124260 KO Critical Media Analysis (2025S)
"It's just a game"? - Analyzing Narrative Indie Games
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Labels
An/Abmeldung
Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").
- Anmeldung von Mo 10.02.2025 00:00 bis Mo 24.02.2025 12:00
- Abmeldung bis Mo 31.03.2025 23:59
Details
max. 30 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch
Lehrende
Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert
- Mittwoch 05.03. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 19.03. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 26.03. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 02.04. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 09.04. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- N Mittwoch 30.04. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 07.05. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 14.05. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 21.05. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 28.05. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 04.06. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 11.06. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 18.06. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
- Mittwoch 25.06. 18:15 - 19:45 Helene-Richter-Saal UniCampus Hof 8 3G-EG-21
Information
Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung
The false dichotomy of whether video games are a ludic or narrative medium, a (former) point of contention within modern game studies, seems rather quaint in 2025. Yet even today, the popular belief of video games as simply a “fun pastime”, in which stories are a dispensable add-on, persists – a depoliticizing portrayal that is challenged by scholars, game creators, and certain players alike. For these inquisitive minds, more intriguing inquiries are how video games create meaning and transport beliefs and values, how they might influence individuals and online communities (as well as vice versa), and how to interpret video game narratives despite their interactive, multimodal form.These are some of the questions we will be dealing with in this course by close-reading free and/or inexpensive video games outside the AAA mainstream. We will be looking at the content, context, and formal qualities of ‘narrative indie games’ – defined here as games that are independent in a financial, aesthetic and/or cultural sense created by small teams or single developers to express personal experiences or political visions.It is not necessary to have prior play experiences with video games or to own expensive hardware but bringing a laptop to class is highly advised.Students will get to know methods to put their play experiences into writing, train their understanding of the narrative and persuasive means of video games, and develop the analytical skills to close-read selected titles through cultural studies perspectives.
Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel
regular attendance (max. two absences), in-class and preparatory participation (Moodle tasks), group presentation, creative task, critical essay
Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab
participation (20 points)
group presentation (25 points)
creative task (25 points)
critical essay (30 points)Grading scale:
1: 90-100 points
2: 80-89 points
3: 70-79 points
4: 60-69 points
5: 0-59 points
group presentation (25 points)
creative task (25 points)
critical essay (30 points)Grading scale:
1: 90-100 points
2: 80-89 points
3: 70-79 points
4: 60-69 points
5: 0-59 points
Prüfungsstoff
There will be no written exam.
Literatur
All readings will be made available on Moodle and will include (sections from):• Anthropy, Anna, and Naomi Clark. A Game Design Vocabulary: Exploring the Foundational Principles behind Good Game Design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, 2014.
• Bogost, Ian. Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.
• Dovey, Jon, and Helen W. Kennedy. Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media. New York, NY: Open University Press, 2006.
• Fernández-Vara, Clara. Introduction to Game Analysis. New York: Routledge, 2015.
• Fron, Janine et. al. “The Hegemony of Play.” DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play. 2007: 309-318.
• Hawreliak, Jason. Multimodal Semiotics and Rhetoric in Videogames. New York: Routledge, 2020.
• Payne, Matthew Thomas, and Nina Huntemann, eds. How to Play Video Games. New York: New York University Press, 2019. Print.
• Ruberg, Bo. “No Fun: The Queer Potential of Video Games that Annoy, Anger, Disappoint, Sadden, and Hurt.” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 2.2 (2015): 108-124.In addition, there will be a ludography of free and/or inexpensive videogames that you are expected to engage with, including titles such as c ya laterrr (Hett 2017), Hair Nah (Momo Pixel 2017), Hard Lads (Yang 2020), Lieve Oma (Veltman 2016), and You Are Jeff Bezos (Lorischild 2018).
• Bogost, Ian. Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.
• Dovey, Jon, and Helen W. Kennedy. Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media. New York, NY: Open University Press, 2006.
• Fernández-Vara, Clara. Introduction to Game Analysis. New York: Routledge, 2015.
• Fron, Janine et. al. “The Hegemony of Play.” DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play. 2007: 309-318.
• Hawreliak, Jason. Multimodal Semiotics and Rhetoric in Videogames. New York: Routledge, 2020.
• Payne, Matthew Thomas, and Nina Huntemann, eds. How to Play Video Games. New York: New York University Press, 2019. Print.
• Ruberg, Bo. “No Fun: The Queer Potential of Video Games that Annoy, Anger, Disappoint, Sadden, and Hurt.” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 2.2 (2015): 108-124.In addition, there will be a ludography of free and/or inexpensive videogames that you are expected to engage with, including titles such as c ya laterrr (Hett 2017), Hair Nah (Momo Pixel 2017), Hard Lads (Yang 2020), Lieve Oma (Veltman 2016), and You Are Jeff Bezos (Lorischild 2018).
Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis
Studium: BA 612, BEd 046/407
Code/Modul: BA07.3; BEd 08a.2, BEd 08b.1
Lehrinhalt: 12-4260
Code/Modul: BA07.3; BEd 08a.2, BEd 08b.1
Lehrinhalt: 12-4260
Letzte Änderung: Di 25.02.2025 11:26