Revised Game Studies Syllabus for Spring 2023 (“Oops, All Disco Elysium”)!

With my new role as chair, I’ve only got one class this term, but it’s a good one: a upper-division version of my Game Studies class, with this term’s special Disco Elysium focus. Here’s the week by week:

DAYDATE ASSIGNMENTWJan 18STARTFIRST DAY OF CLASSFJan 20NARRATIVEGame: The Stanley Parable

Corey Mohler, Existential Comics: “Candyland and the Nature of the Absurd”
Interview with Davey Wreden, Creator of The Stanley Parable    MJan 23ARTGame: Doom

Roger Ebert, “Doom,” “Critics vs. Games on Doom,” “Why Did The Chicken Cross the Genders,” “Video Games Can Never Be Art”
Ian Bogost, “Art”WJan 25MEANINGGame: Journey
Märyä, “What Is Game Studies?” and “Meaning in Games”FJan 27CHOICEGame/Film: Black Mirror:Bandersnatch (in-class viewing)    MJan 30DESIGNGame/Film: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (in-class viewing and discussion)

Nele Van de Mosselaer and Stefano Gualeni, “The Implied Designer and the Experience of Gameworlds”WFeb 1FILMGalloway, “Gamic Action, Four Moments”FFeb 3DISCO!DE: CHARACTER CREATION SCREEN AND GETTING OUT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM    MFeb 6ROLEPLAYGame: Dungeons and Dragons 

Vox.com, “Dungeons and Dragons, Explained”
Aaron Trammell, “From Where Do Dungeons Come?”
Aaron Trammell, “Misogyny and the Female Body in Dungeons and Dragons”WFeb 8CRITIQUEGame: The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild 

Gerry Canavan, “The Legend of Zelda in the Anthropocene”FFeb 10DISCO!DE: Day 1   MFeb 13HABITGame: Tetris

Bogost, “Habituation”
Chris Higgins, “Playing to Lose”
Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game…”
Film excerpts: The Ecstasy of OrderWFeb 15ADDICTIONGame: Candy Crush, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Marvel Snap!, etc. 

Ramin Shokrizade, “The Top F2P Monetization Tricks”
June Thomas, “Sugar Coma”
Julia Lepetit and Andrew Bridgman, “The Most Realistic Game Ever”
Ian Bogost, “Rage Against the Machines” and Cow ClickerFFeb 17DISCO!DE: Day 1 (replay)    MFeb 20VIOLENCEGame: Doom revisited, Call of Duty, etc.

Galloway, “Origins of the First Person Shooter”and “Social Realism”
Ludus Novus, “Why So Few Violent Games?”WFeb 22EMPIREBogost, “Titilation”
Stephen Kline, Nick Dyer-Witheford, and Greig de Peuter, “Designing Militarized Masculinity: Violence, Gender, and the Bias of Game Experience”
Mathieu Triclot, Raphaël Verchère, “Video Game Violence: A Philosophical Conversation with Mathieu Triclot”FFeb 24DISCO!DE: Day 2    MFeb 27SIMULATIONGame: Sid Meier’s Civilization, etc. 

Galloway, “Allegories of Control”
Kacper Pobłocki, “Becoming-State: The Bio-Cultural Imperialism of Sid Meier’s Civilization”WMar 1IDEOLOGYGame: SimCity, etc. 

Ava Kofman, “Les Simerables”
Mike Sterry, “The Totalitarian Buddhist Who Beat Sim City”FMar 3DISCO!DE: Day 3    MMar 6DECEPTIONGame: Werewolf, etc. 

Nathan Cutietta, “A Mental Model Approach to Deception in Single Player Games”WMar 8WORKMäryä, “Preparing for a Game Studies Project”FMar 10DISCO!DE: Day 4    M-FMar 13-17PAUSESPRING BREAK—NO CLASS    MMar 20ENDGAME 1Disco Elysium endgame discussion WMar 22ENDGAME 2Disco Elysium endgame discussionFMar 24ENDGAME 3Disco Elysium endgame discussion    MMar 27CRITICISMDisco Elysium criticismWMar 29CRITICISMDisco Elysium criticismFMar 31CRITICISMDisco Elysium criticism     MApr 3SEQUELDisco Elysium 2 discussionWApr 5WORKSHOPpaper/project workshop (in class)FApr 7DEATHEASTER BREAK—NO CLASS    MApr 10RESPAWNEASTER BREAK—NO CLASS    M-FApr 12-21DLCWe will choose the special topics for this part of the class together.    MApr 24FLOWStephen Johnson, Everything Bad Is Good for You(excerpt) 
Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken (excerpt)
Braxton Soderman, Against Flow (excerpt)WApr 26RESISTCountergames: molleindustria.org

Galloway, “Countergaming”FApr 28TUTORIALGRAD STUDENT PRESENTATIONS    M-FMay 1-May 5LEVEL UPUNDERGRAD PRESENTATIONS    FMay 9GAME OVERFINAL PAPER/PROJECT DUE ON D2L BY 10 AM