Well, I could give a variety of answers, but what I usually say we play games and analyze them. However, I learned this doesn’t completely capture what the class was about. There was a lot more depth to what we did, and a lot more reading material involved.

 

I suppose the best way would be to compare it to film studies…which Wikipedia defines as “an academic discipline that deals with theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to the cinema.” Really, our class consisted of all the same things. We learned about the history of videogames and even got to try out ancient relics classic games like the Pong and Star Raiders. This was definitely interesting, especially because I had never actually played the originals before. And what’s a gamer without their roots?

 

Yet the majority of our time was spent discussing games theoretically and critically. The theories we looked at were definitely new to me, to say the least. For instance, I’ve heard of “the theory of play” and thought, how in the world could you analyze something as basic as play? As it turns out, play is much more complex than I used to believe. Critically, we explored the aesthetics of games, elements I had recognized in games but did not know the how important they were. I mean, when playing through a level of Super Mario Bros. 3, you notice there’s a timer for each stage. However, what you don’t realize is the designer intended to use time to push the player along, while also giving the freedom to explore. To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought of breaking down something like that.

 

It’s because of this that I see the most important thing to remember is that, just like film, videogames are text we can study in the same, if not a more interactive, manner. If we can evaluate and interpret movies and novels, why can’t we discuss games as well?

 

The fact that we study videogames surprises my friends. They’re usually discouraged when I give them details of our reading material or paper topics. That’s because when it comes to analyzing texts, we think teachers force us to overanalyze. We say things along the lines of “I bet that would have been a good book if we didn’t have to read so much into it,” or something like “I used to like that, but now I can’t even look at it in the same way.” All of these things are true, but don’t necessarily have to be bad things. From this class, I learned how this in-depth analysis really shows us what we need to see, so from then on, we know exactly what to look for.

 

So when it comes to “I bet that would have been a good book…” I’d have to disagree. It still would’ve been a bad book, we just wouldn’t have realized it. At least now, we can recognize different elements and view things critically, and have a better idea of what the text is trying to tell us.

 

Overall, I am thrilled I had the opportunity to take this course. The class went above my expectations – not only teaching me more about my favorite form of entertainment, but also preparing me to think more critically about things I encounter in life. This really was the best FSEM for me to take.