Module description
Digital games entail certain kinds of practices, of ‘play’; they prompt exercises that shape a player over a period of time. We will explore the nature of various kinds of practices and situate them in relation to theoretical perspectives regarding how the playing subject is being formed. Is it possible, for example, that gaming reinforces our subjectification into neoliberal subjects?
Players learn how to maximize their returns on investments in in-game resources; how to play the market; how to optimize their character builds; how to ‘game’ the existing system. Yet is it also possible that there can be a ‘spiritual’ dimension to gaming such that the practices involved in some effectively make them into ‘martial arts’ practice that profoundly change the practitioner?
What do computer games ‘feel’ like to play? How can we articulate the experiences of gameplay? Such forms of description can be seen as phenomenological endeavours that go beyond individual experiences to get at shared aspects of experience; to help us understand computer games as a medium (and features germane to distinct genres); to cultivate attention to fleeting, non-cognitive aspects of our embodied existence (as a basis of self-understanding), which is arguably nothing less than the work of philosophy itself.
We will also consider the scope of what may be considered to be a game. Is X/Twitter a massive multiplayer game? What is the significance of practices and activities being considered to be games or game-like? How do we navigate game-like systems with particular laws, incentives/disincentives, and in-built inequalities?
This module will offer a mainly theoretical approach to exploring the nature of digital gaming. Students are encouraged to think critically about play practices, including their own. It will be supplemented by case studies of digital games that interest students.
Assessment details
- One x 1200-words individual creative/reflective writing (40%)
- One x 2000-words individual essay (60%)
Educational aims & objectives
Providing students with a general understanding of some of the main discussions concerning the significance of gaming practices.
Familiarising students with some key philosophical debates that have been raised by game scholars, considering different cultural and social aspects that are connected with digital gaming, such as the way the same game may be engaged with in diverse ways by different kinds of players.
Critically attending to the specificity of gameplay practices through carefully considered methodologies.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the module, students will be expected to:
- Discuss the nature and dynamics of various forms of digital gaming practices.
- Understand a variety of theoretical perspective that have been advanced to explain the significance of these practices.
- Be able to think critically about and closely analyse gaming practices (including one’s own), and to apply theoretical frameworks to understanding these practices.
- Investigate the connection between gaming and other areas of digital culture.
- Consider the relationship between play, power, and subjectivity in digital gaming.
- Investigate the connection between gaming and other areas of digital culture in the formation of subjectivities.
Teaching pattern
Ten one-hour lectures and ten one-hour seminars