Communication and Video Games

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. COURSE OVERVIEW. Explores video games as a field of communication study, examining their development as media industries, cultural practices and technological environments. Surveys scholarship on game studies history, video game production models, audience experiences and/or game design strategies. Investigates how gameplay involves storytelling, emotion, identity and interaction across different genres and mediums. Course material may include video games or related media that contain violence, mature content or controversial themes, examined for purposes of critical analysis and informed perspectives. RELEVANCE AND APPLICATION. Engages skills applicable to media strategy, entertainment industries, marketing, game design, journalism and audience analysis. Builds familiarity with economic models, platform ecosystems and/or emerging markets surrounding digital entertainment. Supports academic preparation in communication, media studies, cultural studies and technology research. Enhances civic and cultural awareness by examining how interactive media shape norms, values and public debate. DEEPENING UNDERSTANDINGS. Considers how video games function not only as entertainment but also as sites of persuasion, identity performance, experimentation and cultural meaning. Examines distinctions between technological innovation and social consequences. Informs reflection on assumptions about players, genres, violence and/or interactivity by contrasting public debates with empirical and critical research. TOPICS AND THEMES. May include study of game history and platform evolution; analysis of development pipelines, publishing models and global industry structures; exploration of narrative design and emotional engagement; consideration of online communities, fandoms and participatory cultures; examination of regulation, monetization, labor, access and ethics. Course material may draw from games or case studies involving conflict, gender representation or political controversy as relevant to communication analysis. Prerequisite: Junior or senior classification.