As an introduction to the field of game studies, this course has two purposes: (1) to introduce students to the theories and methods of studying video games that have gradually formed between the 20th and early 21st centuries; and (2) to show how and why video games matter to people and the world not simply as entertainment, but as a communicative medium. We will approach games from different disciplinary viewpoints, and from different moments in their production, distribution, and reception. Students will read theoretical texts, play games, take field notes of gameplay, and write blog entries and essays. No previous experience as a game player is necessary for participating in this class, but students must be willing to explore issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality within an educational framework.
All materials are available online through either the course reserves MRTS4410.002 or online journal articles.
You can borrow games and consoles from the UNT Media Library. Most of the items in the game collection can be checked out from the library for three days (checkout policies).
You can find a list of our game consoles and games with the following links. Use an advanced keyword search to limit to specific consoles or games.
Please contact the Media Library for more information (medialibrary@unt.edu)
UNT Students have access to game stations and gaming PCs in the Media Library located in Chilton Hall. These stations can be reserved for up to 4 hours and include the following game consoles:
The PC stations are Alienware Aurora R5s. Students have access to the following games & platforms but must use their own account to play their games.
All saved games on both PC and console should be saved to the cloud. Games not saved to the cloud might be removed.
If you are on campus, you can make a reservation at https://esports.library.unt.edu.
If you are off-campus, you will need to log into the UNT VPN.
If you have any questions or problems reserving a station, please contact the Media Library at (940)565-2480 during business hours.
(Course reserves are available here. The password is in your syllabus.)
Ian Bogost. 2011. “Intro,” “Conclusion,” and either “Art,” “Promotion,” “Relaxation” or Titillation” in How to Do Things With Video Games
Mia Consalvo. 2007. “Gaining Advantage: How Videogame Players Define and Negotiate Cheating” in Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames: pp. 83-105.
Roger Caillois. 2006. “The Definition of Play and The Classification of Games” in The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology, edited by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman: pp. 122-155.
Raph Koster. 2004. Chapters 2-5 in A Theory of Fun for Game Design: pp. 12-101.
Alexander R. Galloway. 2006. “Countergaming” in Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture: pp. 107-126
James Paul Gee. 2007. “Cultural Models: Do You Want to be the Blue Sonic or the Dark Sonic?” in What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy: pp. 145-177
Jesper Juul. 2005. “Video Games and the Classic Game Model” in Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds: pp. 23-54.
Aphra Kerr. 2017. “Production: Changing Production Logics, Organisations and Work/ers” in Global Games: Production, Circulation and Policy in the Networked Era: pp. 64-105.
Craig Alan Anderson and Karen E. Dill. 2000. "Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78, no. 4: pp. 772-90.
Ian Bogost. 2009. "Persuasive Games: The Proceduralist Style." Gamasutra, January 21.
Jenova Chen. 2007. "Flow in Games (and Everything Else)." Communications of the ACM 50, no. 4: pp. 31-34.
Shira Chess and Adrienne Shaw. 2015. “A Conspiracy of Fishes, or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 59:1, 208-220.
Janine Fron, Tracy Fullerton, Jacquelyn Ford Morie, and Celia Pearce. 2007. “The Hegemony of Play.” In Digital Gaming Research Association: Situated Play. Tokyo.
James Paul Gee. 2003. “What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.” ACM Computers in Entertainment, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Mark D. Griffiths and Filip Nuyens. 2017. “An Overview of Structural Characteristics in Problematic Video Game Playing.” F. Curr Addict Rep: pp. 1-12.
Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek. 2004. “MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research.” Game Design and Tuning Workshop at the Game Developers Conference, San Jose 2001-2004.
Carmen Mangiron and Minako O'Hagan. 2006. "Game Localization: Unleashing Imagination with 'Restricted' Translation." Journal of Specialized Translation, no. 6: pp. 10-21.
