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VIDEO GAMES STUDIES 1 Syllabus Mumbai University by munotes
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Syllabus
Certificate Course
Video Games Studies
Department Communication and
Journalism
Kalina Campus
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O. 6496 - Title: Certificate Course in Video Games Studies
O. 6497 - Eligibility: A student for the admission of Certificate Course in Video Games
Studies must have at least completed his/her Higher Secondary Education (HSC i.e. 10+2) of
Maharashtra State Board or any other equivalent board.
R. 9240 - Duration of Programme: The duration of this Certificate Course in Video Games
Studies s hall be of 60 hours. The programme shall be conducted on part time basis. The
maximum duration for the completion is 3 months.
R. 9241 - Course Fees:
INR 10000 per student
R. 9240 A - Batch Intake:
The course will have a minimum intake of 15 students to start the course. The maximum
capacity will be of 30 Students
Pedagogy:
A more student centric approach will be used where students will be encouraged to
participate in the learning process. The teaching methods will be oral and exten sive use of
audio visual videos along with assignments, workshops and group activities
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CERT IFICATE COURSE IN VIDEO GAMES STUDIES
Introduction
The video games industry has witnessed a global shift in the past few years. It has
moved from becoming just a children’s entertainment system in the 90’s to a well
booming industry in the past decade with consoles like Playstation and Xbox becoming
household names . Over the course of time, video games industry has surpass ed
Hollywood movies in their budget, landscape and visions i n terms of their ideas, their
stories and their iconic characters that have made millions globally when it comes to
merchandise or its popularity amongst its fans . The Video Game market ha s remained
niche but over the course of time with smartphone industry booming, video games have
understood transitioning into platforms for which the Indian mass market is one of the
biggest markets in the world
Over the course of the last two decades , Video games has been discussed as an
important area of media just like studying films or music. Video games has a lot of
untapped potential in the age of new med ia and this course explains the theorotical
structures of not just defining a Video Game but also looking at the art and the
structures that goes into the aspects of marketing the content as well.
Objective of the course
This course introduces the students to video games and understanding it from the theoretical
perspective of history and its importance in popular culture. This course introduces various
topics to make the students aware of storytelling and character analysis that have been absent
from modern studies which makes it as important as television studi es or film studies course.
This course will also educate the students with looking at violence, looking at gender
perspectives as well as looking at the business of video games around the world and in India
as well .
Benefits of the course
The course is beneficial for anyone looking forward to go in the Media industry as this course
covers areas of culture studies and sociology by looking at gender, prejudices/ stereotypes,
violence, movies and popular culture impact. This course will be covering a vast v ariety of
topics for people who look at traditional/social media advertising and marketing of a niche
medium. This course can be beneficial for people who are planning to go into the video game
industry as this covers the theoretical perspective of the sam e.
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Work Content
The course shall comprise of the following unit s
Week 1 Introduction to the concept of video games
Week 2 A history of video games around the world
Week 3 Genres in video games
Week 4 The art of storytelling in games
Week 5 Video games characters: A brief history of iconic characters based on
their genres
Week 6 Video games and their platforms
Week 7 Prejudice and stereotypes in video games
Week 8 Video games and violence. Looking beyond the usual
Week 9 Studying Gender in video games
Week 10 Video games and music
Week 11 Video games in movies
Week 12 Popular culture in games
Week 13 Advertising and marketing video games
Week 14 The future: How new media and smartphones revolutionised games
Week 15 The business of video games in India. Looking at eSports in India
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Total Hours 60 hours
Class methodology
This is a six credit course. It will in volve teaching -learning for four hours a week for a period
of 15 weeks. Of the total 60 teaching -learning hours, 40 will comprise the central teaching
component while 20 hours will comprise the self -study component. The self -study
component will consist of academic tasks outside the clas sroom that will be assigned by the
teacher. The 40 hour teaching component will include two tests conducted in the classroom.
These test will be in the form of presentation s. Altogether these tests will be for 25 marks.
The self -study component of 20 hours will include researching vid eo game stories and all the
available components presented during the weeks . These will be evaluated for 15 marks. The
self-study component assigned in this manner will be related to or an extension of but not in
lieu of the prescribed syllabus.
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Projects
Each student will be given one video game of random genre as per the lecturer to study and
analyse. The student will have to study the story of the game and the characters in the story.
Based on that, the student will have to research on various areas such as violence, the
representation of gender, the music in t he video games and how was it advertised on various
platforms before and after it was released. This will provide the student with a holistic view
of an industry from the story to its promotion thus benefiting him to analyse and strategize
video games by n ot just studying just the story but the marketing aspects of the game as well
Budget:
Total Revenue from 30 students @ 10000/ - = INR 300,000/ - (Rupees Three Lac)
Cost to the Department:
Expe rt Faculty Remuneration - INR 85 000 / - @ of INR 1000/ - per hour
Coordinator - INR 10,000/ -
Resource Procurement - INR 25 ,000/ -
(Newspapers, books, DVDs, Props etc.)
3 Workshops ( ₹10,000/ - each = ₹30,000/ -)
Total Cost - INR 1,50,000/ - (One Lac and Fifty Thousands only)
Evaluation Pattern
Sr. No. Content/ Activities Credit
1. Attendance 1
2. Weekly assignments 1
3. Participation in Class
Activities 1
4. Final Project 3
Total 6
NOTE: Students with less than 75% attendance will not be given other credits.
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Bibliography :
What is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies - Adrienne Shaw (2010)
Gaming history: Computer and video games as historical scholarship - Dawn Spring (2015)
Home video games platform: Robin S Lee (March 2011)
What defines video game genre? Thinking about genre study after the great divide - David A
Clearwater (Loading… Vol. 5, issue 8)
The Art of Game Characters - Leo Hartas
Beyond programming: The power of making games - Lisa Castenda, Manrita Siddhu (2015)
Video game characters - Felix Schroter and Ja n- Nol Tham (2013)
Video games and Citizenship: Jeroen Bourgonjon and Ronald Soetaert
How video games are reaching out to reluctant readers - Kristie Jolley (2013)
Video games and violence; Public policy implications - Joel e Collier, Pearson Liddel Jr. and
Gloria J Liddel (2008)
The culture study: effect of online violent video games on the levels of aggression - J.
Hollingdale (2014)
The potential societal impact of virtual reality - Mark Ekolto Riveria
Gender and racial stereotypes in popular video games - Yi Mou, Wei Peng (2009)
Women and video games: Pigeonholing the past - Allison Perry (2012)
Advertising video games: Kelly Anders. Journal of public policy and marketing. (Volume 18
no. 2)
Effectiveness of social media as a tool for comm unication and it's potential for tech enabled
connections: A micro level study - Trisha Dowerah Baruah (May 2012)
The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of
psychiatric disorders: A large scale cross sectional study - Schou Andreassen C (2016)
Value creation in video game industry: Industry economics, consumer benefits and research
opportunities - Andre Marchand and Thorsten Henning Thurau (July 2013)
Gender Games: A Content Analysis Of Gender Portrayals In Modern, Narrative Video
Games - Jared Friedburg (2015)
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Gender and Racial stereotypes in popular video games - Y Mou (2009)
On the scientific relevance of eSports - Michael Wagner
The effect of Online Violent Video Games in adults - J Hollingdale (2014)