Introduction to Games Studies
| Module title | Introduction to Games Studies |
|---|---|
| Module code | CMM2013 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Ad Deshbandhu (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 32 |
|---|
Module description
This module introduces you to the foundational ideas of games studies and critical games research and looks at the various ways in which video games can be examined as digital media artifacts. By engaging with foundational understanding of games (systems, rituals, practices) and then looking at the many ways in which scholars of digital media have used games to study broader social phenomena, you will appreciate how practices of leisure and play can be used as a critical entry points to examine ideas of identity, performance, class, and access.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The specific aims of this module include an introduction to the field of game studies, to look at a variety of perspectives of how to examine games – as designed systems, as platforms to engage with, and as media forms. By the conclusion of this module, you will be to examine video games and evaluate/assess them for what they are, look at how they are engaged with, repurposed, how they foster communities, discussions, and help develop of unique skills. You will also be able to understand how the global gaming industry functions and what does developing/making a game entail.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate the ability to unpack video games as media texts and analyse the spectrum of interactivity, involvement, and engagements they offer
- 2. Understand how games are designed as media forms and look at them critically from monetization strategies to building and retention of player bases.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Identify how video games communicate with players and how they are understood as interactive/ergodic media forms
- 4. Critically engage with video games as extensions of transmedia and meta-media forms
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Understand how insights from video games and gaming communities can inform our understandings of medias role today
- 6. Reflect and analyse on player/self-engagement to understand how acts of play and play practices are internalised and performed
Syllabus plan
This module will introduce game studies and critical game studies broadly divided into three parts: understanding games as systems, games as digital media artifacts, and games as practices/parts of society. Themes in the module may include but are not limited to - ludology v/s narratology debate, games and rules, half-real understanding of games, immersion, engagement, incorporation, flow, character design and development, gender portrayal and representation in games, player identity and performance, gamification, games and mediality/transmedia.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | 267 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 11 | 11 x 1-hour lectures |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 33 | 11 x 2-hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 91 | Seminar preparation |
| Guided independent study | 164 | Research and assignment preparation |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly Game Journal | 250 words per week | 1-2 | Written feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board game development and critical reflection (group assessment) | 50 | 3000 words (2 students per group) | 1-6 | Written feedback |
| Individual essay | 50 | 2,000 words | 1-6 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board Game Development and Critical Reflection | Individual critical reflection (1500 words) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Individual essay | Individual essay (2,000 words) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e., a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Aarseth, E. (1997). Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.
Aarseth, E., and Calleja, G. (2015). The Word Game: The Ontology of an Undefinable Object. FDG.
Apperley, T. (2006). Genre and game studies: Toward a critical approach to video game genres. Simulation & Gaming, 37(1), 6–23.
Apperley, T. (2009). Gaming Rhythms: Play and Counterplay from the Situated to the Global (Vol. 6). Retrieved from: Lulu.com.
Bartle, R. (1996). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Players who suit MUDs. Journal of MUD Research, 1(1), 19.
Boellstorff, T. (2006). A ludicrous discipline? Ethnography and game studies. Games and Culture, 1(1), 29–35.
Boellstorff, T. (2015). Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually Human. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Juul, J. (2005). Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Juul, J. (2008). “The Magic Circle and the Puzzle Piece,” in Conference Proceedings of the Philosophy of Computer Games 2008 Potsdam, Germany: Potsdam University Press, 2008.
Keogh, B. (2014). Across worlds and bodies: Criticism in the age of video games. Journal of Games Criticism, 1(1).
Maigaard, P. (1951, August 30th–September 3rd). About Ludology. Presented at the 14th International Congress of Sociology Rome.
Malaby, T. M. (2007). Beyond play: A new approach to games. Games and Culture, 2(2), 95–113.
Murray, J. (1998). Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Shaw, A. (2012). Do you identify as a gamer? Gender, race, sexuality, and gamer identity. New Media & Society, 14(1), 28–44.
Shaw,A. (2015). Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Taylor, T. L. (2009). Play between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Taylor,T. L. (2012). Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
- ELE – Faculty to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
- Aarseth, E. (2001). Computer game studies, year one, in game studies. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 1(1), Retrieved from: http://game studies.org/0101/editorial.html
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 3/2/2023 |
| Last revision date | 14/03/2023 |
