance history, art history, and Italian studies classes to see what common themes existed between them. Once I knew which themes all the experts agreed were important, I'd be able to isolate exactly what learning objectives I should have for my game. However, the Renaissance is so complex and rich that each professor can (and apparently does) teach it totally differently. I found several themes that were consistent across most but not all of the syllabi, so I ended up comparing those to the research I'd already done on the Medici and the Renaissance in order to narrow my options. 

Below is the list of 9 main themes I came up with and guiding questions for each. (I've started an annotated bibliography for all the topics, but I'll spare any poor reader who has made it this far.) My next step is to ask my second thesis reader, Italian Renaissance expert Dr. Frazier, which themes she thinks are most important. I likely won't be able to research and make levels to teach all of these themes, so I need to know which ones to prioritize. I'm arbitrarily shooting for five.

Learning Structure for the Game

Each of the following units will correspond to one short (10/15-minute) level of the game. The game will be episodic, so after the first introductory level, the player can do them in any order. Each level will have one main questline that aims to answer the unit’s guiding questions.

Professors can also assign levels in any order to go with their class. They can choose not to assign certain levels, or even just assign one. It is highly flexible for their curriculum needs. 

1. Key Figures in 1478 Florence (mandatory introduction level)
   1. Who are the major families in Florence?
   2. What do they do?
   3. Who likes/dislikes each other? Why?
2. Patronage of Arts
   1. Which kinds of art are highly valued? 
   2. Who are the major Florentine artists of the day?
   3. Who commissions art?
      • i.     Why would a wealthy person commission art?
      • ii.     Why would a church or church official commission art?
3. Classical Learning in the Renaissance
   1. What are the 7 liberal arts? 
      • i.     Which ones are considered the most prestigious? 
   2. What kinds of texts would the educated read?
      • i.     Of these, what are some famous passages and what do people think about them?
      • ii.     Compare the importance of Greek and Roman writings to contemporary texts
4. Family Structure
   1. Who is the head of the family and why?
   2. What jobs/responsibilities do children have as adults?
      • i.     How do men and women have to serve their families?
        1. What is different?
        2. What is similar?
      • ii.     How does the eldest son have to serve the family compared to younger sons?
   3. How does marriage serve a family?
5. Religion
   1. What are the basic beliefs of Catholicism?
      • i.     Who is worshipped and how?
      • ii.     What does the afterlife look like?
      • iii.     What are the sacraments/how important are they?
      • iv.     What does Catholicism say about sin? What are major sins?
   2. What is the role of a church building in a community?
   3. What is the role of art in churches?
6. Economy of Florence
   1. What are the major industries? Why is wool so important?
   2. Why are banks so important and how do they work?
   3. Where do most people work and how do they live?
7. Government and Politics
   1. What kind of government does Florence have? 
   2. Where does the government meet? 
   3. What is the structure of the government?
   4. What does the government do? 
   5. How similar/different is it from a modern government?
   6. Who controls the government and why?
8. International Powers and Conquest
   1. Who are the major Italian states in 1478?
      • i.     Which ones are on good terms? Which aren’t?
      • ii.     Are all states that dislike each other at war? Why or why not?
   2. What makes the Pope different than other heads of state?
   3. What are the condottieri? 
      • i.     Why do the wealthy need them?
      • ii.     What are the risks of relying on them?
9. Conspiracies 
   1. What is the aim of the Pazzi Conspiracy? Why?
   2. How do the conspirators plan to achieve this aim?
   3. Who is involved and why? What will each person gain?