Welcome to the first Magical Realism and Surrealism Convention! February 24-25

In our two day convention, teams of gamers will be competing to design the most clever games meant to illuminate, interest, and confound willing participants. The rules are simple:

1. Develop a game using characters, settings, motifs, symbols, images, and other aspects of Murakami’s world of The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
2. Design a unique game with a unique objective or design a game based on an already popular game format, e.g. “Pokemon,” “Monopoly,” “Clue,” “Texas Hold ‘Em” and so on.
3. Practice your game within your gaming team and make modifications to your game when this occurs (sometimes referred to as “special exceptions” to the rules).
4. Emphasize details of the novel so that (from a teacher’s point-of-view) I know that you are reviewing the book and the classmates who play your game will have insights into the novel’s themes or stylistic qualities.

Grading: For the purpose of using an assessment we are already familiar with, let’s use a modified IOP rubric:

A: Knowledge and Understanding– How much knowledge and understanding of the work does the gaming team demonstrate? (10 points)

B: Presentation–How much thought has been given to the creative presentation, the game’s objective, the rules of the game, the game board, game cards, and game pieces. (10 points)

C: Murakami–How much of the author’s thoughts, feelings, and choices (language, structure, style, and technique) are explored through the game play? (10 points)

Teams: For the sake of expediting this process, we will begin with our traditional “small group” of 4 students or “Lily Pads” as we sometimes call them. Once those groups are formed, you may swap out one group member for another if both individuals mutually consent. For example, let’s say a group is designing a Murakami game based on Pokemon and I am something of an expert, I should request to join that team. Use your best judgement and be inclusive!

Due: Wednesday, February 24: Game design and initial practice

Thursday, February 25: Game play and guest invitations to rival teams