Narrative in video games: A historical overview

This course is aimed at anyone who wants to broaden their knowledge of video game history - from Pong and Pac-Man to Doom and Disco Elysium - as well as increase their analytical ability in terms of understanding and interpreting video game narratives. If you are interested in games as a hobby, or if you either work or want to work with games, and want to delve deeper into the history of video games, this is the course for you. The course covers video games and their narratives, ranging from the early years up until today - approximately 1970-2020 - as well as various approaches and narrative techniques that have been developed during this period. By examining how video games use text, visuals, audio, interactivity and paratext (such as covers and manuals), the possibilities of video games as a medium will be highlighted, and you will have a clearer understanding of the development of video games as a medium - from the first small-scale steps to the popular and expansive cultural expression it is today. The language of instruction is English and the course is primarily focused on games in English. In addition to lectures and seminars, the course includes several study visits to a historical games archive located near the University. During these study visits, you will have the opportunity to examine games as physical artefacts in the form of hardware and game-related objects such as covers, manuals and more. Seminars and lectures are held late afternoon (17.15-20.00) every other week throughout the autumn semester.