Brunel University MA Digital Games: Critical Approaches
International Game Developers Association
Table of contents |
[edit] Teachers
[edit] Module Leader
[edit] Additional Tutors
[edit] Course Background Information
[edit] Location
Brunel University
[edit] Classification
Graduate level
[edit] Course Description
Criticism and analysis of games. Detailed study of the different methodological approaches used in the study of games/videogames. Students engage with issues of constructing a vocabulary used to evaluate critically the aesthetics of videogames and their relation to and distinction from other media. Case studies on particular games as objects of critical study.
[edit] Time periods
- Date syllabus written or revised: January 2006
[edit] Course Structure
[edit] MAIN AIMS OF THE MODULE
- Develop a sophisticated understanding of the different and emergent methodologies and theoretical frameworks used in the analysis of digital games and play.
- Engage students with the values and problems of applying theoretical frameworks to existing games as well as their own design practice.
- Encourage students to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different methodologies and theoretical approaches.
- Develop an understanding of the historical context of digital games development and concomitant theoretical developments.
- Introduce students to research methods requisite to that required for post-graduate level study.
[edit] LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE
The module provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
(A) Knowledge and Understanding of
- key areas of focus and debate in theory-based game studies
- the methodological diversity used in theorising digital and non-digital games;
- the factors in play in the historical development of digital games (including business and economic context);
- the values at work in existing and self-created games;
- the ways that particular theoretical models channel defined perspectives on digital and non-digital games.
(B) Cognitive (thinking) Skills
- appraise and evaluate through comparative work the values of the types of theories and methodologies used in the critical analysis of digital and non-digital games;
- collate, organise and interpret data gained through researching theories, methodologies and developmental history of games;
- Develop well-rehearsed evaluative arguments supported by relevant data, examples and close analysis.
(C) Other Skills and Attributes (Practical/Professional/Transferable)
- able to communicate in written form with clarity and coherence and in well-structured way;
- able to research a given topic in depth and independently;
- able to organise research and plan writing to fulfil the set brief and in a timely way.
[edit] MAIN TOPICS OF STUDY
- History of the development of digital games including business and economic contexts
- Methodologies: quanatative v. qualatatitive approaches; psychological/cognitive; textual approaches, performance analysis, phenomenonlogical approaches; theorising the player and gameplay.
- Games as formal constructs: interpretation, structures, aesthetics, style, genre
- Remediation and intertexuality
- Play theory
- Case Study: ludology v. narratology – establishing digital game theory as an academic discipline
- Narrative and interactivity
- Flow and the Magic Circle
- Case study: applying theory to the experience of playing a MMoRPG.
[edit] TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS/STRATEGIES USED TO ENABLE THE ACHIEVEMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES
These might include lectures, seminars, tutorials, practicals, workshops, laboratories, distance learning, projects or other methods (please specify).
- Lectures provide outlines of major principles in the design of digital and non-digital games.
- Seminars provide students with the opportunity to discuss and test out ideas from lectures, reading, experience of playing games.
- Workshops provide students with the opportunity to engage with design problems and provide a forum for dealing with issues arising from the three small game project work.
- Tutorials provide students with feedback on their progress and quality of work.
- Distance learning through collaborative online play develops communication skills and provides material for collective discussion.
- Participation in online forums enables staff and students to dialogue, share ideas and good practice.
The University expects student learning hours to be a notional 10 hours per credit awarded (ie a 20 credit module would involve notional learning time of 200 hours) including taught classes, private study, revision and assessment. The University does not provide guidelines on the minimum number of contact hours per module because patterns of study, including the ratio of contact hours to self-study hours, are likely to vary across levels as learner autonomy increases.
Please indicate below the distribution of learning hours across this module:
50 hours taught classes and tutorials. 100 hours private study 100 hours assessment preparation 50 hours collective and solo gameplay activity
| ASSESSMENT METHODS WHICH ENABLE STUDENT TO DEMONSTRATE THE LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE | WEIGHTING |
| 1 x 3000 word essay | 50% |
| 1 x 3000 word essay | 50% |
[edit] INDICATIVE READING LIST
[edit] ESSENTIAL READING
- Barry Atkins, More than a Game: the computer game as fictional form. Manchester University Press, 2003.*
- Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska Tomb Raider and Space Invaders: videogame forms and contexts. IB Tauris, 2005.*
- Barry Atkins and Tanya Krzywinska (eds.), videogame/player/text. Manchester University Press, 2006.
- Espen Aaresth, Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. |John Hopkins University Press,1997.
- Jesper Juul, Half-Real: Videogames between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press, 2005.
- Marie-Laure Ryan, Narrative as Virtual reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media. John Hopkins University Press, 2001.
- Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press, 2000.
[edit] RECOMMENDED READING
- Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska (eds.) ScreenPlay: cinema/videogames/interfaces. Wallflower press, 2002.
- Angela Ndalianis, Neo-baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment. MIT Press, 2004.
- Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan (eds.) First Person: New media as Story, Performance and Game. MIT Press, 2005.
- Roger Caillois, Man, Play and Games. Illinois University Press, 2001.
- Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens: A Study of the play element in Culture. The Beacon Press, 1955.
- Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press, 2004.*
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The classic work on how to achieve Happiness. Rider, 2002.
- Frans Mayra (ed) CGDC Conference Proceedings, University of Tampere, 2002 (accessed from DiGRA library www.digra.org)
- Marinka Copier and Joost Raessens (eds) Level Up Digital Games Research Conference, 2003. (accessed DiGRA library, www.digra.org).
- Mark J Wolf and Bernard Perron (eds) The Videogame Theory Reader. Routledge 2003.
- Jo Bryce and Jason Rutter (eds.) Understanding Digital Games. Sage, 2006.
- TL Taylor, Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. MIT Press, 2006.
- Brenda Laurel, Computers as Theatre. Addison Wesley, 1991.
- Janet H Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 2001.
- Brian Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of Play. Harvard University Press, 1997.
[edit] OTHER
Games Studies (www.gamestudies.org) Intersections (http://www.intersection.co.nz/current.html)
