Admission requirements
Game Studies Minor students get priority. If there are seats left, we will also welcome participants from outside the Minor.
Description
This 13-week course centers on analyzing video games as cultural artifacts, focusing on two game series: 'The Life is Strange Series' by developer DON’T NOD and the 'Assassin’s Creed Series' by UbiSoft (tentative). You will delve deep into the gameplay experience of these games, while also examining their broader cultural and societal significance. This exploration will take place through in-class lectures, discussions, tutorials, practical sessions, as well as independent study involving readings on game studies and exploring game-related materials. Crucially, you'll engage with these concepts by playing the two games, documenting your experiences, and analyzing both your own and others' interactions with them.
By doing so, you will apply the foundational concepts and methodologies introduced in the first semester of the Game Studies Minor. The initial part of the course delves into your personal gaming experiences, utilizing video game auto-ethnography and paratextual analysis to facilitate entry points, while referring to core game studies and analytical principles. Emphasizing the role of the self-as-player as a primary analytical framework, you'll explore, analyze, and effectively communicate gameplay experiences. The latter segment of the course introduces research techniques for dissecting others' gameplay, encompassing focus group discussions, surveys, and participant observation. These combined methodologies furnish you with a comprehensive toolkit for analyzing games, forming a robust foundation for continued studies in game-related fields such as game studies, game media, and game analytics. Additionally, this course offers valuable support for those interested in user-focused analytics within other forms of interactive digital media.
Course objectives
Develop knowledge of a range of specific theoretical concepts and insights relevant for game analysis.
Reflect on and gain proficiency with a variety of research methods, developing a diverse methodological toolset for conducting game analysis.
Learn to critically engage with academic and non-academic video game paratexts to evaluate games as cultural objects.
Learn how to understand and communicate your own gameplay in relation to games as a broader, cultural experience.
Learn the basics of game reviewing.
Select methods and propose an integrated research approach for a deep-dive analysis of a specific game.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Course Notebook
Game Review
Research proposal
Weighing
Course Notebook 20%
Game Review 40%
Research proposal 40%
Resit
Resit option available for the short paper and research proposal
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
The reading list will be announced on Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office. À la carte education and Contract Teaching not applicable.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Are you worried if you have the right equipment or abilities to play the selected games? Please contact one of the instructors and we will do our best to answer your questions and work with you to resolve any issues.