Course detail
Game Studies
FaVU-1HS-ZAcad. year: 2019/2020
The course is organized into four-hour classes, which will take place during the semester 7 times, every 14 days. Every four-hour class will include a lecture, followed with a discussion focused on the subject matter.
For each lesson (except for the first one), students will have a task of reading one text (available in electronic form from the study materials), which we later be discussed. For some lessons, some students will also prepare short text (1 to 2 norm pages), which will also serve as a contribution to the discussion.
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Mode of study
Guarantor
Department
Learning outcomes of the course unit
- to characterize the historical development of thinking about computer games and describe the stages of the emergence of this medium
- to define and analyze the basic specific elements of computer game media
- to use key concepts created and applied within the field of game studies (eg immersion, flow, procedural rhetoric, etc.)
- to analyze computer game media from several general scientific perspectives (gaming psychology, philosophy, aesthetics, narratology, ideology research).
Prerequisites
Co-requisites
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes
Course curriculum
- development of media from the 1950s to the present
- the relationship between computer and classic games
- game genres development
- intertextual and intermedia links and influences
- cultural status and legitimation of games
What is a computer game; game studies emergence:
- definition of games
- game philosophy (Huizinga, Caillois, Sutton-Smith, Sicart, etc.)
- game studies emergence and areas of its interest
- ludology vs. naratology
Game aesthetics - game elements and their effects on players 1:
- game mechanics
- flow
- immersion
- game space
- visuality of games
- game kinaesthetics
Game aesthetics - game elements and their effects on players 2:
- narration
- procedural rhetoric
- self-reflexivity of games
- avatar
- game themes
Technique, production, distribution:
- game economics, gaming industry
- AAA games vs. independent games
- history of game technology
- institutional history
Research (culture and psychology) of players:
- psychology, sociology, (auto) player ethnography
- player typology
- question of dependence
- positive cognitive and therapeutic effects of games
- MMO games as a specific phenomenon
- gaming paratext and player fan practices (letsplaye, cheat, etc.)
Games and society:
- representation of minorities and gender in games
- violence and war games
- games and history representations
- political, educational and generally serious games
Work placements
Aims
Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences
Recommended optional programme components
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/ (k dispozici je i český překlad)
Galloway, A. R. 2006. Gaming: Essays On Algorithmic Culture. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press.
Hawisher, G. - Selfe, C. (eds.) Gaming Lives In the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections,
Fernandéz-Vara, C. 2008. Shaping Players Experience in Adventure Games. (nepublikováno)
Bogost, I. 2006. Unit Operations. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Lowood, H. 2006. A Brief Biography Of Computer Games. In in Vorderer, P. – Bryant, J. (eds.) Playing Video Games:
Motives, Responses, and Consequences. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lee, K. M. – Peng, W. 2006. What Do We Know About Social and Psychological Effects of Computer Games? A
Comprehensive Review of the Current Literature in Vorderer, P. – Jennings, B. (eds.) 2006) Playing Video Games: Motives,
Responses and Consequences. N
Jenkins, H. 2004. Game Design as Narrative Architecture in Wardrip-Fruin, N. – Pat Harrigan (eds.) First Person: New
Media as Story, Performance, Game. Cambridge: MIT Press.
http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/games&narrative.html.
Levy, S. 1984. Hackers. New York: Double Day.
Lakoff, G. - Johnson, M. 2002. Metafory, kterými žijeme. Brno: Host.
Murray, J. 1999. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Nieborg, D. 2009. Political Economy of Video Games. (disertace)
Chaplin, H. – Ruby, A. 2006. Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution.
New York: Algonquin Books.
Bogost, I. 2006. Unit Operations. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Newman, J. 2004. Video Games. London: Routledge.
Bogost, I. 2006. Comparative Video Game Criticism. In Games And Culture 2006 1:41.
Úryvky z knihy Grand Theft Childhood: http://www.grandtheftchildhood.com/GTC/Excerpts/Excerpts.html
Článek o Everquest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1899420.stm
Eskelinen, M. 2001. The Gaming Situation, in Game Studies 01/2001. www.gamestudies.org/0101/eskelinen.
Huizinga, J. 2000. Homo ludens: o původu kultury ve hře. Praha: Dauphin.
Poole, S. 2004. Trigger Happy. London: Fourth Estate.
Lamoureux, M. 8-Bit Primitive: A Hommage to Atari 2600 in Compton, S. (ed.) 2004. Gamers. New York: Soft Skull Press.
Klevjer, R. 2008. Avatar. (disertace). http://folk.uib.no/smkrk/docs/RuneKlevjer_What%20is%20the
%20Avatar_finalprint.pdf
Juul, J. 2005. Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Williams, D. 2006. A Brief Social History Of Gameplay. In in Vorderer, P. – Bryant, J. (eds.) Playing Video Games: Motives,
Responses, and Consequences. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. dmitriwilliams.com/WilliamsSocHist.doc
Ebert, R. Game vs. Art. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/COMMENTARY/70721001
Aarseth, E. 1997. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Frasca, G. 2003. Ludologists love stories, too: notes from a debate that never took place.
Gee, J. P. 2005. Why video games are good for your soul: pleasure and learning. Altona: Common Ground Publishing.
Juul, J. 2007. A Certain Level of Abstraction. In Situated Play: DiGRA 2007 Conference Proceedings, Baba, A., ed. DiGRA Japan
Lowood, H. 2005. High Performance Play: The Making Of Machinima in Clarke, A. – Mitchell, G. (eds.). Videogames and
Art. Bristol: Intellect.
Tolkien, J.R.R. On fairy stories.
Hunicke, M. et al. MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research.
Friedman, T. 1999. Semiotics of Sim City. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_4/friedman/index.html
Rossignol, J. 2008. This Gaming Life. Digital Culture Books.
Caillois, R. 1998. Hry a lidé. Praha: Nakladatelství studia Ypsilon.
Csíkszentmihályi, M. 1991. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper.
Bogost, I. 2008. Persuasive Games. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Recommended reading
Classification of course in study plans
- Programme VUB Bachelor's
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-D , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-VT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 2 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 3 year of study, winter semester, elective
branch VU-IDT , 4 year of study, winter semester, elective