I'd be interested to see a discussion of any of these games as objects of art.Ī lot of older quests also offer quite elaborate plots. (Then again, my knowledge of games is not exhaustive, so I'm ready to stand corrected. I didn't find enough substance in Tavinore's objections to MGS to understand why he calls Hideo Kojima "prone to frequent lapses of judgment and artistic taste" I personally think that Kojima has managed to raise the most important questions of contemporary realpolitik in the entire history of gaming so far: a subject that is, furthermore, tackled less convincingly in almost all films I've seen and most books I've read. and, oddly enough, some of the Metal Gear Solid installments. I've been extremely keen on discovering games with strong stories and cathartic potential my personal top picks so far are: I was particularly interested in the sections examining narratives or the emotional impact of games, so I'll make a brief comment only about them.įrom the relatively narrow selection of titles the author discusses, I assume he hasn't played/watched a great variety of games. As it is now, it provides good starting points. This set me thinking: doesn't continual exposure to realistic violence harden the viewers against its effects? The same way that people become inured to the sight of dead bodies in areas where death is more commonplace? (A friend of mine described evolving such a mental screen after spending several weeks in a poorer town in India where the dead are not immediately carried away but often left to lie in the streets for a few days.) I wonder if there're any serious studies on the existence of such a correlation.Īs a whole, I wish the book went into more detail for all of its arguments and gave more examples. The 'Disinterest' chapter makes the provocative claim that game violence should be portrayed as realistically as possible in order to make players feel the consequences of harming another being, de-trivializing death and torture. The 'Empathy' chapter helped me define what makes defenceless protagonists in recent horror games (such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent) more appealing than chainsaw-yielding machos. No background is required all are welcome.Įach lesson is accompanied with a recommended reading.Īn enriching take on mutiple facets of what contemporary games are capable of (or can strive for). Methods of player retention are explored in this lesson. Here, students will learn about industry's co-opting of game theory and practice as they endeavour to engage their workforce. Games can be used for teaching and training, and this genre is called serious games. The student will discover that race and racial conflict drive gameplay and narrative in numerous game genres, yet is a subject seldom broached in scholarly discussions. The subjects of race and racial stereotypes are explored in this lesson. In addition, there is a module on women in the game industry. In this lesson, the subjects of sexuality, gender and the portrayal of sex are discussed. Why is this? What purposes are served by violence and its portrayal in video games? These are some of the questions engaged by this lesson. Indie game producers and modding groups are also discussed during this lesson.ĭiscussions around violence and games seem to go hand-in-hand. Here students will be introduced to the concept of semiotics and how language is used in inclusionary and exclusionary game community practices. How can structuralist and post-structuralist analysis lead us to a better understanding of "how games mean?" This lesson will introduce students to a number of theoretical frameworks for analyzing games. Campbell's monomyth theory is thoroughly explained and applied to game stories. We explore the concept of games as stories, as well as the importance of narrative in video game presentation. Students are introduced to the concepts of ludology, structuralism and the mechanics-dynamics-aesthetics approach to game analysis This lesson focuses on the difference between two major gameplay types, and how they impact our experience of video games. Lesson 3: Emergent and Progressive Gameplay Game taxonomy and a definition of rules will be covered. Here, students will gain an appreciation for the differences between play and games. In this short lesson, students will learn what to expect from the course, and will be introduced to our avatar creation module. Understanding Video Games, a course on Coursera
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