COMM 338 - Games, Play and Culture (3 credits)

(=LIS 338) Games and gameplay are unique among media. Whether they are light, casual games or titles engaging with deep, thought-provoking themes and issues, each player is drawn into shaping and creating the play experience through the game’s rules and procedures. The choices of how and which creative experiences are brought about through play serve as a window into, and a means to understand, the cultures that produce and play them. While it is easy to think of “gamer culture” as a homogeneous and global category, games and gamer cultures are as nuanced and diverse as the people creating and playing them. This course focuses on the critical analysis of games in the global context as intercultural, participatory media. F, W, S, M, Su.