Brunel University MA Digital Games: Socio-cultural Contexts
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
Date syllabus written or revised: November 2005
[edit] MAIN AIMS OF THE MODULE
- To evaluate the relationships between socio-cultural contexts within which games are made and consumed and the formal content of games.
- To explore theories of pleasure in relation to gameplay and their implications.
- To analyse the socio-cultural, economic and industrial forces that shape the content of games and their existing markets.
- To evaluate the terms of so-called ‘effects’ theory and alternative approaches to the relationships between games and behaviours.
- To investigate multiple-player games as social worlds
- To explore games as cultural constructs in relation to socio-cultural constructions of gender and identity.
[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
- Debates around and theories of the socio-cultural place of digital games.
- The limits and motivated concerns of ‘effects’ theory
- The particular modes and issues arising from multi-player games as social environments
- Issues of gender and identity in relation to digital games
- Theories of pleasure relating to gameplay, performance and competition
(B) Cognitive (thinking) Skills
- appraise and evaluate through comparative work the values of the types of theories and methodologies used in the socio-cultural analysis of digital and non-digital games;
- collate, organise and interpret data gained through researching theories, methodologies and approaches to the socio-cultural implications 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 in a timely way.
[edit] MAIN TOPICS OF STUDY:
- Games as socio-cultural artefacts;
- Socio-cultural contexts that influence the shape of digital games;
- The impact of games on popular culture, games as popular culture;
- Industrial and institutional contexts;
- Games outside the commercial/popular domain;
- Multiplayer games as social worlds;
- Gender and identity in relation to digital games;
- ‘effects’ theory and the stakes in analysing the impact of games on behaviour;
- Fantasy, presence, reality….the strange case of games
- Technologies of the ‘self’
- Modality and violence;
- Sociological studies of gamers and gaming culture;
[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 approaches to the theorising of digital and non-digital games as socio-cultural artefacts.
- Seminars provide students with the opportunity to discuss and test out ideas from lectures, reading, and in relation to students’ own experiences of playing games.
- Student-led seminars provide opportunities to represent topics for open discussion on the socio-cultural aspects of games.
- 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 evaluation through theoretical frameworks and broader concerns about the influence of playing games on culture.
- Participation in online forums enables staff and students to dialogue, share ideas and good practice, and apply ideas to students’ own practice-based work.
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 plus 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] 1 ESSENTIAL READING
(*Purchase advised)
Geoff King and Tanya Krzywinska Tomb Raider and Space Invaders: videogame forms and contexts. IB Tauris, 2005.*
Jesper Juul, Half-Real: Videogames between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press, 2005.
TL Taylor, Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture. MIT Press, 2006.
Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins, From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. MIT Press, 1999.
Marsha Kinder, Playing with Power. California University Press, 1991.
Sherry Turkle, Life on the screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. Simon Schuster, 1995.
Ralph Schroeder (ed.), The Social Life of Avatars: Presence and Interaction in shared Virtual Environments. Springer Press, 2002.
Gary Alan Fine, Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds. Chicago University Press, 1983.
Barry Atkins and Tanya Krzywinska (eds.), videogame/player/text. MUP, 2006.
Brad King and John Borland, Dungeons and Dreamers. McGraw Hill, 2003.
David Kushner, Masters of Doom. Piaktus, 2003.
Jon Dovey and Helen Kennedy, Games Cultures: Computer Games as New Media. OUP, 2006.
[edit] 2 RECOMMENDED READING
Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press, 2004.*
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.
Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano, Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill. Crown Press, 1999.
Daniel Mackay, The Fantasy Role-Playing Game: A new performing art. McFarlane, 2001.
Marie Winn, The Plug-In Drug: television, computers and family life. Penguin, 2002.
Stephen Kline et al., Digital Play: The interaction of technology, culture and marketing. McGill-Queen’s University press,2003.
[edit] 3. OTHER
games and culture (sage)
