MEVIT2725 – Video Games: Aesthetics, Industry and Culture

Video games are one of the most popular and most important modern cultural forms and entertainment media, and offer a wide variety of content, genres and forms of interaction and participation. This course is a comprehensive introduction to video games’ technological and aesthetic forms of expression, and industrial and cultural contexts. How are games similar to and different from other media? What are the most important developments in game history, and what are their impact on games, game development and society? How do we analyze, interpret and understand games? How do games explore, reflect and challenge culture through representations of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ethics, politics and ideology? What are the central possibilities and challenges for contemporary game industry and game culture?

In this course, you learn about theories, terms, concepts and models from game studies and game design literature. You learn to analyze and interpret structure, content, meaning and interaction in different types of video games and to discuss critically the game industry and game culture. You will practice the ability to convey academic and professional knowledge about video games in discussions, presentations and in writing. The course is well suited if you want in-depth academic and professional insights into video games as a phenomenon and field of research, and if you wish to work with or research games further.

You are expected to be familiar and have practical playing experience with different types of video games and game genres. This course is not suited to students who have little or no prior experience with video games.

Knowledge

When you have completed the course, you will be able to understand, discuss and critically reflect upon:

• Important developments in game history and their impact on games, game development and society
• Video games’ technological and aesthetic forms of expression, including structures, mechanics, interfaces, interaction, worlds, storytelling, characters, fiction, simulation and genre
• Representation and cultural contexts in video games
• Contemporary game industry, game journalism and game culture

Skills

When you have completed the course, you will be able to:

• Write academic game analyses in which you critically interpret content and meaning in video games
• Write academic essays on the game industry and game culture
• Conduct written peer reviews

General competence

When you have completed the course, you will be able to:

• Understand and critically discuss video games from aesthetic, industrial and cultural perspectives
• Use academic and professional research and knowledge about video games in both written and oral formats

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The course teaching consists of 8 4-hour workshops that combine lectures and student activities.

Attendance is obligatory. The workshops alternate between lectures, individual and group assignments, game analysis, presentations, discussions and playing sessions. The workshops require that you meet prepared and actively participate in class.

This course has two obligatory activities. The obligatory activities will be assessed as approved/not approved. Approval of the following activities is a prerequisite for being allowed to sit for the examination:

• Attend at least 75% of the teaching (6/8 workshops).
• Individual written qualification assignment (game analysis), which includes a student peer review process.

In this course, everyone has an absence limit of 2 workshops. If your absence exceeds 2 workshops, you must apply for valid absence and provide valid documentation for the excess absence. Extra assignments must be completed and approved to compensate for any valid excess absence.

You cannot apply for valid absence the first or second time you are absent from class, regardless of the reason for the absence. You can only apply for valid absence (with valid documentation) once you have been absent for a third time (and more).

The department's study administration handles absence applications. Absence applications must be submitted no later than the day of the absence. The application form for valid absence can be found on the Faculty’s information page about compulsory activities.

Approved obligatory activities are valid the semester you attend the course and the two following semesters the course is offered.

Three-day home exam of up to 10 standard pages (of 2,300 characters without spaces)

Front page, reference list and attachments should not be counted.

You need to have all mandatory activities approved in order to take the exam.