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Warwick Writing Programme

Game Theory Interactive and Video Game Narratives

Aims and Objectives:
 The module will aim to provide students with an understanding of how these narratives fit into the wider scope of contemporary narrative productions (for example, understanding counter-culture elements in independent games publishing, or examining the way in which the internet has transformed the impact of gaming narratives), as well as the practice of said narratives, taking into account unique characteristics in the medium, such as player choice, gameplay mechanics, linear storylines, limited interactions and cheat codes. Along with the primary materials, the module will engage with theoretical concerns involved in digital spaces – reflect on the evolution of various discourses presented in contemporary digital spaces, and their interplay with real life, their responses to current politics, as well as the way they have been presented in contemporary fiction (both in writing about games as popular culture, as well as novel adaptations of games) and criticism in journals such as Game Studies or the archives of Nightmare Mode. This is a 15 CAT module
This module is for final year students only.
Structure of the module:
**2020-21 - This module will run in Term 2 only. This is a 15 CATS module.**

Weeks 1-5:

The readings marked 'excerpt' will be provided to you. With this reading, there will be game suggestions according to the topic at hand. These will be marked in the booklet provided. You do not need to own any games, though familiarity with the medium would be of great help.

Weeks 7-10: Workshops (2-hour sessions).

You will be asked to submit work the week prior to your workshop slot. You'll be given a workshop slot early in the term. It is very important that you submit on time so that everyone gets to read and edit your work with care. Submission guidelines will be provided at the start of term.
Assessment:
 Non-assessed YouTube Channel Presentation and Broadcasts
Assessed 5000 words either of a) Gaming Narrative (playable story) or b) a script for a Broadcasted Essay and critical analysis of topics related to games narrative or c) a Written Essay and critical analysis about topics related to games narrative.
Week Number Session Title

Reading (please check your Moodle - CW312 - for guidance)

Week 1 Plotting 101 and Twine

- The Game Narrative Toolbox (excerpt)

- Video Game Narrative and Criticism (excerpt)

- Video Game Storytelling (excerpt)
Week 2 Character Design

    - Video Game Storytelling (excerpt)

    - The Game Narrative Toolbox (excerpt)

    - Video Game Design (excerpt)

    - D&D character sheets

    Week 3 Violence and Agency

      - The State of Play (excerpt)

      - Guns, Grenades, and Grunts: First Person Shooter Games (excerpt)

      - 'Playing in the Zone of Becoming' (excerpt)

      - Video Game Narrative and Criticism (excerpt)

      Week 4

      TBC
      • TBC
      Week 5

      Modding Fantasy and World Building

          Reading and class materials to be provided for in-class activities closer to date.
          Week 6 Reading Week  

          Week 7

          		 Workshops  
          Week 8

          Workshops

          		  
          Week 9 Workshops  
          Week 10 Workshops  
          Further Reading:
          • Michael Marshall Smith, Only Forward, London: Harper Voyager, 2015.
          • David Wong, John Dies at the End, London: Titan Books Ltd., 2011.
          • Gareth Schott, Violent Games: Rules, Realism and Effect, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.
          • Diane Marczely Gimpel, Violence in Video Games, Abdo: Minneapolis, 2013.
          • Karen Collins, Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2008.
          • Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Jonas Heide Smith and Susana Pajares Tosca, Understanding Video Games, London: Routledge, 2016.-
          • Graeme Kirkpatrick, Aesthetic Theory and the Video Game, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011.
          • Mark J.P. Wolf, ed., The Medium of the Video Game, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
          • Suzanne Keen, Narrative Form: Revised and Expanded Second Edition, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.
          • Evan Amos, The Game Console: A History in Photographs, San Francisco: No Starch Press, 2017.
          • Vincent Miller, Understanding Digital Culture, London: Sage Publications Ltd., 2011.
          • Danielle Newnham, Female Innovators at Work: Women on Top of Tech, New York: Apress, 2016.
          • Bonnie Ruberg and Adrienne Shaw, eds., Queer Game Studies, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
          • McKenzie Wark, Gamer Theory, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2007.
          • Keith Burgun, Game Design Theory, London: Routledge, 2012.
          • Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: Games Design Fundamentals, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.
          • Julian Mcdougall and Wayne O’Brien, Studying Videogames, New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.
          • Richard Rouse III, Game Design, Theory and Practice, Plano: Wordware Publishing Inc., 2004.
          • Greg Costikyan, Uncertainty in Games, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2015.
          • George Skaff Elias, Richard Garfield, et al., Characteristics of Games, Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012.
          • Jeff Howard, Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives, Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2008.
          • Ricardo Fassone, Every Game is an Island: Endings and Extremities in Video Games, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
          • Tynan Sylvester, Designing Games, Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media, 2013.
          • Anna Anthropy, Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives Are Taking Back an Art Form, New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012.