For School: What Games for a Games as Lit. Class?

[KafkaOffTheBeach]

For the "Indie" category in a "Video games as Literature" you need to have Braid and Flower, purely from a interactive storytelling standpoint. Braid because it is an easy one for people to wax lyrical on in dissecting the character of Tim/wanking about meta-narratives/et al., Flower because it is the only game out there that replaces every single conventional narrative trope ever made with awesome.

First Person.......probably Half-Life - either original or 2, either one works, CoD4, and either Bioshock or STALKER.

Immersion.....I would say Amnesia, or Dead Space for DAT SOUND DESIGN, and something where the game sticks to its rules and never breaks them - like in Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2 and MGS3

Don't really know too much about Adventure games/VNs and I'd have to evaluate too many J/RPG's to do that one.....
But seriously folks - I could talk about Braid's narrative for fucking WEEKS. I'd psuedo-intelligise the FUCK out of all of your ears...

EDIT: Check that mother-molesting tautology...proof reading rocks!

 

[Kaytastrophe]

First-Person Storytelling - I would say bioshock. If not, MAYBE the killzone franchise, deus ex would be a good one as well.

RPG Study - For this category I would probably go with the fable series (1 or 3 would probably be best suited for what your trying to do). Mass Effect could also be a contender. You might be able to sneak in a fallout game as well but I think it fits in better places

Adventure/Visual Novel - I would say for an adventure game a great game that shows narration and story telling is the uncharted series. God of War (although the story isn't that great) in this situation it would be best to look at the first one or the series as a whole. I would also say something out of the Assassin's Creed series would be good, finally splinter cell would be a good candidate as well. I know these aren't the traditional point and click but they do fit under the adventure heading.

Indie Games - I don't play many (if any) indie games...sorry

Immersion - FALLOUT! (particularly 3) In my opinion no game immerses you like fallout 3. After a while you start imagining what your home town would look like after the apocalypse and what you would bring with you. Bioshock once again would be a good candidate. Even Assassin's creed 2. However, hands down no question immersion=fallout 3 (except for the bugs that breaks said immersion).

 

[TiefBlau]

Horror games are great for allowing people to see the various techniques that go into crafting a gamer's experience. Games like Fatal Frame 2 and Amnesia are capable of creating a story without narrative, making an experience more distinguishable from movies and books than any other kind of game.

 

[GothmogII]

For an RPG study:

Planescape Torment works for immersion too. Baldur's Gate, while understandably a classic RPG, is actually rather light on the role part of an RPG. You can make any character you like of course, but you are rather limited by the dialogue choices presented to you, to such an extent that you simply can't play an 'evil' character without regularly making donations to the local church. Otherwise you'll get swamped by Flaming Fist soldiers.

Planesape Torment on the other hand gives you one character to play as your player char: The Nameless One. And it works so much better, TNO you see is a nameless (obviously) immortal with many, many incarnations. Some good, some evil, some utterly insane. Which I felt allowed the player the freedom to play TNO as they wanted. Even so, there is little possibility of emergent gameplay in Torment as despite all the dialogue options it offer as it still heavily scripted. But for pure storytelling it is hands down one of the greats.

For Adventure:

Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters.

It's kind of a fusion between adventure game, arcade shooter and RPG. There are many games that claim to be sandbox but Star Control 2 gives you an entire galaxy to explore, literally. The adventure aspect comes in in that you get to interact with dozens of weird and wonderful alien races all the while trying to find resources, technology and allies to beef up your flagship and defeat the Ur-Quan.

The learning curve is somewhat steep however and it offers little in the way of in game hints. The source code is available under GNU and was released by the games creators, so there are a number of versions available, including a PC port, so there's no excuse not to go out and find it.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

Start by getting your semantics straightened out. Games aren'y literature (besides Zork clones.)

RPG Study - Broken up into JRPG and WRPG sections, to compare the styles of gameplay and storytelling from both cultures, since both are critically important to gaming's narrative identity but very, very different.

What's there to discuss? Western CRPGs sometimes resemble real RPGs a little while the japanese version are usually strategy games with leveling that are filled with cutscenes or text. I recommend Fallout and Deus-Ex for being some of the few computer games with a decent RPG possibility space, I don't think JRPGs are worth looking at.

Adventure/Visual Novel - A study of games from point-and-click adventure games to Japanese visual novels, studying the ways in which these specialized genres tell their stories and overcome gaming's need for violence and conflict.

Adventure and visual novel aren't related. Adventure games are about solving puzzles while visual novels are picture books with choices and multiple endings. You can also easily be both at the same time {Ace Attorney and 999 for instance.) Text adventures are sometimes similar to visual novels but the only one I know of beside Zork is Leather Goddesses of Phobos which is a pretty well written porno game. I don't play VNs but I know about all the popular shit so you should probably know them too. Oh and you realize that pretty much every story has conflict right?

Indie Games - A study of what makes small-budget and independently-developed games different, how they are important, and the place that "art games" have in the medium.

That's easy. Indie devs don't have the technology or manpower for cutting edge endeavors so they mostly regulate themselves to Rand()-ing everything or relying on a gimmick if not trying to use the concepts of meaning and metaphors to get around designing a good game. Their are a few good developers though, mostly japanese devolopers trying to make slightly technologically primitive games. The ones which are good enough to recommend are Melty Blood, Minecraft, Crimzon Clover and a mecha game which I'll try to remember later...

Immersion - A study of immersion and atmosphere, the effect that all elements of an interactive artwork combine to create.

A game being good = immersion. I recomend any of these: http://insomnia.ac/reviews/videogame_art/

 

[Cavan]

Maybe portal? Yeah it doesn't have much of a story in itself, but it's only 2 hours long and you can explore the entire concept of how the AI attempts to gain your trust and motivation without a traditional story to guide.

The atmosphere is pretty spot on in alotta ways too, the helpful hints and signs on the wall and praise given to you through neutral tones for performing almost insulting tasks.

 

[Continuity]

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway. But whatever, here are games I would be likely to choose for academic study:


First-Person Storytelling Deus Ex, System Shock 2, FEAR, Mafia, Half Life 2, Portal.

RPG Study I know nothing of JRPG but here are some good WRPG examples: Baldurs gate (series), planescape torment, knights of the old republic, Fallout. or if you want more recent titles: The Witcher, Dragon age origins, Fallout new vegas.

Adventure/Visual Novel the longest journey, Machinarium, Dreamfall, Indigo prophesy.

Indie Games Amnesia Dark Decent, Super Meat boy, machinarium, Braid.

Immersion Any of the above

to such an extent that you simply can't play an 'evil' character without regularly making donations to the local church. Otherwise you'll get swamped by Flaming Fist soldiers.

There is a difference between evil and out-of-control psychotic madman you know. You can be thoroughly evil without ever breaking a law.

 

[Thaius]

At that, I don't consider it a 'restriction' at all and you should offer a range of games old and new and over various systems.

I plan on including both old and new games in the lineup. I just didn't want to only be capable of using old PC games. There are plenty of good ones and diverse ones, for sure, but also plenty of games that deserve to be looked at across different genres. Plus, like I said, I can't be entirely sure everyone will have a powerful enough PC or even a Windows-based machine at all. Though admittedly I hadn't thought of going as far back as Zork, but I think it's a good idea. Thanks.

For a literature course?

Impossible. An English course sure. But literature is supposed to be literature. Perhaps Baldurs Gate. It has a lot of talking.

Words are just symbols with meanings, and meanings change. Classes such as "Film as Literature" already exist. I'm just using the already-present terminology.

Yeah but I just think that the entire point of having literature classes is for people who want to review books. I'm not sure how the curriculum works where you live, but here we have "3a3b english" and "3a3b literature". The first does movies, pictures, books and maybe in the future games. They're equivalently impressive.

Perhaps it's a location thing. Are you in the UK? I'm from California, and "Literature" is starting to broaden its definition a bit to include the study of storytelling in general. As I said, it is quite common here to see classes entitled "Film as Literature." The meaning of the word is starting to shift as culture advances, a perfectly normal and constant event, but even in the context of film and video games it is the same principle; taking storytelling art and analyzing it. Perhaps it is only doing so over here though, and I get that, but in the American academic community this use of the term is definitely legitimate.

Start by getting your semantics straightened out. Games aren'y literature (besides Zork clones.)

See above. They are not literature by the strict dictionary definition, but words are nothing but symbols that represent a certain idea, and that idea often changes as a natural part of societal changes. While the class could be called "Video Games as Storytelling Art," the use of the term "literature" is common and accepted in these sorts of contexts in the American academic community. I'm just using the terminology of the field.

RPG Study - Broken up into JRPG and WRPG sections, to compare the styles of gameplay and storytelling from both cultures, since both are critically important to gaming's narrative identity but very, very different.

What's there to discuss? Western CRPGs sometimes resemble real RPGs a little while the japanese version are usually strategy games with leveling that are filled with cutscenes or text. I recommend Fallout and Deus-Ex for being some of the few computer games with a decent RPG possibility space, I don't think JRPGs are worth looking at.

Japan is critically important to the history and development of the medium, and the design and storytelling differences are most prevalent in the differences between their RPGs and those of the west. I'm not going to get into the whole "But JRPGs aren't real RPGs!" discussion because I find the argument to be xenophobic at best, but suffice it to say JRPGs will be studied because many of gaming's greatest stories have been told through them and it is important to study Japan's design and storytelling principles.

Adventure/Visual Novel - A study of games from point-and-click adventure games to Japanese visual novels, studying the ways in which these specialized genres tell their stories and overcome gaming's need for violence and conflict.

Adventure and visual novel aren't related. Adventure games are about solving puzzles while visual novels are picture books with choices and multiple endings. You can also easily be both at the same time {Ace Attorney and 999 for instance.) Text adventures are sometimes similar to visual novels but the only one I know of beside Zork is Leather Goddesses of Phobos which is a pretty well written porno game. I don't play VNs but I know about all the popular shit so you should probably know them too. Oh and you realize that pretty much every story has conflict right?

You're right, my use of the word "conflict" there was inappropriate. Of course every story has conflict. My point in this study is that video games have, for the most part, been unable to involve interactive conflict outside of violence. There is understandable reason for that, considering how gameplay works, but there are also ways to overcome it and deliver an interesting interactive experience despite the absence of, or at least lack of focus on, violence. Both visual novels and adventure games (not to be confused with action games) have gotten around that in similar ways. Keep in mind this class is about storytelling; both genres use similar storytelling techniques even if the gameplay itself is different. There is more theory behind it but I would end up writing an essay here, which is not my goal. Point is that both genres are similar in fundamental ways, especially regarding their storytelling, which is the entire point of this course. Though I fail to see how you can say they are not related directly before saying they can easily be combined.

Immersion - A study of immersion and atmosphere, the effect that all elements of an interactive artwork combine to create.

A game being good = immersion. I recomend any of these: http://insomnia.ac/reviews/videogame_art/

It's not that simple. Quality does not guarantee immersion; it is not the same as addictiveness. Peggle is a really fun game, hard to stop playing, but it does not create an atmosphere of tension and make you feel like you are actually involved in what's going on, to completely lose awareness of the controller in your hands and just act out the actions onscreen. That is something special achieved when all elements of a game combine in just the right fashion. It could best be compared to tension in a movie; any good story should have tension and conflict, but it is quite difficult to create an atmosphere of true tension, tension that makes the audience sit on the edge of their seat and unknowingly clench their fists in nervousness. Bioshock is the commonly-cited example, but there are many more where the music, visual design, game mechanics, story, sound design, everything comes together to create a single unified experience unlike any other. This is why it is the last study of the course; it is the study of the combined elements of everything in a game.

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway.

It's a "Video Games as Literature" course. All these studies are about storytelling, that's just the only one where I put the actual word in the title. But perspective is important in video games, and the first-person perspective storytelling principles deserve specific focus, especially since pretty much every other game in the course (with the exception of some of the adventure/visual novel titles) will end up being in third-person. As for immersion, it's like I said to Halo Fanboy above; immersion is, essentially, the effect a game has when all its parts are so expertly designed and pieced together that the experience amounts to much more than the simple sum of its parts and achieves true tension and immersion.

And yes, many genres overlap, but remember this is about storytelling. There are specific storytelling principles and techniques that apply to certain genres and perspectives and not others. And like I said, there will be overlap between some of these studies. The fact that art is capable of crossing genres does not devalue the study of said genres.

 

[GothmogII]

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway. But whatever, here are games I would be likely to choose for academic study:


First-Person Storytelling Deus Ex, System Shock 2, FEAR, Mafia, Half Life 2, Portal.

RPG Study I know nothing of JRPG but here are some good WRPG examples: Baldurs gate (series), planescape torment, knights of the old republic, Fallout. or if you want more recent titles: The Witcher, Dragon age origins, Fallout new vegas.

Adventure/Visual Novel the longest journey, Machinarium, Dreamfall, Indigo prophesy.

Indie Games Amnesia Dark Decent, Super Meat boy, machinarium, Braid.

Immersion Any of the above

to such an extent that you simply can't play an 'evil' character without regularly making donations to the local church. Otherwise you'll get swamped by Flaming Fist soldiers.

There is a difference between evil and out-of-control psychotic madman you know. You can be thoroughly evil without ever breaking a law.

That's want I mean though. Even evil actions keeping within' the law in BG (or what should have been within' the law) result in infamy. You don't for example have to in-discriminantly kill every peasant you see but simply choose the 'evil' options presented to you and you'll still end up branded as an kind of boogyman/mass murderer, without actually having killed anyone who didn't deserve it. x)

 

[bluepotatosack]

Adventure/Visual Novel - Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

The whole series, really. These games have some of the most thorough historical research I've ever seen in a game. And it's woven into the narrative beautifully. It's just a natural part of the characters and the world they live in.

And it's just a really good supernatural murder mystery. Plus, Tim Curry as the titular character and Mark Hamill as his bald detective buddy.

 

[Cheesepower5]

First-Person Storytelling - Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind or Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

ESIII used an extensive backstory, filled with rich details and unique fantasy set-pieces. Strange Journey uses its atmosphere to tell a story about the down-sides of human behavior.

RPG Study - Final Fantasy Tactics or Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Planescape: Torment or Ultima IV

FFT tells a dramatic tale based on the real English civil war, the war of the roses. Just use the PSP translation. Ultima IV forgoes the usual save the world story to make the player use morality to simply become a better avatar. The sequels proceed to subvert the hell out of it. If you talk about Ultima IV, talk about V and VI as well, I recommend watching TheSpoonyOne's retrospective for quick info on how it works.

Adventure/Visual Novel - I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream(The game adaption of the short story, that's actually better.)

Indie Games - Braid.

Immersion - Fallout New Vegas.

I'd talk about every game, but I need to go downstairs to eat.

 

[nickd007]

Indie: Passage

 

[Chal]

I want to second Dwarf Fortress for the indie games category. Emergent storytelling is something unique to gaming, and worth studying. Take it up with this fellow if you think otherwise.

Also, I think Riven would be a better choice than Myst in the adventure games section. Myst introduced the concept of linking to Ages, but Riven really furthered the idea of what could be done with that power.

 

[Continuity]

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway.

It's a "Video Games as Literature" course. All these studies are about storytelling, that's just the only one where I put the actual word in the title. But perspective is important in video games, and the first-person perspective storytelling principles deserve specific focus, especially since pretty much every other game in the course (with the exception of some of the adventure/visual novel titles) will end up being in third-person. As for immersion, it's like I said to Halo Fanboy above; immersion is, essentially, the effect a game has when all its parts are so expertly designed and pieced together that the experience amounts to much more than the simple sum of its parts and achieves true tension and immersion.

And yes, many genres overlap, but remember this is about storytelling. There are specific storytelling principles and techniques that apply to certain genres and perspectives and not others. And like I said, there will be overlap between some of these studies. The fact that art is capable of crossing genres does not devalue the study of said genres.

OK I get where you're coming from but computer games aren't really so much about literature, and I understand the sense in which you're using the word (I think). What I mean is that computer games are art independent of their capacity to tell stories and the defining quality of games over other mediums is that they're interactive and an experiance. If you like, I think we need a new language and a new idiom for discussing the art of computer games, "literature" is too one dimensional for what games actually are and to reduce a game to just its story is to miss the point in a big way.

Again on the subject of immersion, I'm really not sure that immersion is just an aspect of game design, its a act of participation on the part of the gamer. When reading a novel you "immerse" in the flow of the story and automatically create images and impressions in your mind giving the whole experience something of the feel of a third party dream. Well that is a function of imagination and to a lesser extent the same thing happens with movies, however its different with games, you drive the story, rather than letting your higher brain take a back seat you actually have to make choices and engage with the environment of the "story"..
Its a qualitatively different thing and it takes a much more conscious decision to "play along" and immerse yourself, it actually takes willing and effort for the gamer to achieve immersion, but having said that it is their effort that makes it happen so one gamer who has an immersive play style might achieve immersion in most games he plays (from dwarf fortress to Dreamfall), where as another might fail to become immersed in any of the games they play.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that immersion in the context of computer games is subjective.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

First-person Storytelling - Half-Life 2, Bioshock, Amnesia. However, I'd only pick one of these three as they all use the same methods of telling a story. All three essentially are telling a story that has already happened by the time the player arrives; it's more a study in "show, don't tell" that the circumstances are never explicitly described, but left to the player to fill in.

RPG study - If I'm reading your intentions right, you want to talk about cultural-specific differences in role-playing games, which is a great idea and should be encouraged instead of mindless fanboying of one side or the other. I'd go with the most popular/iconic of both worlds to show the standard conventions at work (say, Mass Effect 1/2 and Final Fantasy 6/7) and a cult hit of both (say, Planescape: Torment and Mother 3) to show what either side does working against their respective conventions.

Adventure/Visual Novel - I read your rephrased version of that, still gotta nitpick a little in that it's the content of the story that determines how much violence it has. There are just as many visual novels about solving problems through ass-kicking as not, the difference is whether the player has any say in it. That said, I'd recommend The Longest Journey and the Myst series (preferably either Myst or Riven) for adventure, and Ever17 and Umineko no naku Koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry) for visual novels.

Indie Games - I'm guessing you'd want to focus on the innovation that low-budget experimentation can bring, so go for as wide a variety of gameplay as you can find. I'd recommend Braid, Dear Esther (if you're including fanmade mods), Audiosurf, and I'm not really that familiar with indie games so you're on your own here. Still, go with innovation and experimental stuff.

Immersion - Silent Hill 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Amnesia and Bioshock again. Things that hide or deny the fact they are games. Minimal interfaces, no fourth wall breakage, unobtrusive music/sounds, ambiance, atmosphere, realism, these are all things you want your game to have to be immersive. Narrative flow and suspension of disbelief are the two most critical things. Also, things like a backstory or development of a "world outside" are great for immersion; the game should not be a self-contained closed room. In that sense, games like some of Bioware's latest RPGs are a good example: the codex entries work towards this end.

This is a great idea, and I like what you're doing. Studying how games tell a story in a way that is different from other media is just as valid as film before it, and writing before it, and song and speech before that. Best of luck with this, I'd be more than happy to give advice where needed.

 

[DeadSpaced]

Eternal Darkness has one of the best narratives, hands down. I'd venture to place it as an "adventure title" of sorts...there's combat, but the emphasis is on puzzle solving via the glyphs acquired. The way in which the narratives are interwoven across time is masterfully done, and, in my opinion, has few equals. (Don't get me started on trying to understand how Too Human was more important than a sequel)

I am curious though, when you mean "first-person storytelling" (and perhaps someone has already addressed this) do you mean that the narrative is told from the first-person perspective, and/or that the visual perspective we're given is first-person? For example, the monologuing in such 3rd-person titles as Max Payne and Alan Wake that drives the narrative. That being said, Alan Wake (if you'll include such) would be a great addition...moreso than Max Payne as Wake is equally the subject and the object of the title (both shaping and being shaped by the narrative...not certain if I made that clear).

As for immersion, Bioshock's already been mentioned several times over, but I'd put forth Dead Space: health/oxygen/statis levels naturally appear on the RIG, ammo counters appear as holograms attached to your weapons, and maps/briefings/cutscenes also project as holograms from your helmet. Then again, a fair amount of games that can avoid burying half the screen with obtrusive HUD elements have a shot at immersion.

I noticed that you're interested in collecting a list of Western and Eastern RPGs, but I was wondering if you'd considered the Western depiction of Eastern narratives and vice-versa, and what they say about one culture's projection on another through narrative. For example, Enslaved is a western studio's understanding of the Legend of the Monkey King. Alternately, it's interesting to see how the narrative of a series shifts when it switches from Eastern to Western studios, and vice-versa. One only has to look at the Silent Hill franchise's demise (in my opinion) to see what I mean. While the original entries were atmospheric and puzzle/exploration oriented, Origins and Homecoming have emphasized combat over cunning, and the fear of the seen over the unseen.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas (even though you probably wanted a list) and now I'll stop before this rambling becomes excessive (even though it probably already is).

 

[Thaius]

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway.

It's a "Video Games as Literature" course. All these studies are about storytelling, that's just the only one where I put the actual word in the title. But perspective is important in video games, and the first-person perspective storytelling principles deserve specific focus, especially since pretty much every other game in the course (with the exception of some of the adventure/visual novel titles) will end up being in third-person. As for immersion, it's like I said to Halo Fanboy above; immersion is, essentially, the effect a game has when all its parts are so expertly designed and pieced together that the experience amounts to much more than the simple sum of its parts and achieves true tension and immersion.

And yes, many genres overlap, but remember this is about storytelling. There are specific storytelling principles and techniques that apply to certain genres and perspectives and not others. And like I said, there will be overlap between some of these studies. The fact that art is capable of crossing genres does not devalue the study of said genres.

OK I get where you're coming from but computer games aren't really so much about literature, and I understand the sense in which you're using the word (I think). What I mean is that computer games are art independent of their capacity to tell stories and the defining quality of games over other mediums is that they're interactive. If you like, I think we need a new language and a new idiom for discussing the art of computer games, "literature" is too one dimensional for what games actually are and to reduce a game to just its story is to miss the point in a big way.

Again on the subject of immersion, I'm really not sure that immersion is just an aspect of game design, its a act of participation on the part of the gamer. When reading a novel you "immerse" in the flow of the story and automatically create images and impressions in your mind giving the whole experience something of the feel of a third party dream. Well that is a function of imagination and to a lesser extent the same thing happens with movies, however its different with games, you drive the story, rather than letting your higher brain take a back seat you actually have to make choices and engage with the environment of the "story"..
Its a qualitatively different thing and it takes a much more conscious decision to "play along" and immerse yourself, it actually takes willing and effort for the gamer to achieve immersion, but having said that it is their effort that makes it happen so one gamer who has an immersive play style might achieve immersion in most games he plays (from dwarf fortress to Dreamfall), where as another might fail to become immersed in any of the games they play.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that immersion in the context of computer games is subjective.

That is true, but the very quality of a given game, or any artwork for that matter, is subjective as well. It's something any sort of artistic study has to deal with, unfortunately. Since immersion is largely on the part of the player, their engagement in and opinion of a given work will be different from the other guy, but that is true of anything. While a sci-fi fan may be completely enraptured by District 9, someone who has trouble developing emotional connections to such entirely fictional situations and characters will not. But that does not mean there is no worth in studying District 9 as an enthralling piece of storytelling art. There are certain things, certain techniques and interesting design choices that make any artwork immersive, and while true immersion also requires action on the part of the player, the techniques and design that makes it possible must also be studied.

It is also true that video games are not only restricted to storytelling, but it is a large function of them, and I believe sometime soon we may be forced to create a different term for games that focus on creating an interactive narrative. The fact is, video games are a legitimate and capable medium for telling stories. It can do much more as well, but this course in particular is to study this aspect of them. I am not denying the legitimacy of competitive or "just for fun" gaming in this course, it is simply not the focus, similar to how a Bible as Literature course may study the Bible as a story whereas a Christian Theology course may study it as a holy book; one thing that has multiple functions, but each course focuses on one specific one. I'm not claiming games are restricted to being literature, I'm saying they have value as literature and this course looks specifically at that aspect.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

For Rpg people who own DS systems,a good short game would be that new Golden Sun.It illustrates how the world can change without the individual and that not only their action affects the seen world.Plus,the game is just cool and as a story works out just as it should.
Another good game which is not for the Ds (is for xbox 360,ps3,pc,I don't know about mac) is Fallout New Vegas where every single action that you preform in the end shapes the mojave for better or worse and all interaction from start to end is shaped as well. It is more advanced then I killed a guard, now more are gonna kill me.Just helping out the other person can tick off people in some situations.Besides,it stays true to historical events in its planning as due to Marcus's observations.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

snip

Well first off your categories suck, why only first person storytelling? and surely immersion is an aspect of every game from bioshock to tetris, plus first person storytelling will frequently involve either adventure or RPG anyway.

It's a "Video Games as Literature" course. All these studies are about storytelling, that's just the only one where I put the actual word in the title. But perspective is important in video games, and the first-person perspective storytelling principles deserve specific focus, especially since pretty much every other game in the course (with the exception of some of the adventure/visual novel titles) will end up being in third-person. As for immersion, it's like I said to Halo Fanboy above; immersion is, essentially, the effect a game has when all its parts are so expertly designed and pieced together that the experience amounts to much more than the simple sum of its parts and achieves true tension and immersion.

And yes, many genres overlap, but remember this is about storytelling. There are specific storytelling principles and techniques that apply to certain genres and perspectives and not others. And like I said, there will be overlap between some of these studies. The fact that art is capable of crossing genres does not devalue the study of said genres.

OK I get where you're coming from but computer games aren't really so much about literature, and I understand the sense in which you're using the word (I think). What I mean is that computer games are art independent of their capacity to tell stories and the defining quality of games over other mediums is that they're interactive. If you like, I think we need a new language and a new idiom for discussing the art of computer games, "literature" is too one dimensional for what games actually are and to reduce a game to just its story is to miss the point in a big way.

Again on the subject of immersion, I'm really not sure that immersion is just an aspect of game design, its a act of participation on the part of the gamer. When reading a novel you "immerse" in the flow of the story and automatically create images and impressions in your mind giving the whole experience something of the feel of a third party dream. Well that is a function of imagination and to a lesser extent the same thing happens with movies, however its different with games, you drive the story, rather than letting your higher brain take a back seat you actually have to make choices and engage with the environment of the "story"..
Its a qualitatively different thing and it takes a much more conscious decision to "play along" and immerse yourself, it actually takes willing and effort for the gamer to achieve immersion, but having said that it is their effort that makes it happen so one gamer who has an immersive play style might achieve immersion in most games he plays (from dwarf fortress to Dreamfall), where as another might fail to become immersed in any of the games they play.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that immersion in the context of computer games is subjective.

That is true, but the very quality of a given game, or any artwork for that matter, is subjective as well. It's something any sort of artistic study has to deal with, unfortunately. Since immersion is largely on the part of the player, their engagement in and opinion of a given work will be different from the other guy, but that is true of anything. While a sci-fi fan may be completely enraptured by District 9, someone who has trouble developing emotional connections to such entirely fictional situations and characters will not. But that does not mean there is no worth in studying District 9 as an enthralling piece of storytelling art. There are certain things, certain techniques and interesting design choices that make any artwork immersive, and while true immersion also requires action on the part of the player, the techniques and design that makes it possible must also be studied.

It is also true that video games are not only restricted to storytelling, but it is a large function of them, and I believe sometime soon we may be forced to create a different term for games that focus on creating an interactive narrative. The fact is, video games are a legitimate and capable medium for telling stories. It can do much more as well, but this course in particular is to study this aspect of them. I am not denying the legitimacy of competitive or "just for fun" gaming in this course, it is simply not the focus, similar to how a Bible as Literature course may study the Bible as a story whereas a Christian Theology course may study it as a holy book; one thing that has multiple functions, but each course focuses on one specific one. I'm not claiming games are restricted to being literature, I'm saying they have value as literature and this course looks specifically at that aspect.

Then for the sake of Immersion,have the person write a conglomerate of how they were immersed with each game.To single any one example out would be foolish so show that all games have a factor of immersion so as to prevent criticism on the part of neigh-sayers.If each individual has a different sense of immersion then no one game could be pointed to represent it so tell the class to describe the immersion experienced and as results shall differ,a hole is plugged in the boat.