Games and Their History

Games and Their History looks at contemporary games from a historical lens by analyzing how modern games directly reference historical precedents. The goal of the course is to analyze successful modern games aesthetically and culturally through close readings and seeing how the games evolved from previous games from history. The class will incorporate lectures, reading, discussion, and weekly play of games; assignments include keeping a journal of gameplay and writing game analysis essays. Students will learn how game mechanics intersect to form particular genre and how game systems can be combined to create original concepts.