COURSE DESCRIPTION AND APPLICATION INFORMATION
| Course Name | Code | Semester | T+A+L (hour/week) | Type (C / O) | Local Credit | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video Game Cultures | KHAS 1342 | Spring | 03+00+00 | Elective | 3 | 5 |
| Academic Unit: | Department of Core Academics – Core Program |
| Mode of Delivery: | Face to face |
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Course Unit: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | - - |
| Course Objectives: | The course aims to develop skills on how to - define and describe video games - analyse its narrative and aesthetics - develop a critical understanding to video games / cultures / players - analyse the discourse, politics of representation in a video game in terms of socio-political and ethical perspectives. - describe their experiences of video games (especially when assigned different digital subjectivities) |
| Course Contents: | From Tetris to Massively Multiplayer Online Games, videogames, as both culture and cultural artifact(s), can tell us a lot about our increasingly networked world. The aim of this course is to build a critical understanding for video games content, culture, players by raising social, psychological, and ethical questions. The program offers students opportunities to explore their interests and experiences in dept with the help of documentaries, discussions, and academic research. Through the course, students will be assigned several game(s) to play and/or watch their trailer, share their experiences / analysis during in-class discussions and debate groups. Summary and reflection to weekly readings will pave the way for them to question the matters academically by developing their research question. The main project of the class is to prepare a Video Game Review Booklet as a class, composed of presentations including digital subjectivities they have experienced through games where each student describes, analyses, and raises a critical question to discuss about the game. |
| Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit (LO): |
|
| Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods: | Lectures & Discussion and Debate Sessions ● 60-90 min. of lectures per week ● 90 min of discussion and debate / group work per week Reading and Writing Sessions ● Reading / Summary – reflection of weekly assigned articles ● 1. Video Game Concept Design 2. Quiz 3.Video Game Research Proposal 4. Video Game Research Paper (Final) |
WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATIONS
| Week | Subjects | Related Preperation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to the Course and Syllabus What is a game? | Videogames: The Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ryn7qm3CvI (0:00 – 4:21) Activity: Personal History of Games |
| 2 | What is a gameplay? What are video game genres? | Minecraft: The Story of Mojang https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBF2ugTzXqQ (07:30-10:40) |
| 3 | Video Game Aesthetics and why we play video games Presentation 1: Video games as experience | The Aesthetics of Play – Why we play games and the Search for Truth and Beauty in Game Design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lONsZwjVDzg “Video Games as Experience” (Video Games As Culture, Muriel & Crawford) |
| 4 | Narratives in Video Games Presentation 2: Video Games – Empathy & Identification | Storytelling Tools to Boost your Indie Game’s Narrative and Gameplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXE-E1hjKk “Video Games Beyond Escapism: Empathy and Identification” (Video Games as Culture, Muriel & Crawford) |
| 5 | Video Game Players and Pleasures / Competition vs. Cooperation Presentation 3: Video Gamers and Identity | “Video Gamers and (post)Identity” (Video Games as Culture, Muriel & Crawford) |
| 6 | Video Game Players: Agency and Communities Presentation 4: Video Games and Agency | “Video Games and Agency within Neoliberalism and Participatory Culture” (Video Games as Culture, Muriel & Crawford) |
| 7 | Video Games and Identity: Gender Presentation 5: Representation of Women Video Game Concept Design 1 | “Introduction: Identity, Representation, and Video Game Studies beyond the Politics of the Image.” “I Turned Out to Be Such a Damsel in Distress: Noir Games and the Unrealized Femme Fatale.” (Gaming Representation: Race, Gender and Sexuality in Video Games) |
| 8 | Video Games and Identity: Race, Ethnicity and Disability Presentation 6: Representation and Race Video Game Concept Design 2 | “Game Studies and the Racial Imagination” (Aghora et. al, Video Games and Humanities) “Representing Race and Disability: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas As a Whole Text.” (Gaming Representation, Malkowski & Russworm) |
| 9 | Video Games and Horror: Zombies Presentation 7: Resident Evil | “Zombies, Zombies Everywhere: What is one to think” (The Playful Undead and Video Games) “Resident Evil and Infectious Fear” (The Playful Undead and Video Games) |
| 10 | Ethical Dimensions of Digital Games Quiz Deadline: April 15, 2023 | Games and Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures. Video Game Research Paper Proposal (Research Paper Question /Game(s) / Reference List) |
| 11 | Video Games and Counterfactual History Presentation 8: Counterfactual History Video Game Research Proposal | “Shaping the Past: The Surround and Practice of Making Games about the Past.” (Games and Ethics) Feedback |
| 12 | Gamification of Power and Violence Debate Video Game Research Proposal | “Gamification of Terror: Power Games as Liminal Spaces” (Games and Ethics) Feedback |
| 13 | Labour Day | No Class |
| 14 | Video Games and Politics Debate Video Game Research Proposal Deadline: Video Game Research Paper | “Playing War and Genocide: Endgame: Syria and Darfur is Dying” (Understanding Popular Culture and World Politics in the Digital Age) Feedback |
At Kadir Has University, a Semester is 14 weeks; The weeks 15 and 16 are reserved for final exams.
REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED READING
| Aghora, N. Filippaki, I. Kempshall, C. MacCallum-Stewart, E. McCall, J. and Pöhlmann, S. (2022). “Game Studies and the Racial Imagination” in Video Games and Humanities Vol. 8: The World is Born from Zero. Auchter, J. (2016). “Playing War and Genocide: Endgame: Syria and Darfur is Dying” In Hamilton, C. and Shepherd, L. (Eds.), Understanding Popular Culture and World Politics in the Digital Age. London: Routledge. Groen, M., Kiel, N., Tillmann, A. And Weßel, A.,(2020). Games and Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures. Berlin: Springer. Malkowski, J. and Russworm, M. (2017). Gaming Representation: Race, Gender and Sexuality in Video Games. (Eds.). USA: Indiana University Press. Muriel, D. & Crawford, G. (2018). Video Games As Culture: Considering the Role and Importance of Video Games in Contemporary Society. London and NY: Routledge. Webley, S. J. & Zackariasson, P. (2020). The Playful Undead and Video Games: Critical Analysis of Zombies and Gameplay. Aghora, N. Filippaki, I. Kempshall, C. MacCallum-Stewart, E. McCall, J. and Pöhlmann, S. (2022). Video Games and Humanities Vol. 7: Shaping the Past, Counterfactual History and Game Design Practice in Digital Strategy Games. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. |
OTHER COURSE RESOURCES
| Storytelling Tools to Boost Your Indie Game's Narrative and Gameplay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXE-E1hjKk Video Game Trailers – YouTube |
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA
| Semester Requirements | Number | Percentage of Grade (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance / Participation | 1 | 10 |
| Homework Assignments | 2 | 25 |
| Presentation / Jury | 1 | 15 |
| Midterms / Oral Exams / Quizes | 1 | 10 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 40 |
| Total: | 6 | 100 |
WORKLOAD
| Events | Count | Duration (Hours) | Total Workload (hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Hours | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Practice / Exercise | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Project | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Homework Assigments | 2 | 10 | 20 |
| Preparation for Presentation / Jury | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Extra-Class Activities (reading,individiual work, etc.) | 11 | 3 | 33 |
| Total Workload (hour): | 125 | ||
1 ECTS = 25 Hours Workload
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (LO) AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS (PQ)
| # | PQ1 | PQ2 | PQ3 | PQ4 | PQ5 | PQ6 | PQ7 | PQ8 | PQ9 | PQ10 |
| LO1 | ||||||||||
| LO2 | ||||||||||
| LO3 | ||||||||||
| LO4 | ||||||||||
| LO5 |
Contribution: 1 Low, 2 Average, 3 High