Rochester Institute of Technology/Department of English
Fall 2014
ENGL 374: Games and Literature
What’s with this storytelling stuff, anyway?… Ever notice how whenever
anybody says… “You simply must hear this story,” …you find yourself
wishing some wheezing and pustular people-snatcher would burst through
the wall and carry you off to some dank cave to feast on your viscera?
There’s a reason you wish this.
Nobody likes a story, especially a good one.
Nobody likes a story, that is, unless he’s in it. Are you familiar with that
searching twitch on people’s faces when you relate some tale to them?
Where am I in this? they are thinking. When is he going to get to me?
Maybe it wasn’t always this way. Maybe when the Cro-Mags sat around the
cookfire scaring the crap out of each other with yarns about saber-toothed
tigers, or even the pustular people-snatchers roving the outer dark, those
in the audience had the opposite in mind: Please, please, pantheon of local
animistic deities, please don’t let me be anywhere near this story.
But it’s all very different now.
It must be the video games.
Instructor: Professor Julie M. Johannes
Office: 06-2315
Telephone: (585) 475-2467
Office Hours: MWF 11a-1250p & by appointment
Email Address: [email protected]
Required Materials
Our course materials comprise professional scholarship, literary texts,
video games, documentaries, and other assorted resources. Many are
available electronically, most at no cost to you. Please see the list below,
RIT Library e-reserves, and the “daily plan” and “assignments” sections of
the syllabus, for specific readings, URLs, etc. Pay particular attention to
the paper #3 assignment, as it requires thoughtful choice and perhaps
advance planning on your part.
Dear Esther (downloadable from Steam, as well as dear-esther.com)
other downloadable games, as the class deems relevant
Course Description
Who studies game studies? Are we all, in some way, novices, gamers, and
scholars? What kind of intertextuality do we see in video games? Will
“game studies” ever be as highly regarded as is critical scholarship on,
say, literature? Writing in games can often be hit or miss, so relying on an
established story can provide support and allows the medium to evolve
to cover more interesting stories than the typical mass-offering affairs.
Still, literature and games are fundamentally different media- and as such
these differences must be accounted for when mapping literature onto
video games.
Can a video game possess substantial literary merit? Can a video game
offer the same depth of characters and insight into the human condition
as a novel? Do video games invite the player to do the same things that
works of great literature invite the reader to do: identify with the
characters, invite him to judge them and quarrel with them, and to
experience their joys and sufferings as the reader’s own?
In this course we will have these conversations and then go beyond. We
will examine works that have visually evocative and varied settings;
narratives that make readers wonder what is going to happen next; and a
rapidly changing culture that prompts even more questions than it
answers.
Attendance
If you want to do well in my class, then come to it. If you choose to miss
class, please know that it is your responsibility to keep up with all work
assigned or discussed in class. You need to consult with a classmate to
find out what you missed.
This is a discussion-oriented course. There is no substitute for class
time with your instructor and peers. In-class work will not be
rescheduled & cannot be made up.
Be considerate and punctual: do not walk in late or leave early. Do not
pack up your bags early; class will end at the scheduled time. Do not
leave in the middle of class, except in an emergency situation.
This is an interactive class. By that, I mean that we are all here to learn
from each other. The focus in this class will be on discussion and
collaborative work, rather than lecture. To do well in this class, you must
keep up and you must speak up.
I expect you to attend every class, but I know that there are times
when this isn’t possible, so you are allowed to miss 3 classes during
the semester, no questions asked. Starting with the 4th absence, your
course grade may be lowered a letter grade for each absence. If you
accumulate 7 absences, you may fail the course. Please speak with me
as soon as possible about extenuating circumstances, as I will make
decisions on a case-by-case basis.
If you fall asleep in class, I will count you as absent. Two instances of
late (5 minutes or more after the beginning of class) arrivals will count
as one absence.
Classroom Etiquette
Since, fundamentally, this class is about communication, we will spend
much class time talking with each other about what we have read and
what we are writing. To maintain an environment that is conducive to
the sharing of thoughts and ideas, even when those thoughts and ideas
are not necessarily popular, I expect that students will address each other
and me with respect and dignity.
Grading & Requirements
Three (3) papers (with required drafts, peer review, and/or
revisions, where applicable): 25% each
Class grade (includes: Virtual Fridays, homework assignments,
preparation of reading assignments, quizzes, participation in
discussion, attentiveness, courtesy while I am or others are
talking, and overall professionalism and attitude towards a
positive class environment): 25%
For each graded assignment, the letter grades will have the following
numerical values:
A+: 4.3
A: 4.0
A-: 3.7
B+: 3.3
B: 3.0
B-: 2.7
C+: 2.3
C: 2.0
C-: 1.7
D+: 1.3
D: 1.0
D-: 0.7
***A grade of “F” earns ZERO credit ***
Your final grade will be computed by taking the weighted average of your
assignments and interpreting using the following scale:
3.85- . . . = A
3.5-3.85= A3.15-3.5= B+
2.85- 3.15= B
2.5-2.85= B2.15-2.5= C+
1.85-2.15= C
1.5-1.85= C1.15-1.5= D+
0.85-1.15= D
0.5-0.85= D. . . -0.5 = F
Letter Grades
The A paper meets and exceeds the assignment requirements and has
outstanding form and content. It has minimal, if any, grammar errors and
meets college-level standards of correctness and clarity. Its topic is
focused and clearly defined, and its thesis is precisely and elegantly
stated. The structure of the paper obviously and carefully works toward
supporting the thesis. The paper’s organizational strategy, at the macroand micro- levels, is designed to progress logically between points of
support. Each paragraph is coherent independently and also helps the
paper cohere as a whole. At the sentence level, the writing is clear,
graceful and consistent, even stylish. The paper exhibits fluency in class
concepts and mastery of its subject matter. If necessary, the paper uses
and cites sources correctly.
The B paper meets the assignment requirements and meets many of them
with precision. This paper has few errors that undermine the author’s
purpose. It has a clear thesis statement and valid, logical support, though
perhaps that support could be refined in some ways. The structure and
logic of the paper support one another and are thorough and adequate.
The essay is competently and clearly written. The paper has an
organizational strategy that helps the thesis move forward. Evidence and
reasoning in support of the thesis statement could use refinement, but
they work. The paper would benefit from a round of revision. Where
required, documentation of sources is correct.
The C paper is competent and meets the assignment requirements. It has
some structural and/or sentence-level problems but, nevertheless,
generally supports a thesis and leads to a conclusion. The paper would
benefit from a round of significant revisions toward clarity, coherence,
and correctness. The thesis or topic may be too broad or vaguely defined.
Reasoning and evidence for the thesis are present but may need further
interpretation and integration. Sentence structure is relatively simple. If
sources are required, they are documented almost correctly and are not
as well used as they could be.
The D paper does not follow all instructions for the assignment but
makes an attempt to do so. This essay is missing or radically
misinterpreting a crucial element: a thesis, evidence, reasoning or
structure. There does not appear to be an organizational strategy. The
paper may have numerous mechanical errors that interfere with
readability and undermine the author’s purpose.
The F paper does not meet the assignment’s requirements. It may only
vaguely gesture toward an appropriate topic, if at all. It may fall seriously
short of length requirements. It has an insufficiently developed thesis
and problematic, if any, reasoning. Errors abound, and this paper may
have more than one of the problems of the D paper compounding one
another.
Professional Writing Standards
Papers and homework assignments must be completed on a word
processor with standard 12-point font, double spacing, and one-inch
margins. Do not include a cover page; put your name and date on the top.
Make sure that your paper has an original title. Do not add space between
paragraphs. Number your pages. Use MLA formatting for all citations.
Please submit all assignments in PDF (preferred), doc, or docx format.
Academic (Dis)Honesty
As a university, RIT is committed to the pursuit of knowledge and the
free exchange of ideas. In such an intellectual climate it is fundamentally
imperative that all members of this academic community behave in the
highest ethical fashion possible in the manner by which they produce,
share, and exchange this information.
In the case of students, academic honesty demands that at all times
student work be the work of that individual student (unless the
instructor explicitly states otherwise, as in the case of a group project),
and that any information which a student uses in a work submitted for
evaluation be properly documented. Any violation of these basic
standards constitutes a breach of academic honesty and hence becomes
Academic Dishonesty.
Academic Dishonesty falls into three basic areas: cheating, duplicate
submission, and plagiarism. Cheating is any form of fraudulent or
deceptive academic act, including falsifying of data, possessing,
providing, or using unapproved materials, sources, or tools for a work
submitted for faculty evaluation. Duplicate submission is the submitting
of the same or similar work for credit in more than one course without
prior approval of the instructors for those same courses. Plagiarism
(from the Latin word for "kidnapper") is the representation of others’
ideas as one’s own without giving proper credit to the original author or
authors. Plagiarism occurs when a student copies direct phrases from a
text and does not provide quotation marks, or paraphrases, or
summarizes those ideas without giving credit to the author or authors.
In all cases, if such information is not properly and accurately
documented with appropriate credit given, then the student is guilty of
plagiarism.
Whether deliberate or accidental, plagiarism is a serious and punishable
offense. After notifying and presenting the student with evidence of such
misconduct, the instructor has the full prerogative to assign an “F” for
the offense, or to assign an “F” for the entire course. The instructor will
inform and, if possible, meet with the student concerning the decision
reached. A student may be brought before the Academic Conduct
Committee of the College in which the alleged offense occurred, and may
face academic suspension or dismissal from the Institute.
Notes
1. Papers must be submitted to dropbox by the day & time that they are
due. Unless noted specifically on the course plan, do not email
assignments to me. Always keep a back-up copy of your work. Neither
technical difficulties ("my alarm clock exploded”, "my computer is on
fire," etc.) nor personal problems are acceptable excuses. I will not accept
late papers. If you have extenuating circumstances and anticipate not
being able to get a paper done on time (including peer-review drafts),
please speak with me about it ahead of time.
2. Please contact me immediately if you are unable to understand a
comment that I have written on your paper. If you have a problem with
the grade, I require that, before discussing it with me, you reread the
paper, the original assignment, and my comments, and make an
appointment with me at least 24 hours after receiving the paper. I will
need a copy of the paper with my comments in advance of our
discussion.
3. RIT has a writing lab that offers free tutoring for writers during any
stage of the process. You may reserve an appointment online, or plan
your walk-in visit with time to spare, as you will be accommodated on a
first-come, first-served basis.
4. RIT is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students
with disabilities. If you would like to request accommodations such
as special seating, testing modifications, or note-taking services due to a
disability, please contact the Disability Services Office: the Web site is
www.rit.edu/dso. After you receive accommodation approval, it is
imperative that you see me so that we can work out whatever
arrangement is necessary.
DAILY PLAN
(subject to adjustment- please listen in class/via email for
changes/updates)
These dates indicate the days for which the work should be
completed. Plan on coming to class prepared to discuss the work
listed on that day.
All readings are either listed here as URLs or are on myCourses under
“content” “course readings”.
All deadlines listed are Eastern Time.
Important note on Virtual Fridays!
During the semester, our class will meet face-to-face on Mondays and
Wednesdays. Some Fridays will comprise a virtual discussion, working
days, online game-playing research, off-campus excursions, film
screenings, or other relevant coursework. There will also be Fridays
that we will meet in the classroom.
Please note this schedule, and plan accordingly.
Date
8.25
8.27
9.5
9.8
9.10
9.12
Reading & Preparation for Class/Work Due
introduction to the course
“Roger Ebert was wrong: Video Games are the new Novels”:
http://tinyurl.com/p8q29sw
“Novices, Gamers, and Scholars: Exploring the Challenges of
Teaching About Games”, found @:
http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/zagal_bruckman
Labour Day: no class meeting
“Vicarious Experience: Staying There Connected With and
Through Our Own and Other Characters”
“Vicarious Experience”, continued
introduce paper #1
“Film, Adaptation and Computer Games”
Virtual Friday
9.15
9.17
on your own, explore: “Digital Transformations: Reading
Games as [Authorless] Literature”, found @:
http://cedare-reports.co.uk/digitaltransformations/
(use the bar/menu on the left to help you navigate through
the site)
discuss the website, above
“Narrative, Games, and Theory”, found @:
8.29
9.1
9.3
9.19
9.22
9.24
9.26
9.29
10.1
10.3
10.6
10.8
10.10
10.13
10.15
10.17
10.20
10.22
10.24
10.27
10.29
10.31
11.3
11.5
11.7
http://gamestudies.org/0701/articles/simons
working day: paper #1 due by 11:59p 9/26/2014
“The Lord of the Rings Online: Issues in the Adaptation of
MMORPGs”
“The Lord of the Rings Online”, continued
working day: paper #1 due by 11:59p 9/26/2014
“Perspectives of Computer Game Philology”, found @:
http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/kucklich/
“Genre and Disciplinarity in the Study of Games”
no class meeting today
introduce paper #2
“From Dungeons to Digital Denizens”
“From Dungeons to Digital Denizens”, continued
excursion: National Museum of Play: e-Game Revolution
Fall Break: no class meeting
paper #1 optional revision due by 11:59p 10/13/2014
“Games Telling Stories? A Brief Note on Games and
Narratives” found @:
http://www.gamestudies.org/0101/juul-gts/
“Print is Flat, Code is Deep: The Importance of Media-Specific
Analysis”, found @:
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/IPRHDigitalLiteracies/Hayles.pdf
no class meeting today
download Dear Esther and begin to explore that world
Dear Esther project discussion
explore Dear Esther independently (no in-class meeting)
Dear Esther discussion & analysis
“MMOGs and the Future of Literature”, found @:
http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digitallibrary/07312.32545.pdf
Virtual Friday
on your own, explore: “Thoughts on Teaching Literature and
Gaming”, found @:
http://hastac.org/blogs/amanda-phillips/thoughts-teachingliterature-and-gaming
(note the many resources in her “schedule of readings”—you
may find some useful as you research and write paper #2 &
paper #3)
Videogames as Literary Experiences”, found @:
http://www.spectermagazine.com/collective/videogames/
what is the relationship between games & story? consider this
question for today’s in-class discussion
working day: paper #2 due by 11:59p 11/7/2014
11.10
11.12
11.14
11.17
11.19
11.21
“Game Design as Narrative Architecture”, found @:
http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/games&narrative.html
“Once Upon A Time”, found @:
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500397_162-1434480.html
excursion: National Museum of Play: e-Game Revolution
prepare for paper #3: please look ahead to the paper #3
assignment, and start planning: purchase the book, begin to
read the text, download the game, do preliminary research
introduce paper #3, discuss further appropriate game + text
pairings
“Literature’s game changers: how the console moulds us and
our fiction”, found @:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/james-warner/literaturesgame-changers-how-console-moulds-us-and-our-fiction
paper #2 optional revision due by 11:59p 11/19/2014
in-class screening of: Penny Arcade- Extra Credits
season 1, episode 1: “Bad Writing”
season 1, episode 21: “Narrative Mechanics”
season 2, episode 1: “Amnesia and Story Structure”
11.26
11.28
12.1
12.3
12.5
all found @:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits
(feel free to peruse the site and bring additional episode
suggestions to today’s class)
reading, writing, research day: please use this time to work on
paper #3
Thanksgiving Break: no class meeting
Thanksgiving Break: no class meeting
film screening
film screening
Virtual Friday
12.8
12.10
12.14
research/working day: paper #3 due 12/14/2014
TBA
last day of classes; wrap-up discussions
paper #3 due in dropbox by 11:59p
11.24
ASSIGNMENTS
Paper #1
This will be a 4-5 page literary/cultural analysis (i.e.- an analytic point) on
a topic of your choice related to our course materials, in which you
analyze a certain aspect of the text(s) and show how it informs a theme
or illuminates a certain interpretation. You may also include discussion
of films, criticism, or other texts you have viewed or read related by topic
or theme, and material found on the Internet such as websites or blogs.
Please note that you will likely start out with an idea for a topic, but will
need to have a thesis, a specific argument or claim made about the topic.
Use plenty of textual evidence: detailed examples and quotes. Strive to
include original points and examples, rather than simply repeating those
covered in class. Do not merely summarize. Instead, draw conclusions
about your examples and points, relating your analysis to overarching
themes of the text. In other words: interpret. Please use MLA format for
in-text and end-of-document citations. Include an original title.
Online, we will brainstorm possible topics and questions to serve as a
springboard for your own ideas. For further inspiration, please refer to
the many topics/questions in the “course description” section of this
syllabus.
Please keep the following commentary in mind as you work on paper #2
& paper #3, both of which focus specifically on the relationship between
literature and video games:
Arguments suggest that literature is superior to visual mediums for the
depth of insight offered. Books are far better at dealing with introspection
however. While games should in theory be better than film and television
for this, due to the standardized view point of first or third person with
minimal cutting, there are few cases of it being done particularly well.
Games are far more analogous to books in that they are experiences
extended over a series of hours with so a similar amount of time is spent
experiencing that universe. This allows us to become more accustomed to
the world, play a greater role in shaping it and spend more time with the
characters. However, while the time we spend with these stories can be
similar, the amount of content portrayed can differ greatly. Video games
being visual means that all of the lines of a book spent describing an
environment or clothing etc. can be absorbed in seconds. This is truer to
the artistic vision of the creator as they are better able to show you the
world they imagined, rather than your interpretation. By existing in this
world using the character as a proxy, we become more immersed and can
have a more intense experience because of it. Writing in games can often
be hit or miss, so relying on an established story can provide support and
allows the medium to evolve to cover more interesting stories than the
typical affairs.
Paper #2
Using Dear Esther (the game), as well as any other games that you feel are
similar in scope/genre/focus/narrative and our discussions/readings
about narrative in gaming as your primary sources, this will be a 4-5 page
discussion of intertextuality, narrative, and storytelling. I’d like you to
consider how the narrative unfolds and to what extent it mirrors the way
that a story would unravel in a work of literature.
Are the characters and narration compelling? Do you find yourself
emotionally connected in the same way that you would be if this were a
book instead of a computer game? Can we go so far as to call Dear Esther
a narrative/text/story/piece of literature? That is, must we continue to
keep “literature” so narrowly defined, or are narrative-based games
pushing us to expand our definition? Carroll and Kafka define “minor
literature” as any literature that subverts and dislocates tradition. Is it
plausible that games are, perhaps, “minor literature”? You may also include discussion of films, criticism, or other texts you
have viewed or read related by topic or theme, and material found on the
Internet such as websites or blogs. Please note that you will likely start
out with an idea for a topic, but will need to have a thesis, a specific
argument or claim made about the topic.
Use plenty of textual evidence: detailed examples and quotes. Strive to
include original points and examples, rather than simply repeating those
covered in class. Do not merely summarize. Instead, draw conclusions
about your examples and points, relating your analysis to overarching
themes of the text. In other words: interpret. Please use MLA format for
in-text and end-of-document citations. Include an original title.
Online, we will brainstorm possible topics and questions to serve as a
springboard for your own ideas.
While optional in the previous paper, this assignment requires that you
incorporate at least two (2) outside sources into your argument.
Paper #3
Important note: this essay assignment requires that you purchase a
book and download a video game. Please plan your time accordingly.
Literature and games are fundamentally different media, and as such, a
direct adaptation can lead to a regression of gameplay the industry has
seemingly evolved beyond.
This will be a 4-5 page thesis-driven analysis (i.e.- an analytic point) in
which you read either Metro 2033, Dante’s Inferno, The Last Wish:
Introducing the Witcher, or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and then
play (at least in part) the corresponding video game. After doing so, and
drawing upon our discussions, readings, and your acquired knowledge
thus far in the course, you will address some (or all) of the following
questions, as well as any peripherally-related ones that arise:
1. Can a video game possess substantial literary merit?
2. Can a video game offer the same depth of characters and insight into
the human condition as a novel?
3. Do video games invite the player to do the same things that works of
great literature invite the reader to do: identify with the characters, invite
him to judge them and quarrel with them, and to experience their joys
and sufferings as the reader’s own?
Furthermore, you’ll need to address the questions of authenticity and
choices of inclusion/exclusion that arise when mapping a text onto/into a
video game. How does one choose what’s important, for example? Is
virtually “reading” a game a parallel (but obviously very different)
experience to actually “reading” a text? Why or why not?
Use plenty of textual evidence: detailed examples and quotes. Strive to
include original points and examples, rather than simply repeating those
covered in class. Do not merely summarize. Instead, draw conclusions
about your examples and points, relating your analysis to overarching
themes of the text. In other words: interpret. Please use MLA format for
in-text and end-of-document citations. Include an original title.
Online, we will brainstorm possible topics and questions to serve as a
springboard for your own ideas.
This assignment requires that you incorporate at least two (2) outside
sources into your argument.