| Course Objectives: |
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the historical evolution, technological advancements, cultural influences, and social impacts of videogames. Beginning with the emergence of arcades and home computing in the 1970s, the course will traverse significant milestones in the videogame industry, and try to understand the evolution of videogames through the decades. By the end of the course, students will gain insights into the trends and developments that have shaped the landscape of digital gaming and will be equipped to anticipate future trajectories and innovations in the field. |
| Course Content: |
This course will delve into the rich history and multifaceted aspects of digital gaming, exploring its technological, cultural, and societal dimensions. Students will examine key events, trends, and phenomena that have influenced the evolution of video games over the decades. Topics covered will include the rise of arcade culture, the advent of home gaming consoles, the impact of personal computers, the role of major gaming platforms and publishers, the democratization of game development through digital distribution and indie games, and the social and cultural implications of gaming on identity, community, and entertainment. Through critical analysis and reflection, students will gain a nuanced understanding of the past, present, and potential futures of digital gaming.a |
| Week |
Subject |
Related Preparation |
| 1) |
Introduction to class. Discussion, meeting, topics, rules, requirements. |
Prepare for the course. |
| 2) |
The Birth of Videogames: proto-digital games.
Spacewar!, Pong, Zork.
Advent of computation and digital visualization. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 3) |
Format Wars: Early home computers and gaming.
Commodore, Atari, Amiga, and others.
The firsts of common gameplay features. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 4) |
Videogame (Atari) Crash of 1983. Pitfalls of the videogame business. E.T., Back to the Future, and other licensed brands in gaming. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 5) |
Japan Conquers America: Famicom (NES), Sega, Gameboy, and others.
Mario, Sonic, Metroid, Metal Slug. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 6) |
DOS Games: Rise of the IBM PC, and its short-lived competition.
Prince of Persia, Dune, Warcraft, and Lucas Arts games. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 7) |
The Age of Pentium: CD-ROM games.
FMV games and pre-rendered 3D graphics.
Tex Murphy, Phantasmagoria, and Myst. |
Prepare for the mid-term exam. |
| 8) |
Mid-terms. |
Mid-term exam. |
| 9) |
Rise of 3D: Graphics accelerators and video cards.
3DFX, Nvidia, Glide, OpenGL, DirectX and Direct3D.
Doom and Quake. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 10) |
The Golden Age of PC Gaming: Videogames before and after Half-Life.
Starcraft, Need for Speed, Red Alert, Fifa, Deus Ex. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 11) |
Console Wars: Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
Playstation, N64, XBox, Gamecube, PS2, PS3, and others.
Metal Gear Solid, Halo, and Mario. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 12) |
The Rise of Studios: Birth of game design principles.
Kishotenketsu and other gameplay mechanics.
Origin, Westwood, Bullfrog, Bioware, Blizzard, and others. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 13) |
E-Sports and gaming communities: Competition and Speed Running in videogames.
Starcraft and Korea, Counter-Strike, GDQ, and Tetris. |
Play this week's videogame and take notes. |
| 14) |
Digital Distribution and Games as Service.
The Rise of Indie Games.
Minecraft, FTL, Papers Please, Limbo, and others. |
Prepare for the final exam. |
| 15) |
Finals. |
Final exam. |
| Course Notes / Textbooks: |
Dersin belirli notları veya bir kitabı yoktur. The course has no specific notes or a book. |
| References: |
Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984, Burnham, V., The MIT Press, 2003.
Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1985-2001, Burnham, V., Dynamite Entertainment, 2023.
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made, Schreier, J., Harper Paperbacks, 2017.
A Casual Revolution: Reinventing Video Games and Their Players, Juul, J., The MIT Press, 2012.
Replay: The History of Video Games, Donovan, T., Yellow Ant, 2010.
Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry, Schreier, J., Grand Central Publishing, 2021.
Atari Design: Impressions on Coin-Operated Video Game Machines, Guins, R., Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020. |
| |
Program Outcomes |
Level of Contribution |
| 1) |
Being able to write creatively, imagine, and produce original and inspired fictional scenarios, places, and universes. Being able to produce 2D and 3D visual designs and impressive auditory compositions. Being able to plan all these artistic practices around certain goals and with a focus on design. Being able to design the videogame design process itself. |
|
| 2) |
Being able to think and produce creative content based on mathematical data. Being able to parametrically design. Being able to quantify art and design practices, such as creative writing, graphical, illustrative, spatial, and character design. Being able to ideate qualitatively and subjectively through quantitative and objective approaches. |
|
| 3) |
Being able to work on projects by incorporating various fields of expertise and the content that originates from these fields. Being able to work as part of a team while embracing different ideas and skills. Being able to produce comprehensive and total videogame concepts. Being able to edit, exhibit, present, and defend works in portfolio and presentation formats. |
|
| 4) |
Achieving critical thinking literacy on videogame history and theory. Being able to think through and produce academic texts about the philosophical, anthropological, political, and social manifestations of games. Being vigilant about the contemporary problematics of videogame epistemology. Displaying professionalism in accepting criticism. |
3 |
| 5) |
Being informed about the historical accumulation and contemporary productions of the videogame culture and other cultural playgrounds from which videogame culture draws. Being able to tackle, process, and position both aesthetic and technical production and thinking methods as cultural activities. |
3 |
| 6) |
Being knowledgeable about the past, aware of the present, and foresighted about the future potentials of the social and economic realities of videogames. Being able to handle professional relations, create correspondence, and manage production plans. Being a generalist, while also specializing in one or more areas of expertise. |
3 |
| 7) |
Being able to research, filter data, and synthesize both within and outside videogame epistemology at every stage of production. Being able to conduct interdisciplinary research. Being able to create original ideas by remixing content from various sources. Learning to learn. |
2 |
| 8) |
Understanding, learning, and using professional content authoring tools and technologies. Being able to design workflows in service of various production requirements. Being able to use technologies within the workflow besides the usual and intended purposes, and researching, discovering, and putting to use technologies for new purposes. |
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ISTINYE UNIVERSITY BİLGİ PAKETİ / DERS KATALOĞU
