The aim of thecourses in block 1 and 3 is to enhance students' theoretical understanding of changes in the way we engage with digital media. We will do this with a focus on play and (digital) games. Students should be able to analyze literature in the field thoroughly and critically, frame theoretical discussions in the field and develop new, creative ways of conceptualizing games and playful media inseveral state-of-the-art research areas within game and play studies. We will focus on the analysis of concepts and theories that play an important role in game and play studies (with a focus on media theory); the critique of these concepts and theories; and on doing creative research on the basis of this analysis and critique. Students will be introduced to and engage with relevant game studies methods that will enable them to study games, playful media and play in relevant cultural contexts.  The major assessment task of the course is a paper which should be of a high academic standard.

This course is taught in period 1 and 3.

The course content is related to current practices and issues in the cultural industries and other work-related fields. Instructors are in close contact with and collaborate within such fields; students who already participate in the professional field of new media and digital culture are encouraged to share their experience; the courses aim to include guest lectures, excursions or are to otherwise engage with the professional field.

The aim of Game Studies: Serious/Game/Play (period 1) is threefold: A. To investigate to what extent and in what way the notions of ‘game’ and ‘play’ can be used as a conceptual framework for the analysis of media use in the new spaces of digital culture (ludification of culture). B. To examine how - serious, applied or persuasive - gaming and game mechanics/gamification are being used outside of entertainment, including in education and for the purpose of political action. C. To investigate to what extent and in what way, digital gaming technologies are transforming the construction of personal and cultural identity (playful identities, homo ludens 2.0).

In Game Studies: The Rules of Play (period 3) students do not just focus on the rules of play - or playing by the rules – but rather on subverting, resisting, or deviating from the rules. We investigate the formal and informal rules of (digital) games and play and the way they are negotiated and manipulated by players as well as game developers. By investigating both the design and play practices of traditional games as well as serious games, pervasive games and gamified media, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of how rules of play impact the way we engage in contemporary ludic media and culture.