👾 MEDIAART 3KO3 - Game Studies (Fall 2023)
In-person undergraduate lecture, McMaster University, Communication and Media Arts Department, 2023
A third-year undergraduate in-person lecture focused on introducing the field of game studies to students. Assessment methods included reading presentations, a weekly game analysis journal, a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, and a final research production project (game prototype, podcast, or video essay).
Course Summary This course explores many of the significant theories, perspectives, and debates that have arisen within the field of game studies since its inception during the early 2000s. Every week, students will learn new methods for critically analyzing videogames and their surrounding culture using a wide variety of theoretical frameworks (ecocritical, queer, postcolonial, crip, anti-capitalist, etc.). In addition to reviewing key game studies texts, every week, students will engage in/with critical playthroughs of a selection of conceptually relevant games. By the end of the course, students will come away with a diverse toolkit of techniques and language for understanding the unique formal, aesthetic, narrative, and thematic properties of videogames in a variety of platforms and genres. Important Links Mosaic Avenue to Learn Student Accessibility Services - Accommodations McMaster University Library eReserves Course Learning Outcomes Develop and apply critical reading skills through consistent weekly engagement with assigned game studies texts. Develop and apply game analysis and criticism skills through consistent weekly engagement with lecture material (slides, critical Let’s Plays of select videogames, video essays, etc.) and class discussion. Write an effective proposal for a game studies research project that clearly demonstrates knowledge of significant concepts and/or theories within the field. Collect and assess a small group of game studies publications to be included in