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Reading schedule

Unless otherwise indicated, readings are reprinted in the course reader. Lecture will supplement the assigned articles, so please make sure to do the reading before class begins.

Jan. 13 Week One    
 
  TH   Course overview
 
Jan. 18 + 20 Week Two    
 
  T   Setting up web log // Introduction to video games
 
      Chick, T. (2003) Massively multiplayer on-line games. Week 1 and Week 5 in Gamespy’s series of articles about virtual environments. Available on-line at: http://archive.gamespy.com/amdmmog/
 
  TH   Virtual worlds: Multi-player games
 
      Bartle, R. (2003) Introduction to virtual worlds. Chapter 1 (pp. 1-79) in Designing Virtual Worlds.
 
Jan. 25 + 27 Week Three    
 
  T   Virtual worlds: True Names
 
     

Vinge, V. (1981). “True Names.” The author’s infamous novella in True Names: And the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier.

 
  TH   Virtual worlds: Psychological dimensions
 
     

Yee, N. (2004). The Psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional Investment, Motivations, Relationship Formation, and Problematic Usage. In R. Schroeder & A. Axelsson (Eds.), Social Life of Avatars II. London: Springer-Verlag. (in press). [PACKET]

 
Feb. 1 + 3 Week Four    
 
  T   Virtual worlds: Players
 
      Bartle, R. (2003) Players. Chapter 2 (pp. 125-174) in Designing Virtual Worlds.
 
  TH   Virtual worlds: Players
 
     

Bartle, R. (2003) Players. Chapter 2 (pp. 174-245) in Designing Virtual Worlds.

 
Feb. 8 + 10 Week Five    
 
  T   Virtual worlds: Economics
 
     

Castranova, E. (2001) Virtual worlds: A first-hand account of market and society on the Cyberian frontier. CESifo Working Paper No. 618. (39 pages) [PACKET]

Doctorow, C. (2004) Anda’s game. Short story from Salon.Com. November 15, 2004. [PACKET]

 
  TH   Virtual worlds: Characters
 
      Bartle, R. (2003) Life in the virtual world. Chapter 5 (pp. 351-398) in Designing Virtual Worlds.
 
Feb. 15 + 17 Week Six    
 
  T   Virtual worlds: Characters
 
      Bartle, R. (2003) Life in the virtual world. Chapter 5 (pp. 398-471) in Designing Virtual Worlds.
 
  TH   Women and games: Players
 
      Taylor, T.L. (2003). Multiple Pleasures: Women and Online Gaming. Convergence, Vol. 9, No.1, 21-46, Spring 2003. [PACKET]
 
Feb. 22 + 24 Week Seven    
 
  T   Women and games: Characters
 
      Kennedy, H. (2002). Lara Croft: Feminist icon or cyberbimbo? On the limits of textual analysis. Game Studies Journal, 2(2), December 2002.
 
  TH   Ethnography: Overview of ethnographic methods
 
     

Fetterman, D. (1989) Walking in rhythm: Anthropological concepts. Chapter 2 (pp. 16-30) in Ethnography: Step by step. London: Sage. [PACKET]

Fetterman, D. (1989) A wilderness guide: Methods and techniques. Chapter 3 (pp. 31-62) in Ethnography: Step by step. London: Sage. [PACKET]

 
Mar. 1 + 3 Week Eight    
 
  T  

Ethnography: Pursuing indigenous meanings

Emerson, R., Fretz, R., and Shaw, L. (1995). Pursuing members’ meanings. Chapter 5 (pp. 108-141) in Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [PACKET]

 
  TH  

Ethnography: Research ethics

Fetterman, D. (1989) Walking softly through the wilderness: Ethics. Chapter 7 (pp. 29-146) in Ethnography: Step by step. London: Sage. [PACKET]

Distributed: Exam #1

 
Mar. 8 + 10 Week Nine    
 
  T  

Movie: eXistenZ

Directed by David Cronenberg.

Note: Class will run 22 minutes late today. Please let me know in advance if you will need to leave before the end of the movie.

 
  TH   Game mechanics: Play
 
     

Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Defining play. Excerpt from Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (pp. 301-11). [PACKET]

Due: Exam #1

 

 

SPRING BREAK

 

 

Mar. 22 + 24 Week Ten    
 
  T   Game mechanics: Rules
 
      Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Defining rules. Excerpt from Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (pp. 117-125). [PACKET]
 
  TH   Game mechanics: Cheating
 
      Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2004) Breaking the rules. Excerpt from Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (pp. 267-285). [PACKET]
 
Mar. 29 + 31 Week Eleven    
 
  T   Videogame aesthetics: Space
 
     

Wolf, M. J. P. (2001). Space in the video game (Chapter 3). In M. J. P. Wolf (Ed.), The medium of the videogame (pp. 51-75). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. [PACKET]

 
  TH   Videogame aesthetics: Time
 
     

Wolf, M. J. P. (2001). Time in the video game (Chapter 4). In M. J. P. Wolf (Ed.), The medium of the videogame (pp. 77-91). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. [PACKET]

 
Apr. 5 + 7 Week Twelve    
 
  T   Videogame aesthetics: Narrative
 
     

Poole, S. (2000). Never-ending stories (Chapter 5). In Trigger happy: Videogames and the entertainment revolution (pp. 90-111). New York: Arcade Publishing. [PACKET]

 
  TH   Videogame aesthetics: Immersion
 
     

McMahan, A. (2003). Immersion, engagement and presence: A method for analyzing 3-D videogames Chapter 3 in The Video Game Theory Reader, edited by Mark Wolf and Bernard Perron, Routledge, 2003, pp. 67-86. [PACKET]

 
Apr. 12 + 14 Week Thirteen    
 
  T   Videogame aesthetics: Flow
 
     

Chou, T.J. and Ting, C. C. (2003). The role of flow experience in cyber-game addiction. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 6(6) 663-676.[PACKET]

 
  TH  

Social aspects: Violence

Piot, C. (2003). Heat on the street: video violence in America’s teen culture. Postcolonial Studies, 6(3), 351-366.

Distributed: Exam #2

 
Apr. 19 + 21 Week Fourteen    
 
  T  

Social aspects: Warfare

Robins, K. (1994). The haunted screen. In G. Bender & T. Druckrey (Eds.), Culture on the brink: Ideologies of technology (pp. 305-315). Seattle: Bay Press. [PACKET]

 
  TH  

Work on presentations

Due Exam #2

 
Apr. 26 + 28 Week Fifteen    
 
  T   Research presentation and critique
 
  TH   Research presentation and critique
 
     

Final project due by 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 7th