IAT 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Johan Huizinga, David Parlett, Roger Caillois
19 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
IAT 220 - Lecture 1 - Introduction
Course Topics
● History of games
● Types of games
● Games mechanics
● Games as culture
● Games & narrative
● Game technology
● Game industry
Course Outcomes
● Write about genres, mechanics, history
● Analyze design of games
● Understand & critique game experiences
● Produce & critique short game concepts
● Discuss social & cultural issues w/ games
● Discuss role of technology in digital games
● Discuss emerging game forms
● Understand trends in game industry
3 Approaches to Game Studies
● Social science
○ What do games do to people?
● Humanities
○ What meanings are made through games?
● Engineering
○ How do we create better games?
○ What makes a game good?
Wearing More Than One Hat
● Think as a
○ Game player
○ Game theorist
○ Game designer
○ Game analyst
○ Game developer
Analyzing a Game
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Discuss social & cultural issues w/ games. Discuss role of technology in digital games. To use terms & concepts to analyze game you are discussing. Playful activities (including games) can be placed along a continuum b/w paidia & ludus. Paidia - unstructured & spontaneous play (free & open) Ludus - structured & controlled play w/ specific rules (rule-based) Games can be understood according to their position relative to these two extremes. A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome. (salen and zimmerman, 2003) Artificial b/c generally does not have real life consequences. If does not have rules, cannot be described as game. Must be fixed, repeatable, & govern all players who play the game. Quantifiable outcome - something that can be measured. Formal game - has twofold structure based on ends & means. Ends - contest to achieve an objective.
