Readings | Introduction to Videogame Studies | Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Course readings.
WEEK #	SES #	TOPICS	READINGS	KEYWORDS
1		Introduction to the Course		Play / Playfulness Meaningful Play Magic Circle Play as Contest
2	2	Defining Games	Huizinga, John. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Roy Press, 1955. (Humanitas, Beacon Reprints in Humanities). ISBN: 9780807046814.
3	3	Defining Games (cont.)	Caillois, Roger. Man, Play and Games. University of Illinois Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780252070334. [Preview with Google Books]
3	4	Games as Digital Media	Murray, Janet. "From Additive to Expressive Form." Chapter 3 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877. Galloway, Alexander R. "Gaming Action, Four Moments." In Gaming: Essays On Algorithmic Culture. 1st ed. University of Minnesota Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780816648504. [Preview with Google Books]
4	5	Games as Cybertexts	Aarseth, Espen J. "Introduction: Ergodic Literature." In Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780801855795. [Preview with Google Books] Ryan, M. -L. "Beyond Myth and Metaphor: The Case of Narrative in Digital Media." Game Studies 1, no. 1 (2001).	Cybertexts Text Cybertext Narrative Ergodic
4	6	The Social Contract of Games	Sniderman, S. "Unwritten Rules." In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Edited by E. Zimmerman and K. Salen. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262195362. Myers, D. "Play and Punishment: The Sad and Curious Case of Twixt." In Proceedings of the [Player] Conference. Edited by S. Mosberg Iversen. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008.	Unwritten rules vs Written Rules Literacy Spoilsport
5	7	Cheating	Consalvo, Mia. Chapter 4 in Cheating. Gaining Advantage in Videogames. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262033657. [Preview with Google Books]	Cheating Gaming Capital Paratexts Unwritten rules vs hard / soft rules
5	8	Player Experience: Agency	Murray, Janet. "Agency." Chapter 5 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877.	Agency Narrative Embedded / Emergent Storytelling
6	9	Games as Narrative	Juul, Jesper. "Games Telling Stories? – A brief Note on Games and Narratives." Game Studies 1, no. 1 (2001). Costikyan, G. "Games, Storytelling and Breaking the String." In Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media. Edited by P. Harrigan and N. Wardrip-Fruin. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262083560.
7	10	Player Experience: Immersion	Murray, Janet. "Immersion." Chapter 4 in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. MIT Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780262631877. Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály. Chapters 3 and 4 in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row, 1990.	Immersion Transitional Objects Liminal Space Avatar Flow Enjoyment
7	11	Types of Players	Bartle, Richard. "Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades: Players Who Suit MUDS." Journal of MUD Research 1 (1996). Yee, N. "Motivations of Play in Online Games." Journal of CyberPsychology and Behavior 9, no. 6 (2006): 772–5.	Achievers / Explorers / Socializers / Killers MUD / MOO / MUSH Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
8	12	Hardcore vs. Casual Players	Juul, Jesper. Chapter 1 in A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262013376. [Preview with Google Books] Baker, N. "Painkiller Deathstreak: Adventures in Videogames." The New Yorker, August 9, 2010.	Casual vs Hardcore Players Casual Games Mimetic Interfaces (Game Space) Socially Embeddable
8	13	Identity	Turkle, S. Chapter 7 in Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN: 9780684833484.	Persona vs. Avatar vs. Player Character
9	14	Representation	Consalvo, M., and T. Harper. "The Sexi(e)st of all: Avatars, Gender, and Online Games." In Virtual Social Networks: Mediated, Massive and Multiplayer Sites. Edited by Panteli. Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009, pp. 98–113. ISBN: 9780230229280. Williams, D., N. Martins, et al. "The Virtual Census: Representations of Gender, Race and Age in Video Games." New Media and Society 11, no. 5 (2009): 815–34.
9	15	Games as Systems	Hunicke, R., M. LeBlanc, et al. "MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research." (PDF) Church, D. "Formal Abstract Design Tools." In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. Edited by K. Salen and E. Zimmerman. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262195362.	Procedural Participatory Interactive / Agency Spatial Encyclopedic Immersive Scripting the Interactor Diegetic / Non-Diegetic Operator / Interactor
10	16	Fictional Worlds	Juul, Jesper. "Fiction." Chapter 4 in Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262101103. Klastrup, L. "A Poetics of Virtual Worlds." Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Melbourne, 2003.	Fictional World / Fiction Virtual Worlds "Worldness" Incoherent Worlds Persistent Representation
10	17	Games as Simulations	Frasca, Gonzalo. "Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology." In The Video Game Theory Reader. Edited by Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron. Routledge, 2003, pp. 221–37. ISBN: 9780415965798. Aarseth, E. J. "Doors And Perception: Fiction vs. Simulation in Games." Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Copenhagen, 2005. (PDF - 2.0MB)	Simulation vs Representation Manipulation rules
11	18	Game Spaces	Jenkins, Henry. "Game Design as Narrative Architecture." In First Person: New Media as Story, Performance, and Game. Edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan. MIT Press, 2004, pp. 118–30. ISBN: 9780262232326. Nitsche, M. Chapter 1 in Video Game Spaces: Image, Play, and Structure in 3D Worlds. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262141017. [Preview with Google Books]	Videogame space: rule-based, mediated, fictional, play, social Embedded vs Emergent Narrative Evocative Narrative Elements Evocacive Spaces Micronarratives
11	19	Games as Performance	Boal, Augusto. "Theatre of the Oppressed." In The New Media Reader. Edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Monfort. MIT Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780262232272. Frasca, Gonzalo. Videogames of the Oppressed. 2004.
12	20	Value Systems	Flanagan, M., D. C. Howe, and H. Nissenbaum. "Values at Play: Design Tradeoffs in Socially-Oriented Game Design."In Proceedings of CHI 2005. ACM Press, 2005, pp. 751–60. (PDF) Bogost, Ian. "Procedural Rhetoric." Chapter 1 in Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780262026147. [Preview with Google Books]
13	21	Game Aesthetics	Camper, B. "Retro Reflexivity: La-Mulana, An 8-bit Period Piece." In The Video Game Theory Reader 2. Edited by Bernard Perron and Mark J.P. Wolf. Routledge, 2008, pp. 169–95. ISBN: 9780415962827. [Preview with Google Books]
13	22	Criticism and Journalism	Gillen, K. "The New Games Journalism." Kieron Gillen's Workblog. Dutton, N., M. Consalvo, T. Harper. "Digital Pitchforks and Virtual Torches: Fan Responses to the Mass Effect News Debacle." Paper presented at the Association of Internet Researchers 10.0 Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2009.
14	23	Game Culture: Communities	Pearce, Celia, and Artemesia. Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds. MIT Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780262162579. [Preview with Google Books] Jakobsson, M., and T. L. Taylor. "The Sopranos Meets EverQuest-Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games." Presented at the Digital Arts and Culture, Melbourne, 2003. (PDF)
14	24	Game Culture: Violence	Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. Simon & Schuster, 2008. ISBN: 9780743299510. [Preview with Google Books] Goldstein, Jeffrey. "Immortal Kombat: War Toys and Violent Video Games." Chapter 3 in Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment. Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780195118216. [Preview with Google Books]