This page presents materials associated with several of the class lecture sessions.
Lec #2
In-class Writing Exercise: Definition of Games (PDF)
Lec #4
Narratology & Ludology Group Exercise (PDF)
Lec #19
In-class Analysis of Difference and Diversity (PDF)
Lec #20
A guest lecture by Jesper Juul: "Half-Real: A Video Game in the Hands of a Player."
Abstract: "What happens when a player picks up video game, learns to play it, masters it, and leaves it? Using concepts from my book on video games, Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds (MIT Press, 2005), I will argue that video game players are neither rational solvers of abstract problems, nor daydreamers in fictional worlds, but both of these things with shifting emphasis. The unique quality of video games is to be located in their intricate interplay of rules and fictions, which I will examine across genres, from casual games to massively multiplayer games."