1. Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of key historical and philosophical texts written about games and play
2. Analyse the history of play and the impact of this history on game design and culture
3. Communicate in-depth knowledge about games and play in written and oral forms
4. Develop the ability to critically reflect on inclusivity and diversity in contemporary gaming cultures

Assessment Component 1: Audio-Visual Essay - (Learning Outcomes 2, 3 and 4)
- Audio-Visual Essay or Digitally-Mediated Artefact weighted at 60% which reflects upon inclusivity and diversity in contemporary gaming. This may be delivered within a group context for discussion and debate. Emphasis should be placed upon the clarity of argument and presentational effectiveness.

Assessment Component 2: Written Essay with Annotated Bibliography - (Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 3)
- A Written Essay with Annotated Bibliograph weighted at 40%, citing literature/books/papers/games and other relevant artefacts. It should highlight the influence that computer games have upon and contemporary culture, addressing current debates and trends within the games community.

Through a series of lectures, seminars and discursive workshops, students will address contemporary topics within games such as:

- Game History
- Game Criticism
- Game Preservation
- Gaming in the Global South

- Philosophical Approaches to Games and Play
- Adaptation Theory
- Affordance Theory
- Affect Theory (Game Feel)

- Postcolonial Game Studies
- Queer Game Studies
- Feminist Game Studies
- Game Economies
- Game Ethics
- Game Genres

This course introduces students to the histories, theories, and cultures that combine to form the interdisciplinary field of game studies. Through lectures, gameplay examples, and exercises students will develop a rich understanding of the power and potential of play (in diverse cultural and technological forms) and by the end of class students will demonstrate their facility with key course concepts by examining in-depth a particular area of games or gaming culture.

1h Weekly Lecture
2h Weekly Seminar
1 x 3hr weekly - Workshops/Tutorials

Anable, A., 2018. Playing with feelings: Video games and affect. U of Minnesota Press.

Anthropy, A., 2012. Rise of the videogame zinesters: How freaks, normals, amateurs, artists, dreamers, drop-outs, queers, housewives, and people like you are taking back an art form. Seven Stories Press.

Baur, W., Silverstein, J. and Hodgson, J. 2012. Complete Kobold guide to game design: essays by Wolfgang Baur ... [et al.] ; edited by Janna Silverstein ; cover by Jonathan Hodgson. Kirkland: Open Design.

Bogost, I., 2010. Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. MIT Press.

Castronova, E., 2008. Synthetic worlds. In Synthetic Worlds. University of Chicago press.

Flanagan, M. 2013. Critical play: radical game design. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Hutcheon, L. and O’Flynn, S. 2012. A theory of adaptation. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

Juul, J., 2005. Half-real. Video games between real rules and fictional worlds.

Keogh, B., 2018. A play of bodies: How we perceive videogames. MIT Press.

Lowood, H., & Guins, R. (Eds.). 2016. Debugging game history: A critical lexicon. MIT Press.

Mayra, F. 2008. An introduction to games studies: games in culture. London: SAGE.

Norman, D., 2013. The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded edition. Basic books.

Payne, M.T. and Huntemann, N.B. eds., 2019. How to play video games (Vol. 1). NYU Press.

Ruberg, B. and Shaw, A. eds., 2017. Queer game studies. U of Minnesota Press.

Salen, K. S. and Zimmerman, E. 2004. Rules of play: game design fundamentals. Cambridge, Mass: MIT.

Sicart, M. 2011. The ethics of computer games. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.

Suits, B., 2014. The grasshopper-: games, life and utopia. Broadview Press.

Svelch, J., 2018. Gaming the iron curtain: How teenagers and amateurs in communist Czechoslovakia claimed the medium of computer games. MIT press.

Taylor, T.L., 2018. Watch Me Play. Princeton University Press.

Digital Academy Forum
Digital Academy Upload System
Staffordshire University Libraries
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Adobe Suite
Microsoft 365
Blackboard VLE