Baton Rouge Community College ETEC 210 Introduction to Video Game Studies

International Game Developers Association

Jump to: navigation, search

Baton Rouge Community College Academic Affairs Master Syllabus

Date Approved or Revised: December 2006


Course Name: Introduction to Video Game Studies

Course Number: ETEC 210

Lecture Hrs. 3 Lab Hrs. 0 Credit Hrs. 3


Course Description: Reviews the history of video games and societal and cultural game issues. The course will introduce students to the academic study of video games, game industry roles and economics, and issues of intellectual property and content regulation. Introduces students to the game asset pipeline—who the industry players are and through what process and by whom a video game is produced, published, distributed, and retailed.

Prerequisites: Eligibility for ENGL 101; ETEC 101

Co-requisites: None

Suggested Enrollment Cap: 20

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Identify narrative structure, cultural assumptions, and art asset usage
  • Identify key events and people in the design of computers, electronic games, and toys
  • Examine scholarly works on video games, online economies, and community building, fan cultures, and their creative influence on game content
  • Describe 3 key components to the role of play in human culture
  • Describe representation, ideology, and rhetoric as they relate to gaming
  • Discuss the psychological facets of games including studies of media effects and the ongoing debate about the psychological impact of games on individuals and groups

Assessment Measures: Instructors may use a variety of assessment measures to assess student performance. But, the following assessments will be used in all sections:

  • Instructor designed written exams with an essay component graded by a common rubric and quizzes will be administered throughout the semester
  • A comprehensive final exam will be given to all students in all sections to cover all learning outcomes. Part of the exam will be objective and will cover industry specific terms and concepts. Part of the exam will include a demonstration of critical thinking skills.
  • Departmentally designed course project graded by a common rubric

Information to be included on the Instructors’ Course Syllabi:

  • Disability Statement: Baton Rouge Community College seeks to meet the needs of its students in many ways. See the Office of Disability Services to receive suggestions for disability statements that should be included in each syllabus.
  • Grading: The College grading policy should be included in the course syllabus. Any special practices should also go here. This should include the instructor’s and/or the department’s policy for make-up work. For example in a speech course, “Speeches not given on due date will receive no grade higher than a sixty” or “Make-up work will not be accepted after the last day of class.”
  • Attendance Policy: Include the overall attendance policy of the college. Instructors may want to add additional information in individual syllabi to meet the needs of their courses.
  • General Policies: Instructors’ policy on the use of things such as beepers and cell phones and/or hand held programmable calculators should be covered in this section.
  • Cheating and Plagiarism: This must be included in all syllabi and should include the penalties for incidents in a given class. Students should have a clear idea of what constitutes cheating in a given course.
  • Safety Concerns: In some programs this may be a major issue. For example, “No student will be allowed in the safety lab without safety glasses.” General statements such as, “Items that may be harmful to one’s self or others should not be brought to class.”
  • Library/ Learning Resources: Since the development of the total person is part of our mission, assignments in the library and/or the Learning Resources Center should be included to assist students in enhancing skills and in using resources. Students should be encouraged to use the library for reading enjoyment as part of lifelong learning.

Expanded Course Outline:

I. History of Video Games

II. Societal and Cultural Game Issues

III. Academic Perspective of Video Games

IV. Game Design

V. Artificial Intelligence and Audio

VI. Game Production and Teams

VII. Art Asset Creation

VIII. Game Industry Roles and Economics

IX. Intellectual Property

X. Content Regulation

Suggested Bibliography: Cassell, Justine and Henry Jenkins, eds. From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998.

Fencott, Clive. “Presence and the Content of Virtual Environments” (1999). Available online at http://web.onyxnet.co.uk/Fencott-onyxnet.co.uk/pres99/pres99.htm.

Aarseth, Espen, editor in chief. Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research. Available online at <http://www.gamestudies.org>.

Greenfield, Patricia Marks. Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and Computers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1984.

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens. A Study of the Play Element in Culture. Boston: The Beacon Press, 1955.

Vorderer, Peter and Jennings Bryant ed. Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006.

Wolf, Mark J.P. and Bernard Perron. The Video Game Theory Reader. NY: Routledge, 2003.

Retrieved from "http://igda.org/wiki/Baton_Rouge_Community_College_ETEC_210_Introduction_to_Video_Game_Studies"
Personal tools
Toolbox