CMS.300/CMS.

841 Introduction to Videogame Studies

Fall 2010

Section L01: Section L02:
Lectures: Tuesday / Thursday 2.30-4pm Lectures: Tuesday / Thursday 2.30-4pm
Room 4-159 Room 8-119
Lab: Tuesdays 7-10pm, Lab: Thursdays 7-10pm,
Room NE25-373 Room NE25-373

Instructor: Clara Fernndez-Vara Instructor: Todd Harper
telmah@mit.edu tlharper@mit.edu

Available for consultation by Available for consultation by
appointment. appointment.


Class website
https://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/CMS/fa10/CMS.300/index.html

Course Summary
This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of videogames as texts
through an examination of their cultural, educational, and social functions in
contemporary settings. Students will play and analyze videogames while reading
current research and theory from a variety of sources in the sciences, social
sciences, humanities, and industry. The course requires regular reading, writing,
and presentation exercises. It is open to students from all disciplines and levels of
experience. Students taking the graduate version will complete additional
assignments.

Course Strategies
The goal of the course is to foster critical thinking with respect to videogames and
their context. Through the discussion of a variety of theoretical approaches, in the
context of a variety of videogames, students will gain insight on the properties and
potential of the medium and its socio-cultural context. Another goal is to expose
students to games that they are not familiar with, to extend and challenge their
perceptions of what videogames are. The lecture sessions will be devoted to
discussion of the assigned readings; the lab sessions will be dedicated to communal
game playing and presentations.

Requirements and Grading
The grading for this course is based on discussion of basic concepts, analysis, class
participation, presentations and written assignments. Students will be expected to
read the corresponding articles and book chapters and play games in preparation
for class discussions. Every week, students will have to post summaries of the
readings on the forum in the Stellar website.

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Grades will be based on:
- Class participation and in-class preparedness 20%
- Weekly Summaries: 10%
- Written Assignments 1: 10%
- Written Assignment 2: 20 %
- Written Assignment 3: 30%
- Presentation: 10%

Assignments
There will be a series of assignments that make up 80% of the grade. The specifics of
each assignment will be explained in more detail later in the course.

Weekly Summaries: Every Tuesday, students will have to submit a 100-word
summary or analysis of the readings for that week. A summary is a short description
of the topics or positions discussed by the authors, whereas an analysis aims at
finding a common thread among the texts and shows the relationships between
them. These analyses will be posted on the course website, in the forums section of
Stellar.

Written Assignment 1 (750-1000 words): Short analysis of a specific set of games.
Due October 4th in the homework section of Stellar.

Written Assignment 2 (1000-1200 words): Analytical comparison of two games.
Due November 10th in the homework section of Stellar.

Written Assignment 3 (1200-1500 words): The final assignment is an in-depth
analysis of one or more games, within a given set of topics and approaches. Due
December 9th in the homework section of Stellar.

Class Presentation: During the course, every student will have to give a presentation
on a specific videogame-related topic covered in the class readings (e.g. history,
technology, game culture). These presentations will be 10 minutes long; students
will have to sign up in advance for the topic they want to talk about.

About Your Written Exercises
For those students who may not feel confident about their writing, or are less
familiar with humanities essays, you can make an appointment at the MIT Writing
and Communication Center: http://writing.mit.edu/wcc

Plagiarism use of another's intellectual work without acknowledgement is a

serious offense. It is the policy of the CMS Faculty that students who plagiarize will
receive an F in the subject, and that the instructor will forward the case to the
Committee on Discipline. Full acknowledgement for all information obtained from
sources outside the classroom must be clearly stated in all written work submitted.
All ideas, arguments, and direct phrasings taken from someone else's work must be
identified and properly footnoted. Quotations from other sources must be clearly

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marked as distinct from the student's own work. For further guidance on the proper
forms of attribution, consult the style guides available in the Writing and
Communication Center (12-132) and the MIT Website on Plagiarism located at:
http://humanistic.mit.edu/wcc/avoidingplagiarism.

Attendance and Extensions Policy
Regular ant timely attendance is required to pass the coursenot only does it affect
the class participation grade, but the assignments also address issues that will be
discussed in class. More than two unjustified absences will disqualify the student
from passing the class.

Assignments are due on specific dates; extensions will only be granted if requested
one week in advance. Late assignments will not benefit from the peer critique, and
will be discounted a 10% of the total grade. This discount can be the difference
between a B and a C; the deadline should not be taken lightly.


Class Syllabus

THIS IS A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE. PLEASE CHECK THE CALENDAR ON

STELLAR FOR THE FINAL SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND LAB SESSIONS
https://stellar.mit.edu/S/course/CMS/fa10/CMS.300/calendar.html

Week 1

9/9/2010 Introduction to the Course

Week 2

9/14/2010 What are Games?

Huzinga, Johan. (1955): Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural

Phenomenon (Game Design Reader)

Caillois, Roger. (2006): The Definition of Play: The Classification of
Games. In: Salen, K. and E. Zimmerman. The game design reader: a
rules of play anthology. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Sutton-Smith, Brian. (2006): Play and Ambiguity. In: Salen, K. and E.
Zimmerman. The game design reader: a rules of play anthology.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

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9/16/2010 Videogames as a Medium

Murray, Janet (1998): Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge, MA: The

MIT Press. Chapter 3: From Additive to Expressive Form

Aarseth, Espen J. Cybertext (1997): Perspectives on Ergodic
Literature. The Johns Hopkins University Press. (Introduction: Ergodic
Literature)

Galloway, Alexander R. Gaming Action, Four Moments, in Gaming:
Essays On Algorithmic Culture. 1st ed. University of Minnesota Press,
2006. Print.


LAB Non-Digital Games

Week 3

9/21/2010 Rules & Fiction

Juul, Jesper (2005): half-real. Video Games between Real Rules and
Fictional Worlds. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press. (chapter 5: rules and
fiction)

Soren Johnson, Theme is not Meaning , Part I & II.

9/23/2010 Ludology vs Narratology

Frasca, Gonzalo (2003): Ludologists love stories too. Notes from a

debate that never took place.

Juul, Jesper (2001a): Games Telling Stories? A brief Note on Games
and Narratives. In: Game Studies, vol. 1, 1

Eskelinen, M. (2004). Towards Computer Game Studies. In First
Person : new media as story, performance, and game (pp. xiii, 331 p.).
Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

LAB The Origins of Games

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Week 4

9/28/2010 Simulations

Frasca, Gonzalo (2003): Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to

Ludology. In: Wolf, J.P. Mark / Perron, Bernard (eds.): The Video Game
Theory Reader.. New York and London: Routledge. 221-237.

Aarseth, E. J. (2005). Doors And Perception: Fiction vs. Simulation in
Games.

Juul, Jesper (2007): A Certain Level of Abstraction. In: Situated Play:
DiGRA 2007 Conference Proceedings, edited by Akira Baba, Tokyo:
DiGRA Japan, 2007.

9/30/2010 Narrative

Jenkins, Henry (2004): Game Design as Narrative Architecture. In:

Wardrip-Fruin, Noah / Harrigan, Pat (Eds.) First Person: New Media
as Story, Performance, and Game. (pp.118-130). Cambridge, MIT Press

Costikyan, Greg: Games, Storytelling and Breaking the String

LAB Game Analysis Guidelines

Week 5: Written assignment 1 due on Stellar, October 4.

10/5/2010 Player Experience: Agency

Murray, Janet (1998): Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge, MA: The

MIT Press. (Ch. 5 Agency)

10/7/2010 The Player: Types of Players

Bartle, Richard: Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players who suit

MUDS.

Yee, N. (2007). Motivations of Play in Online Games. Journal of
CyberPsychology and Behavior, 9, 772- 775.


Myers, D. (2008). Play and punishment: The sad and curious case of
Twixt. In S. Mosberg Iversen (Ed.) Proceedings of the [Player]
conference; Copenhagen, Denmark, August 26-29, 2008.

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Consalvo, Mia (2007): Cheating. Gaining Advantage in Videogames.
Cambridge MA. The MIT Press. (pp. 87-105, Players definitions of
cheating)

LAB TBA

Week 6

10/12/2010 Performance

Fernandez-Vara, Clara, Play's the Thing: A Framework to Study

Videogames as Performance.

Boal, Augusto (1979): Theatre of the Oppressed. In Wardrip-Fruin,
Noah, and Nick Montfort. (2003) The New Media Reader. The MIT
Press.

Taylor, T. L. & Witkowski, E. (2010, June). This is how we play it: what
a mega-LAN can teach us about games. Paper presented at the
Foundations of Digital Games 2010 Conference, Monterey, CA.

Frasca, Gonzalo. (2004) Videogames of the Oppressed.

10/14/2010 Player Experience: Immersion

Murray, Janet (1998): Hamlet on the Holodeck. Cambridge, MA: The

MIT Press. (Ch. 4 Immersion)

Cskszentmihlyi, Mihly (1990): Flow. The Psychology of Optimal
Experience. New York: Harper & Row. (chapter 3 + 4)

LAB Interfaces & Immersion

Week 7

10/19/2010 Formal Aspects: Rules and Systems

Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A Formal Approach
to Game Design and Game Research.

Church, D. (2006). Formal Abstract Design Tools. In K. Salen & E.
Zimmerman (Eds.), The Game Design Reader : a Rules of Play
Anthology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

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Bogost, I. (2007). Persuasive Games: the Expressive Power of
Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (pp. 242-243, graphical skins
and meanings).

10/21/2010 Value Systems

Flanagan, M, Howe, D. C., & Nissenbaum, H. (2005b). Values at Play:

Design Tradeoffs in Socially-Oriented Game Design. Proceedings of
CHI 2005. New York: ACM
Press, 751-760

Bogost, Ian (2007): Persuasive Games: the Expressive Power of
Videogames. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. (chapter 1: procedural
rhetoric)

Sicart, Miguel. (2009). The ethics of computer games. MIT Press.
(Excerpt)


LAB Serious Games

Week 8

10/26/2010 Game Spaces

Nitsche, M. (2009). Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in

3D Worlds. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Chapter 1)

Fernndez Vara, Clara, Jos Zagal and Michael Mateas Evolution Of
Space Configuration In Videogames. Changing Views: International
Digital Games Research Association Conference, Vancouver, Canada,
16th-20th June 2005.

Von Borries, F. / Walz, S.P. / Bttger, M. (2007): Space Time Play.
Computer Games, Architecture and Urbanism: The Next Level.
Birkhuser. (Excerpts)

10/28/2010 Virtual Worlds

Klastrup, L. (2003). A Poetics of Virtual Worlds.

Bartle, R. (2007). Making Places. In F. V. Borries, S. P. Walz, & M.

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 Bottger (Eds.), Space Time Play - Computer Games, Architecture and
Urbanism: The Next Level. Basel / Boston / Berlin: Birkhuser Verlag.


LAB Space in Games

Week 9

11/2/2010 Game Genres: Casual Games / Adventure Games

Juul, J. (2009). A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and

Their Players. The MIT Press. (Chapter 1)

Fernndez Vara, C. (2008). Shaping Player Experience in Adventure
Games: History of the Adventure Game Interface. In A. Fernandez, O.
Leino, & H. Wirman (Eds.), Extending Experiences. Rovaniemi:
Lapland University Press.

11/4/2010 Game History

Donovan, T. (2010). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant

Media Ltd. (Excerpt)

Camper, B. (2009). Retro reflexivity: La-Mulana, an 8-bit period piece.
In Perron & Wolf (Eds.), The Video Game Theory Reader 2 (169-195).
New York: Routledge.

Juul, J. (2010). A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and
their Players. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (pp. 106-107, A history of
game controllers)

LAB Game Technologies

Week 10 : Written assignment 2 due on Stellar, November 10.

11/9/2010 Game Technology

Montfort, N., & Bogost, I. (2009). Racing the Beam: The Atari Video
Computer System. The MIT Press. (Afterword)

11/11/2010 No class: Veterans Day holiday,

LAB N/A

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Week 11

11/16/2010 Game Culture: Criticism

Gillen, K. (n.d.). The New Games Journalism. Kieron Gillen's Workblog.

Abbot, Michael (n.d.). Backlash. The Brainy Gamer.

Bogost, Ian (2006): Comparative Video Game Criticism. Games and
Culture 1, no 1 (Jan)

Dutton, N., Consalvo, M., & Harper, T. (2009). 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.

11/18/2010 Game Culture: Identity & Representation

Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet.
Simon & Schuster, 1997. Print. (chapter 7)

Consalvo, M. & Harper, T. (2009). The sexi(e)st of all: avatars, gender,
and online games. In Panteli (Ed.), Virtual Social Networks: Mediated,
Massive and Multiplayer Sites (pp. 98-113). New York: Palgrave-
Macmillan.

Williams, D., Martins, N., Consalvo, M., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). The virtual
census: representations of gender, race and age in video games. New
Media and Society, 11 (5), 815-834.


LAB Presentations

Week 12

11/23/2010 Game Culture: Communities

Pearce, Celia, & Artemesia. (2009). Communities of Play: Emergent

Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds. The MIT Press.

Taylor, T. L. (2006). Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game
Culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (pp. 67-73, Beyond instrumental
play)

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Jakobsson, M. (2007). Playing with the rules: social and cultural
aspects of game rules in a console game club. Proceedings of the
Digital Games Research Association 2007 Conference.

11/25/2010 No class: Thanksgiving vacation.

LAB N/A

Week 13

11/30/2010 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.

Henry Jenkins, Coming up next: Ambushed on "Donahue"!

Goldstein, Jeffrey. Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent
Entertainment. Oxford University Press, USA, 1998. (Chapter: 3.
Immortal Kombat: War Toys and Violent Video Games)


12/2/2010 Game Culture: Gamer vs. Game Player

Juul, J. (2009). A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and

Their Players. The MIT Press. (Chapter 2)

Grossman, Dave, A Journey Across the Main Stream: Games for My
Mother-in-Law. Gamasutra.

Pearce, Celia. The Truth About Baby Boomer Gamers. Games and
Culture 3.2 (2008): 142 -174.

LAB TBA

Week 14

12/7/2010 Other Gaming Cultures: Japan, Korea

Donovan, T. (2010). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant

Media Ltd. (Excerpt)

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 Ashcraft, B. (2008). Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of
Japans Game Centers. New York: Kodansha International.

12/9/2010 Other Gaming Cultures: Europe

Donovan, T. (2010). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant

Media Ltd. (Excerpt)

Written assignment 3 due on Stellar, December 9

LAB Offbeat Japanese Games

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