Introduction to Videogame Studies

Readings

WEEK #	SES #	TOPICS	READINGS	KEYWORDS
1		Introduction to the Course		Play / Playfulness Meaningful Play Magic Circle Play as Contest
2	2	Defining Games	Huizinga, John. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Roy Press, 1955. (Humanitas, Beacon Reprints in Humanities). ISBN: 9780807046814.
3	3	Defining Games (cont.)	Caillois, Roger. Man, Play and Games. University of Illinois Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780252070334. [Preview with Google Books]
	4	Games as Digital Media	Murray, Janet. “From Additive to Expressive Form.” Chapter 3 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877. Galloway, Alexander R. “Gaming Action, Four Moments.” In Gaming: Essays On Algorithmic Culture. 1st ed. University of Minnesota Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780816648504.
4	5	Games as Cybertexts	Aarseth, Espen J. “Introduction: Ergodic Literature.” In Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780801855795. [Preview with Google Books] Ryan, M. -L. “Beyond Myth and Metaphor: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media.” Game Studies 1, no. 1 (2001).	Cybertexts Text Cybertext Narrative Ergodic
	6	The Social Contract of Games	Sniderman, S. “Unwritten Rules.” In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Edited by E. Zimmerman and K. Salen. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262195362. Myers, D. “Play and Punishment: The Sad and Curious Case of Twixt.” In Proceedings of the [Player] Conference. Edited by S. Mosberg Iversen. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008.	Unwritten rules vs Written Rules Literacy Spoilsport
5	7	Cheating	Consalvo, Mia. Chapter 4 in Cheating. Gaining Advantage in Videogames. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262033657. [Preview with Google Books]	Cheating Gaming Capital Paratexts Unwritten rules vs hard / soft rules
	8	Player Experience: Agency	Murray, Janet. “Agency.” Chapter 5 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877.	Agency Narrative Embedded / Emergent Storytelling
6	9	Games as Narrative	Juul, Jesper. “Games Telling Stories? – A brief Note on Games and Narratives.” Game Studies 1, no. 1 (2001). Costikyan, G. “Games, Storytelling and Breaking the String.” In Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media. Edited by P. Harrigan and N. Wardrip-Fruin. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262083560.
7	10	Player Experience: Immersion	Murray, Janet. “Immersion.” Chapter 4 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877. Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály. Chapters 3 and 4 in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row, 1990.	Immersion Transitional Objects Liminal Space Avatar Flow Enjoyment
	11	Types of Players	Bartle, Richard. “Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDS.” Journal of MUD Research 1 (1996). Yee, N. “Motivations of Play in Online Games.” Journal of CyberPsychology and Behavior 9, no. 6 (2006): 772–5.	Achievers / Explorers / Socializers / Killers MUD / MOO / MUSH Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
8	12	Hardcore vs. Casual Players	Juul, Jesper. Chapter 1 in A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262013376. [Preview with Google Books] Baker, N. “Painkiller Deathstreak: Adventures in Videogames.” The New Yorker, August 9, 2010.	Casual vs Hardcore Players Casual Games Mimetic Interfaces (Game Space) Socially Embeddable
	13	Identity	Turkle, S. Chapter 7 in Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN: 9780684833484.	Persona vs. Avatar vs. Player Character
9	14	Representation	Consalvo, M., and T. Harper. “The Sexi(e)st of all: Avatars, Gender, and Online Games.” In Virtual Social Networks: Mediated, Massive and Multiplayer Sites. Edited by Panteli. Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009, pp. 98–113. ISBN: 9780230229280. Williams, D., N. Martins, et al. “The Virtual Census: Representations of Gender, Race and Age in Video Games.” New Media and Society 11, no. 5 (2009): 815–34.
	15	Games as Systems	Hunicke, R., M. LeBlanc, et al. “MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research.” (PDF) Church, D. “Formal Abstract Design Tools.” In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Edited by K. Salen and E. Zimmerman. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262195362.	Procedural Participatory  Interactive / Agency Spatial Encyclopedic Immersive Scripting the Interactor Diegetic / Non-Diegetic Operator / Interactor
10	16	Fictional Worlds	Juul, Jesper. “Fiction.” Chapter 4 in Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262101103. Klastrup, L. “A Poetics of Virtual Worlds.” Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Melbourne, 2003.	Fictional World / Fiction Virtual Worlds “Worldness” Incoherent Worlds Persistent Representation
	17	Games as Simulations	Frasca, Gonzalo. “Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology.” In The Video Game Theory Reader. Edited by Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron. Routledge, 2003, pp. 221–37. ISBN: 9780415965798. Aarseth, E. J. “Doors And Perception: Fiction vs. Simulation in Games.” Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Copenhagen, 2005. (PDF - 2.0MB)	Simulation vs Representation Manipulation rules
11	18	Game Spaces	Jenkins, Henry. “Game Design as Narrative Architecture.” In First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan. MIT Press, 2004, pp. 118–30. ISBN: 9780262232326. Nitsche, M. Chapter 1 in Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262141017. [Preview with Google Books]	Videogame space: rule-based, mediated, fictional, play, social Embedded vs Emergent Narrative Evocative Narrative Elements Evocacive Spaces Micronarratives
	19	Games as Performance	Boal, Augusto. “Theatre of the Oppressed.” In The New Media Reader. Edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Monfort. MIT Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780262232272. Frasca, Gonzalo. Videogames of the Oppressed. 2004.
12	20	Value Systems	Flanagan, M., D. C. Howe, and H. Nissenbaum. “Values at Play: Design Tradeoffs in Socially-Oriented Game Design.“In Proceedings of CHI 2005. ACM Press, 2005, pp. 751–60. (PDF) Bogost, Ian. “Procedural Rhetoric.” Chapter 1 in Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262026147. [Preview with Google Books]
13	21	Game Aesthetics	Camper, B. “Retro Reflexivity: La-Mulana, An 8-bit Period Piece.” In The Video Game Theory Reader 2. Edited by Bernard Perron and Mark J.P. Wolf. Routledge, 2008, pp. 169–95. ISBN: 9780415962827. [Preview with Google Books]
	22	Criticism and Journalism	Gillen, K. “The New Games Journalism.” Kieron Gillen’s Workblog. Dutton, N., M. Consalvo, T. Harper. “Digital Pitchforks and Virtual Torches: Fan Responses to the Mass Effect News Debacle.” Paper presented at the Association of Internet Researchers 10.0 Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2009.
14	23	Game Culture: Communities	Pearce, Celia, and Artemesia. Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262162579. [Preview with Google Books] Jakobsson, M., and T. L. Taylor. “The Sopranos Meets EverQuest-Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games.” Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Melbourne, 2003. (PDF)
	24	Game Culture: Violence	Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. Simon & Schuster, 2008. ISBN: 9780743299510. [Preview with Google Books] Goldstein, Jeffrey. “Immortal Kombat: War Toys and Violent Video Games.” Chapter 3 in Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment. Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780195118216. [Preview with Google Books]