| Unit name | Approaching Video Games |
|---|---|
| Unit code | FATV30024 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Samuel |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Film and Television |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit addresses a range of new media forms and artefacts and asks students to explore the different relations between ‘text’ and ‘spectator’ (or ‘user’) that emerge with the various forms of interactive screen-based media familiarly known as video games. To what extent is it useful to think of video games as ‘texts’, and how might we conceive of the modes of engagement and types of experience they offer? What different theoretical approaches are needed for video game analysis as distinct from film and television analysis? Students will engage critically with these important questions as they explore the evolution and hybridisation of these related media.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This Final Year option unit offers students a different perspective on the study of film and television by considering adjacent forms of screen-based media. By Final Year, students will be comfortable deploying common terms in film theory and analysis, such as ‘viewer’, ‘text’, ‘narrative’, ‘authorship’ and ‘genre’, and this unit aims to encourage students to think again about the assumptions behind such terms as we explore their applicability to ‘interactive’ forms.
An overview of content
This unit addresses a range of forms and new media artefacts within contemporary gaming cultures and asks students to explore the different relations between ‘text’ and ‘spectator’ (or ‘user’) that emerge from these interactive screen-based media. To what extent do video games extend or rework familiar modes of narrative and genre in film and television, and how might they differently configure relations between ‘space’, ‘time’, ‘character’, and ‘world’? Students will critically explore interactive media, addressing the different modes of engagement and types of experience on offer in direct comparison to films and television programmes. They will develop and reflect upon the critical and analytical skills necessary to explore these emergent forms.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Students engaging with this unit will acquire a sharper awareness of the similarities and differences between various forms of screen-based media, and a critical perspective on the notion of ‘interactivity’. They will have further and developed and refined their existing critical and analytical skills of film and television analysis in response to the need to differently examine interactive artefacts and experiences.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
How you will learn
This unit will be taught via lectures and seminars. The lectures will set out relevant contexts and approaches, and model the application of concepts. The seminars will place emphasis on comprehension of the weekly reading with targeted discussion to develop critical perspectives and proficiency in the topic area, alongside opportunities to develop analytical skills and approaches.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Blog posts: Students will complete five 250-word blog posts on Blackboard giving a critical summary of a reading for class. You will receive formative feedback on these blog posts and you will be encouraged to develop one of these topics/areas of discussion for summative assessment (Essay 1)
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay 1, 1500 words (30%) [ILOs 1-2]
Essay 2, 2500 words (70%) [ILOs 3-4]
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. FATV30024).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
