IM082 Game Studies

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jaroslav Švelch, PhD. (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Jana Horáková, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Jana Horáková, Ph.D.
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Bc. Jitka Leflíková
Supplier department: Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each odd Monday 13:20–16:35 N21
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/100, only registered: 0/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course will give the students a deeper understanding of digital games as a new medium and of their place in our culture and society. Video game studies are a young discipline, still searching for its identity and methodology, and for the answer to the question of how games differ from other media and how they are similar. The lecture will offer many points of view: formal analysis, game design approaches, literary theory, ludology, cultural studies, media theory, political economy etc. Although we will mention game design strategie, this class will not teach students to make games, although a good knowledge of the medium can contribute to good design.
Syllabus
  • The history of video games and their study.
  • Game as activity and text. Game mechanics and its interpretation. The gaming experience: immersion, avatars, interface.
  • Gamers and game designers. Video game aesthetics, games as art, gaming culture.
  • Psychology, effects, controversy. Sociology of games, virtual worlds and MMORPGs.
Literature
  • Gee, J. P. 2005. Why video games are good for your soul: pleasure and learning. Altona: Common Ground Publishing.
  • Frasca, G. 2003. Ludologists love stories, too: notes from a debate that never took place.
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Friedman, T. 1999. Semiotics of Sim City. http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue4_4/friedman/index.html
  • 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.
  • Csíkszentmihályi, M. 1991. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper.
  • Úryvky z knihy Grand Theft Childhood: http://www.grandtheftchildhood.com/GTC/Excerpts/Excerpts.html
  • Fernandéz-Vara, C. 2008. Shaping Players Experience in Adventure Games. (nepublikováno)
  • Caillois, R. 1998. Hry a lidé. Praha: Nakladatelství studia Ypsilon.
  • Tolkien, J.R.R. On fairy stories.
  • Bogost, I. 2006. Unit Operations. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Lowood, H. 2005. High Performance Play: The Making Of Machinima in Clarke, A. – Mitchell, G. (eds.). Videogames and Art. Bristol: Intellect.
  • Kennedy, H. 2002. Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo. On the Limits of Textual Analysis, in Game Studies 02/2002. http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/kennedy/ (k dispozici je i český překlad)
  • Juul, J. 2007. A Certain Level of Abstraction. In Situated Play: DiGRA 2007 Conference Proceedings, Baba, A., ed. DiGRA Japan.
  • Článek o Everquest: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1899420.stm
  • Aarseth, E. 1997. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Nieborg, D. 2009. Political Economy of Video Games. (disertace)
  • Bogost, I. 2006. Unit Operations. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Ebert, R. Game vs. Art. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/COMMENTARY/70721001
  • Hawisher, G. - Selfe, C. (eds.) Gaming Lives In the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections,
  • 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.
  • Eskelinen, M. 2001. The Gaming Situation, in Game Studies 01/2001. www.gamestudies.org/0101/eskelinen.
  • Levy, S. 1984. Hackers. New York: Double Day.
  • Chaplin, H. – Ruby, A. 2006. Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution. New York: Algonquin Books.
  • Rossignol, J. 2008. This Gaming Life. Digital Culture Books.
  • Hunicke, M. et al. MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research.
  • Lakoff, G. - Johnson, M. 2002. Metafory, kterými žijeme. Brno: Host.
  • Bogost, I. 2008. Persuasive Games. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Murray, J. 1999. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Newman, J. 2004. Video Games. London: Routledge.
  • Bogost, I. 2006. Comparative Video Game Criticism. In Games And Culture 2006 1:41.
  • Galloway, A. R. 2006. Gaming: Essays On Algorithmic Culture. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota 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
  • Juul, J. 2005. Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
  • Huizinga, J. 2000. Homo ludens: o původu kultury ve hře. Praha: Dauphin.
  • Klevjer, R. 2008. Avatar. (disertace). http://folk.uib.no/smkrk/docs/RuneKlevjer_What%20is%20the%20Avatar_finalprint.pdf
Teaching methods
A lecture with discussions, gameplay examples and screenings.
Assessment methods
It is a humanities class, and therefore the students are not expected to have technical skills. However, good English is required as most of the readings are in English. Attendance should be near 100 %. Being a class about an interactive medium, interaction is expected and encouraged. For each class, the students will read assigned readings, which will be available on-line (20–30 pp.) Each student will write two assignments: a 3-5 page analysis of a game of her own choice and one paper (10–15 pp.) based on the literature. Students will be evaluated based on the quality of their papers and their work in the seminar.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2015, recent)
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