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Film ####: Critical Study of Video Games
CRN: 12345
Tuesday/Thursday 2:30-3:45
Professor Neal Hinnant
email nhinnantgsu@gmail.com
Office: 734 One Park Place
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday: 12-2 or by appointment.
Fall 20xx
Course Objectives: Video games have existed for almost half a century, and during that time have had a major
impact on our culture and the entertainment industry. This course will chart the history of the video game medium,
paying particular attention to trends within the industry and the cultural forces that have shaped the development of
games as well as how games have shaped culture. We will begin with an examination of some of the major themes
of the course as they relate to current gaming events, and then chart those themes through the history of video
games as a medium.
Course Texts:
1) Tristan Donovan, Replay: The History of Videogames
2) Some readings will be taken from sources other than Donovan. In these circumstances, either internet links
will be provided to the readings or they will be placed in the Ulearn folder labeled “Additional Readings.”
GRADING:
Exam 1: 20% of final grade
Exam2: 20% of final grade
Exam 3/Final Exam: 30% of final grade
Writing Assignment: 20% of final grade
Participation and Attendance: 10% of final grade
96-100: A+
93-95: A
89-92: A86-88: B+
83-85: B
79-82: B76-78: C+
73-75: C
69-72: C66-68: D+
63-65: D
59-62: D58-: F
Assignments:
1. TWO (2) tests will be administered over the duration of the course. Scheduled during the fifth and tenth weeks
of class, these exams will evaluate student knowledge of material discussed prior to the exam period.
2. A written assignment (8-10 pages) due the final class period will ask students to take a game text or group of
texts and analyze them based on their historical context. There are many options available in this assignment, and it
will be discussed in more detail during the course of the semester.
3. Participation and Attendance are an important part of any learning experience. Students are allowed two
unexcused absences, any additional absences will detract from this portion of the course grade.
4. A comprehensive final exam will evaluate the students' knowledge of course material. It will be administered
on Sometime in December at a time that I don't know.
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NOTE: Lecture Notes are only available during lecture; I do not put them on Ulearn or send them to students
who miss class. If you miss the lecture notes, ask to copy them from a classmate. I WILL bring lecture notes back
to class before each test. Detailed Study Guides will be available before tests; they will be posted on Ulearn.
Make up tests/exams WILL NOT be given, with the exception of cases of extreme hardship. Your grade will be a
Zero (0) if you do not take the test. You must present an official written document if you potentially wish to excuse
your absence from the test. If approved by the instructor and your TA, you will be allowed to take a make-up test
on the day of the final exam.
Students with Special Needs: Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by
registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office
of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to
instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought. You must contact and make an appointment with me
during the first week of class for us to arrange testing conditions and/or other concerns with the Disabiltity Services
Office.
Dropping, Withdrawals, Incompletes: It is your responsibility to drop the class if you deem it necessary.
Withdrawals must occur before the midpoint of the semester, or it will be recorded as a grade of WF. Incompletes
may be given to a student for nonacademic reasons beyond her or his control is unable to complete the requirements
for this course. An incomplete may be assigned for this course only if a student has completed most of the major
assignments of the course with a pasting grade.
Policy on Academic Honesty, in GSU Faculty Handbook ,Section 409 available at
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfhb/fhb.html. We follow this policy completely. Also available in complete Film
2700 syllabus posted on our ULearn site.
Course Schedule: The course syllabus provides a general plan for the class; deviations may be necessary.
Revisions will be announced in class.
Course Evaluations: Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education
at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation.
Course Schedule
Week 1
Tuesday: Introduction to class [discuss syllabus, introduce selves
Thursday: General Overview of the Course (Reading: “A Natural History of Video Games” from
Joystick Nation) [general overview of the course, discussion of major themes (censorship,
business
vs. programming, cultural agency)]
Week 2
Tuesday: Why Games are Fun (Reading: Chapters 1-3, A Theory of Fun for Game Design)
[Establish some basic vocabulary and knowledge of game studies theory; discuss the appeal of
games as entertainment]
Thursday: Why Games are Fun Part II (Reading: “More Satisfying Work,” Reality is Broken)
[more basic theory groundwork, discussion of games as work]
Week 3
Tuesday: Examining the Gaming Conglomerate: EA (Reading: “Cognitive Capitalism: Electronic
Arts,” Games of Empire) [Establish current status of industry; lay out
developer>publisher>consumer model; discuss divide between the companies and the employees)
Thursday: Minecraft and Independent Developers (Reading: “The Long Tail”) [Contrast
corporate control with independent model; discuss the internet and the changing distribution
market]
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Week 4
Tuesday: Culture and Gaming
(Reading: “Is the Recession the Next Big Video Game Bad Guy?”) [Talk about how a period's
cultural context affects games; look at Grand Theft Auto IV as cultural critique; discuss article]
Thursday: Gaming and Culture
(Reading: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 passes $1 Billion in Sales” [discuss how the gaming
industry has grown to direct certain cultural trends; elements of fandom]
Week 5
Tuesday: Violence and Regulation in the Gaming Industry
(Readings: “Is Bulletstorm the Worst Video Game in the World?” Brown v. EMA Court Decision
and Opinion only worry about the majority opinion on this one) [discuss the continuing fight
between regulation advocates and industry groups; why games are considered “different;” review
for exam]
Thursday: EXAM 1
Week 6
Tuesday: The Early Origins of Video Games: Tennis for Two and Spacewar! (Reading: Donovan
Chapter 1) [Overview of culture in the early Cold War; emphasis on futurist technology and A.I.;
point out games' original goal as programming examples]
Thursday: Pong and the Creation of Atari (Reading: Donovan Chapter 2) [discuss problems with
arcades culturally; look at Bushnell's success in light of the context of the late 60s and early 70s]
Week 7
Tuesday: Pong comes Home (Reading: Donovan Chapter 3) [Look at the culture of television in
light of the popularity of Tele-Pong; discuss industry forces and Atari's Kee Games “split”]
Thursday: Going Micro (Reading: Donovan Chapter 4) [Examine the microprocessor's effect on
the industry; look at Death Race and the first game violence uproar]
Week 8
Tuesday: Subculture Meets Game Culture (Reading: Donovan Chapter 5) [Look at how the
fantasy subculture combined with gaming culture for the first time; compare and contrast
development of PC games with the arcade industry]
Thursday: Cartridge Fever (Reading: Donovan Chapter 6) [Look at industry shifts after release of
the 2600; Examine the Atari situation with Kassar and the programmers, looking forward to the
modern industry woes]
Week 9
Tuesday: What Goes Up (Reading: Donovan Chapter 7) [Look at Pac Man and the gender divide
in gaming; cultural impact of the gaming boom]
Thursday: Must Come Down (Reading: Donovan Chapter 9) [examine the shenanigans that led to
the industry crash; look at American culture during the 1980s in light of game industry crash]
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Week 10
Tuesday: Mario Mario versus the Industry (Reading: Donovan Chapter 13) [Look at how
Nintendo revamped the industry; how Nintendo used the cultural atmosphere to its advantage;
look at Nintendo's regulation of the medium]
Thursday: EXAM 2
Week 11
Tuesday: EA and the Sports Game (Reading: Donovan Chapter 12 to page 219) [Chart the
evolution of sports games; address questions of representation in games as they appeared with
sports titles]
Thursday: Sega goes to war (Reading: Donovan Chapter 12) [Look at the console clash from an
industry perspective; look at the cultural idea of Nintendo fans “graduating” more closely]
Week 12
Tuesday: The birth of the Internet
Thursday: Bringing all together: approaching convergence (Reading: “The Long Tail”
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html )
Week 13
Tuesday: Rotting our Brains (Reading: Donovan Chapter 18) [Look at the games violence
crackdown in the context of the 1990s; Formation of the industry's self-regulating organization]
Thursday: Sony and the Playstation (Reading: Donovan Chapter 21)
[Examine how a third major party affected the industry competition; the changing culture and how
games adapt in the New Millenium; Manhunt and the continual game violence debate]
Week 14
Tuesday: A brief history of video games (Reading: “A Natural History of Video Games” from
Joystick Nation. [Note: this book was published in 1997, and thus omits the last decade or so of
gaming history from this chapter.])
Thursday: Games Go Mainstream (Reading: Donovan Chapter 26) [Look at how games returned
to the mass market with games designed to appeal to non-gamers; Look at how Pokemon
exemplified the new gamer mass culture]
Week 15
Tuesday: MUDs and the Evolution of the MMOG (Reading: “Gaming Lifeworlds: Social Play in
Persistent Environments,” Play Between Worlds) [Look at the development history of MUDs and
MMOGs (since Donovan won't be used this week); Effect of the MMO boom on gaming culture
and industry]
Thursday: Course summary and conclusions [Bring discussion back to beginning of class with modern
developments; discussion of the possible trajectories of the future]
Papers due at the beginning of class
Week 16
FINAL EXAM