COMM 3740U – From Pong to Pokémon GO: Digital Games Studies

Video games are an increasingly prominent part of everyday experience. Games and gaming are becoming a core component of how we communicate, learn, relax, socialize, and engage with the world around us. In this course, students will explore the cultural impact, meanings, and uses of video games and become immersed in the emerging field of game studies. Core issues in game studies, such as play and pleasure, storytelling and genre, and representation and production will be introduced as part of a broader emphasis on games’ cultural and critical contexts. By the end of the course, students will have a critical understanding of how video games shape and are shaped by the cultures in which they exist.
Credit hours: 3
Lecture hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): Third-year standing