Course introduction

Getting started on ‘Computer Games, Gaming Culture and Education’

Here is information about the first few weeks of the course. Get to Blackboard ASAP to contribute to the forum, chat with classmates, and access more course information.

Explore ’game studies’ by visiting the Digital Games Research Association’s digital library at http://www.digra.org/dl. Try entering terms in the search box (‘education’ or ‘learning’ or ‘gender’ or ‘narrative’ or ‘cheating’ for example).

See also Games Studies, Eludamos, Games and Culture, Loading…

You might find this interesting too – a recent programme from BBC 4. Gameswipe and this…

Set reading from the start of term:

By the 19th, Chapters 1, 3, 4 Computer Games: Text, Narrative and Play. Carr, D., Buckingham, D., Burn, A. and Schott, G. Cambridge: Polity

19th – 26th (see details below) Juul 2003; Salen and Zimmerman 2003 – your first ‘task’ is on these readings.

26th – 2nd November. Frasca on simulations, plus chapter 6 of the set text. Details at Blackboard.

Getting started

Play! You will need to buy or borrow at least one of the following games to get started. The list is negotiable…(post alt suggestions to the forum at Blackboard)

Tomb Raider: Legend (PlayStation or PC version – it plays better and easier on a console)

Harry Potter (any of the games in the series)

Grand Theft Auto III (or Grand Theft Auto San Andreas or Grand Theft Auto IV.)

The Sims

Sid Meier’s Civilization III

Resident Evil IV (easier to play on a console, but a PC version is available).

World of Warcraft (http://www.wow-europe.com/en/index.xml – note that you will have to buy the game, and then pay a monthly subscription to play this incredibly popular game).

RuneScape – another online Role Playing Game – this one is basic, but it’s free. http://www.runescape.com/

Any of the Baldur’s Gate series, Final Fantasy series, the Silent Hill series, the Oddworld games.

POST ‘Ice Breaker’ Game Diary and introduction by the 19th  : Start playing the game that you have purchased. Jot down a few notes after each play session. Is it hard? Fun? Boring? Frustrating? Are you getting better at it? How does it feel? Post excerpts from the diary to the relevant thread in the Discussion Board area – along with a short biographic note to introduce yourself to the class.

Tips – where do people buy games? Go to www.allgame.com for background information on these titles. Outlets like Game and CEX have new and second hand games (both have branches close to the IOE). To shop online, try www.play.com and Amazon. Some libraries or DVD rentals have games. Or borrow them from friends or family. Email us if you have questions.

Set task: 19th – 26th October

Required Reading:

1. Juul, J. (2003) ‘The game, the player, the world: looking for a heart of gameness’ DiGRA Level Up Conference Proceedings, Utrecht, November 2003 online at http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05163.50560

2. Salen, K. Zimmerman, E (2003) ‘This is not a game: play in cultural environments’. DiGRA Level Up Proceedings Utrecht, Netherlands: Utrecht University, 2003. http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05163.47569.pdf.

Continue to play your game(s) and complete the following task:

TASK: Look to the articles by Juul, and Salen and Zimmerman. What makes the game you are playing, a game? Is it a game? Be specific, and use the criteria proposed in these readings (300 words, max).

Post your answers to ‘Is it a game?’ forum at Blackboard by the 26th of October

If you get stuck, email us!

Computer Games, Gaming Cultures and Education

Millions of people regularly play computer and video games, and during the past decade there has been an explosion of innovative research in the area of Game Studies. Students of this course will analyse games, research player culture, and explore current games and education debates. The course will cover:

• Game definitions and genre
• Narrative and games
• The relationship between games and other popular media
• Play, player culture and online communities
• Representations, identity, gender and fandom
• Learning in games, and within game communities
• The use of games and virtual worlds by teachers
• The place of games within the Media Studies curriculum
• The meaning and acquisition of ‘game literacy’
• Drama, Role-Play and Learning
• Game research methodology

This MA level course is aimed at anyone interested in studying games, play and education. The course combines distance learning with 2 days of face-to-face teaching. The course tutors, Diane Carr and Andrew Burn, have researched, taught and published extensively on the topics of games, players and media education.

The course can be taken on its own, as part of the Institute of Education’s MA in Media, Culture and Communications, or as a 30 credit optional module on many of the IOE’s MA’s.
For more information contact Diane Carr (d.carr@ioe.ac.uk)