LIS / COMM 338GAMES, PLAY, AND CULTURESPRING 20 | ROOM | MEETING TIMES DR ALEX HOGUE | FINAL DATE

GENERAL INFOThis section lists the course materials, objectives and learning outcomes as well as contact info for Dr Hogue.

TOPICSHere you’ll find an overview of the course topics and info about course expectations

COURSE DESCRIPTION

COMM 338 Games, Play, and Cultures. (3 credits) (= LIS 338) Games and gameplay are unique among media. Whether they are light, casual games or titles engaging with deep, thought-provoking themes and issues, each player is drawn into shaping and creating the play experience through the game’s rules and procedures. The choices of how and which creative experiences are brought about through play serve as a window into, and a means to

understand, the cultures that produce and play them. While it is easy to think of “gamer culture” as a homogeneous and global category, games and gamer cultures are as nuanced and diverse as the people creating and playing them. This course focuses on the critical analysis of games in the global context as intercultural, participatory media.

F, S, M, Su, W

POLICIESThis section contains university policies as well as resources that may be helpful to you.

INFO

Course Materials:

Introduction to Game Analysis – Clara Fernandez-Vara

The Art of Failure – Jesper Juul Uncertainty in Games – Greg

Costickyan A computer with a Steam account Games as assigned. These will be

available in the library, the LJSU Game Room, and/or in my gaming hours

To play is to be in the world. Playing is a form of understanding what surrounds us and who we are, and a way of engaging with others. Play is a mode of being human.-Miguel Sicart

Dr Hogue’s Contact Info

Office Hours: MWF 10-12Phone: (843) 349 6904

Email: ahogue@coastal.eduI’ll email you back within 24 hrs on normal business days. Replies might take longer on the weekends.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course Objectives

This course surveys many popular and influential games in order to build a historical picture of interactive media.

By analyzing games from diverse theoretical viewpoints, it serves as the foundation to understanding the complexities of game studies, issues unique to procedural and participatory media, and serve to situate games within their cultural and historical contexts.

Critically analyze games withing frameworks of prominent game studies theorists

Discuss the cultural and historical contexts surrounding games as pop culture media artifacts

Describe and engage with the substance and lasting impacts of major debats in the gaming world

Critically analyze games as works of art

What is play? What is a game? History of games Uncertainty Games as art Failure and cheating Representation Identification Gamergate

Grading ScaleA 90-100

B+ 85-89

B 80-84

C+ 75-79

C 70-74

D+ 65-69

D 60-65

F 0-59

TOPICS

Gaming Groups

While playing video games can sometimes be a solitary activity, games are generally a social phenomenon. Games are also expensive. In order to facilitate the social aspect of games and offset some of the cost, you’ll organize yourselves into groups of 3-4 students. Multifaceted diversity within gaming groups is a must. These will be the people you’ll play games with this semester. You’ll need to exchange email addresses and phone numbers, organize group gaming time, and BE RELIABLE with one another. (Not purchasing your share and being reliable with communicating and attending gaming sessions will reduce your grade.)

AssignmentsDaily Participation: Those who earn the best participation grades will eagerly volunteer to speak, and readily demonstrate that they have engaged with, understood, and throught critically about the topic and material.

Homework: This work is designed to be completed individually after you’ve had your group gaming session. It will ask you to respond to the games and readings for the week, as well as to the experience of playing the games. I’ll be looking for application of the week’s readings to your experience.

Quests: Rather than a traditional midterm and final, you’ll have three main assingments after each 5-week section of the semester: two side quests and one main quest. More info will be available on Moodle.

Gaming Logs: For every group gaming session, you’ll need to fill out a gaming log. This will record attendance and participation, as well as offer a few guiding questions for your wrap-up discussion. Attendance and participation grades will be individual, and a completed log sheet is the prerequisite to earn credit for this assignment. Logs are due at the beginning of the next class meeting after playing.

AttendanceYou can’t participate if you’re not present, so attendance counts as a prerequisite to participation. You may miss 3 classes without it affecting your final grade.

For any absences beyond these three, they will be excused only for those documented cases listed in the current CCU Catalog. For each unexcused absence, you will lose 2% of your final grade. If you miss in excess of 25% of all class meetings (10 absences) you will receive a failing grade.(Authorized by the Dean’s Office, January 2011)

GRADE BREAKDOWN:Daily Participation 30%Homework 30%Side Quests 20%Main Quest 15%Gaming Logs 5%

Student Accessibility and Disability Services 

If you are in need of special accommodations, please contact Karen Howard-Goss at the Accessibility and Disability Services Office in Kearns 106. She can be reached via email at kgoss@coastal.edu. Their website is https://www.coastal.edu/disabilityservices/. 

POLICIES

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) This university, and this course, are bound by federal law to protect the privacy of your information. More information may be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

Title IX Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 makes it illegal to discriminate in educational settings based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sex, veteran's status, or pregnancy. All faculty of CCU are mandated Title IX reporters. If you believe you are the victim of sexual harassment or crimes anywhere on campus or off, you are welcome to come to me and I will help you get the aid you need. The university’s Title IX Coordinator is Denise Perez. She is located in Kearns 104B. She can be reached at (843) 349-2382 (office), (843) 333-6229 (cell, anytime), titleix@coastal.edu, or denise@coastal.edu. The Title IX office website is http://www.coastal.edu/titleix/.   

SafeZone and Green Zone My office is both a SafeZone and a Green Zone and I adhere to these principles in and out of class.