ANTHS12

Before videogames reach the market, levels must be designed, characters drawn, narratives written, and mechanics coded. Before that, videogames must be imagined, tested, and pitched. This course is designed to allow students to experience for themselves those earliest stages of videogame development, when games move from idea to collaborative project. After working through some of the most influential scholarship on the politics of videogames and their design, and hearing from several industry experts about their experiences in the field, students form groups and work collaboratively to develop pitch materials for an imagined game. Groups pitch these ideas to each other at the end of the term, and each student submits an autoethnographic account of their experiences on their "development team." Whether the pitched games strike students as viable or not, they leave the course with a deepened understanding of the complexities of game design and the politics that infuse the process.