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Thoughts on Critical Game Studies

Thoughts on Critical Game Studies. David Finkel Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development. Purpose of this series of talks. To describe the contents of the new courses: To get feedback on the course content So we’ll all know what’s in the courses

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Thoughts on Critical Game Studies

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  1. Thoughts on Critical Game Studies David Finkel Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development

  2. Purpose of this series of talks To describe the contents of the new courses: • To get feedback on the course content • So we’ll all know what’s in the courses • So the other courses can be designed knowing what’s in this course, and vice versa • To have some general discussions about the IMGD curriculum

  3. What is (are) Critical Game Studies? • Course description: • a non-technical study of games, the history of games, and the game industry. The course will develop a vocabulary for discussing games, an approach to discussing the relative merits of different games, and tools for analyzing why certain games are successful.

  4. Inspiration: Courses in Film Studies • Topics covered in a film studies course: • The Film Industry (production, distribution, exhibition) • Film Form and Principles of Narrative • Types of Films (Genres) • Film Style • Critical Analysis of Film

  5. Show and Tell • Film Studies Text (Bordell and Thompson) • Game Design (Rollings and Adams – possible text for CGS course) • High Score (History of Electronic Games) • Magazines: • Game Developer • Computer Games

  6. Outline of the CGS Course - 1 • The Game Industry • Developers, Publishers, Distributors • History of Electronic Games (How much?) • The Elements of Game Design • Storytelling • Character Development • Game Play and Game Balance

  7. Outline of CGS Course -2 • Genres of Games • Design issues relevant to the different genres • Example: Role-playing games and character development • Example: Vehicle Simulations and User Interface Design • Mathematical Game Theory? • Throughout: Examples, video clips of games.

  8. Outline of CGS Course - 3 • Assignments, projects • Analyze an existing game • Identify genre, storytelling elements, character development, etc. • Analyze a newly designed game • From an existing game design • From a student-generated game design

  9. CGS Topic 1: Why Do People Play Games? • Because they’re fun

  10. What’s fun about playing games? • Overcoming challenges • Mental (puzzles) • Physical (speed, coordination (twitch games)) • Escapism – fantacizing about being someone / somewhere else: • Adventurer • Participating in dangerous activities • Participating in anti-social activities

  11. What’s fun - 2 • Having control over things • especially for young players • Social activities • Playing in a group • Outscoring other people

  12. CGS Topic 2: Story telling -1 • The role of stories in life. Why do we tell stories? • A way of organizing our experiences • To inform other people about our experiences • To amuse other people • To create a shared emotional experience

  13. Story telling - 2 • Why do we have stories in games • We don’t always … Space Invaders • To motivate the game play • To create a more long-term interest than the game-play alone can create • To provide an emotional experience • To provide an experience different from our everyday lives

  14. Story telling - 3 • The role of stories in games: • The backstory • The story of the game • Who is the storyteller • What is the role of the player in determining the narrative? • The stories the players tell each other

  15. Story telling - 4 • How to write an effective story • The monomyth / the hero’s journey • Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) • Christopher Vogler “A Practical Guide to the Hero’s Journey”– see handout

  16. Multipart-stories – Series • Different narrative formats for multi-part series (Terminology from Rollings and Adams) • Series: Story is broken into epsiodes, each of which resolves its own story line and also advances the overall theme.

  17. Multi-part stories - Serial • Serial: Episodes, but there are multiple overlapping story lines. Each episode advances one or more story lines. No overall story, so potentially infinitely many episodes.

  18. Story telling - Episodic • Epsiodic: Overall story line developed throughout, with tight integration between episodes and significant overlap of plot threads.

  19. Questions • What’s the relation of the CGS course and a course in game design? • Where should we cover game design be in the curriculum? Early? Late? Both? In several courses?

  20. Thoughts on Critical Game Studies David Finkel Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development

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