An introduction to Game Research

<p>The course provides an overview of games as well as theoretical concepts and frameworks that can be used for their analysis and evaluation. The course includes a particular focus on video games, modern board games, and tabletop roleplaying games. We also look at transmedial aspects, and gaming forms that don’t fit neatly into these categories.</p> <p>Students formulate several research questions of their choosing around games, and during the course they develop the skills required to provide answers to those questions. The course introduces three key research perspectives that are useful for game studies. We make use of the systemic perspective, which explores how games work. We look at the experiential perspective, which explores how games make us feel. And we look at the<br /> critical perspective, which focuses on what games are trying to say.</p> <p>The course also has a strong focus on ‘learning by playing’, recognising that games are the primary text of their discipline. Students taking this course will have an opportunity to try out tabletop roleplaying for themselves, as well as a chance to play a curated selection of modern board games.<br /> <br /> Course participants put together an academic paper and poster as part of the course; peer review the papers of their fellow students; and present their papers to their colleagues at an end-of-course symposium.</p> <p><em>Sub-courses</em><br /> <strong>1. Assignments</strong> <em>(Inlämningsuppgifter)</em>, 7.5 credits<br /> Grading scale: Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3) and Fail (U)</p>