A central question in North American game studies concerns the extent to which games imagine difference and the other.
Monday, February 19 (Week 6)
- Katherine Isbister, “Character” from Debugging Game History (2016), pp. 37-44
- Kate Edwards, “Culturalization” from Debugging Game History (2016), pp. 97-101
- Carly A. Kocurek, “Identities” from Debugging Game History (2016), pp. 237-245
Wednesday, February 21
- Anna Everett and S. Craig Watkins, “The Power of Play: The Portrayal and Performance of Race in Video Games” from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning (2007), pp. 141–164
- Vít Šisler, “Digital Arabs: Representation in Video Games” from European Journal of Cultural Studies (2008), pp. 203–219
Friday, February 23
- Colleen Macklin, “Finding the Queerness in Games” from Queer Game Studies (2017), pp. 249-257
- Amanda Phillips, “Welcome to My Fantasy Zone: Bayonetta and Queer Femme Disturbance” from Queer Game Studies (2017), pp. 109-123
- Introduction of Close Playing project
- In-Class: Bayonetta (2009), Mainichi (2014) [free Mac or PC download], Realistic Kissing Simulation (2014), Cobra Club HD (2016) [free Mac or PC download; Content Warning: Simulated Dick Pics], And I Made Sure to Hold Your Head Sideways (2017)
Monday, February 26 (Week 7)
- Hector Postigo, “Modification” from Debugging Game History
Wednesday, February 28
- Game Lab #4 on Modding (out-of-class)
Friday, March 2
- 2nd round of Game Logs due
Monday, March 5-9 (Spring Break)
Monday, March 12 (Week 8)
- Anita Sarkeesian, Damsel in Distress (Part 2) from Feminist Frequency (2013)
- Anita Sarkeesian, Damsel in Distress (Part 3) from Feminist Frequency (2013)
- Anita Sarkeesian, Women as Background Decoration (Part 1) from Feminist Frequency (2014)
Wednesday, March 14
- Watch one other video from Season 1 of “Tropes vs Women in Video Games”
- Watch at least one video from Season 2 of “Tropes vs Women in Video Games”
Friday, March 16
- Elizabeth Losh, “#Gamergate 101” from virtualpolitik (2014)
- Elizabeth Losh, “Hiding Inside the Magic Circle: Gamergate and the End of Safe Space” from boundary 2 (2016)
Monday, March 19 (Week 9)
- Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux, “Metagaming” from Debugging Game History (2016), pp. 313-324
Wednesday, March 21
- Stephanie Boluk and Patrick LeMieux, “Blind Spots: The Phantom Pain, The Helen Keller Simulator, and Disability in Games” from Metagaming (2017)
- Introduction to Metagame Final Project
Friday, March 23
- Close Playing Project Due (EOD on Satuday)
Monday, March 26 (Week 10)
- Anna Anthropy, chapters 1 and 3 from Rise of the Videogame Zinesters (2012), pp. 1-21 and 43-67
- Sleepless by Natalia Theodoridou, Quing’s Quest VII by Squinky, With Those We Love Alive by Porpentine, Well This Is Awkward by Emma Kidwell
Wednesday, March 28
- Tower of the Blood Lord by Michael Lutz
- Twine Workshop
Friday, March 30
- Game Lab #5 on Twine
Header: Mike Prosser, My Third Skyrim Character Gh’Reth Is a Khajiit Thief (2012) via Flickr / BY-SA Creative Commons License