Videogames and Literature

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Critical Thinking and Inquiry in the Humanities and Fine Arts:

• Critically analyze claims, arguments, artifacts or information.
• Construct coherent, evidence-based arguments.

Course Student Learning Objectives:

• Reflect on problems posed by current media, specifically video games, and devise effective solutions to them.
• Analyze how video game player communities collaborate to contribute to video game design practices.
• Investigate how video game mods operate as a form of revision comparable to revision practices in other types of writing.
• Analyze and develop video game mods as a form of personal and creative composition.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
“Gaming and You” Response Paper	10%
Mod Peer-Review Analysis	20%
Online Article for Video Games	10%
Final Mod Proposal Project	30%
Final Mod Proposal Project Presentation	10%
Video Game Journal	10%
Class Participation	10%

Grading Scale for the Course

Percentage	Letter Grade
93.0 and above	A
90.0 – 92.9	A-
87.0 – 89.9	B+
83.0 – 86.9	B
80.0 – 82.9	B-
77.0 – 79.9	C+
73.0 – 76.9	C
70.0 – 72.9	C-
67.0 – 69.9	D+
63.0 – 66.9	D
60.0 – 62.9	D-
Below 60.0	F

Attendance/Participation:

Students are allowed a maximum of 3 absences without penalty. Each absence over 3 results in a deduction from your participation grade. After a student’s 6th absence, the instructor will hold a mandatory attendance meeting with the student to establish an intervention plan. Students who do not attend the meeting or who do not follow the intervention plan risk failing the course. A student with 7 absences will receive a grade of F for the course.

Students must attend every class, arrive on time with the necessary assignments and course materials, and stay for the duration of the class. This attendance policy does not differentiate between “excused” and “unexcused” absences; it is your responsibility to reserve your absences for unavoidable occurrences, such as illness, work-related events, advising sessions, childcare concerns, car trouble, minor emergencies, etc.

State law requires that students be allowed two absences due to religious holidays; please notify me at least 48 hours prior to your anticipated absence. Intercollegiate athletes should provide official documentation of anticipated absences early in the semester. Absences for religious holidays and documented athletic events will not count toward the maximums described above.

If you have extenuating circumstances such as serious illness, chronic illness, an injury requiring prolonged medical treatment, prolonged psychological issues, etc., you should make your instructor aware of these circumstances as soon as possible and keep your instructor informed until you are able to return to class. You should also contact the Dean of Students Office, which can review documentation and notify multiple instructors on your behalf, especially if hospitalization or distress prevent you from doing so yourself. You should be aware, however, that the Dean of Students Office will not override any individual instructor’s attendance policy and that decisions about whether and how to accommodate students in distress are made by individual instructors. The Dean of Students office is located at 210 Elliott University Center and can be reached at 336-334-5514 or deanofstudentsoffice@uncg.edu.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

• The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Baldur's Gate 3