Assignment

Project Format (PLEASE FOLLOW THIS FORMAT):

1. Title of article, author and date (if not given, try to do a Google search for dates and if you cannot find it then that is fine)

The title is known as “what is video game culture? Cultural studies and game studies.” The article is written by Shaw Adrienne in 2010.

2. What did you learn from this reading (100 words) Provide info that helps you to contextualize the reading in your own knowledge and understanding—after week 1, you WILL need to make connections with other course readings/cmns theory. This is not just an opinion piece.

I learned about what the game culture is and how it is defined by different people. I learned that a cultural study is a field of approaches which is under tension and conflict over definitions, methods, theories, and fundamental goals and existence of cultural studies. I also learned that culture, as defined by different people, can be a form of criticism while others define culture as a way of life. I also learned that contrary to what gamers are viewed as not all gamers are young U.S. males as perceived. However, I also learned that video game playing is connected with childhood obesity and obsessive play.

3. Key quotes that would work for your game analysis OR final paper. (2 quotes). Describe your understanding of the quote and its connection to our discussions in class. The quotes will be accompanied by a 100 word analysis- not summary, but contextualization.

The first quote is “The negative connotations include correlating video game playing with childhood obesity and obsessive play”. As much as playing games is a good thing for entertainment and physical activity, it also is involved with negative connotations. The second quote is ‘‘[C]ultural studies thinks of culture in relation to issues of power; the power relations ... which affect who is represented and how, who speaks and who is silent, what counts as ‘culture’ and what does not’’ I would wish to get a deeper understanding of how culture is related to power issues and how it affects other people.

4. What question do you have? (1 question) This questions should be focused on a further comparison, evaluation and synthesis of material from other readings, course materials or class discussions.

The question that I have is “video games have negative connotations such as bringing about child obesity. Is there anything that can be done or ways to monitor these video games?”

5. Finally make connections—can be readings either academic or non-academic. This is a chance to tie the theory into the practice. Is there an industry example, game example, reading, documentary, etc. that expands on this idea. (100 words)

They help in expounding knowledge of what is learned in class. There are certain books that explain the expressions of culture to class identities and tensions. There are a lot of academics and scholars who have tried to define what game culture is in terms of either action and/or immersion. This shows that most of the readings are academic. In addition to that, there are certain theories that back up the readings as academic. For example, in the article, the ground theory was used as an approach to popular and academic descriptions of video game culture.

Marks will be awarded for the following:

· Completion of the tasks (biblio info, summary, key quote, questions)

· Thoughtfulness and integration of ideas from class