video games...

Video games have been a part of popular culture for over 40 years and there is no denying that their popularity will continue to grow. It’s not just teenagers who spend hours each day playing games, primary aged children, adults, babies and even cats are spending more and more time playing video games. This medium is so pervasive that we are now seeing games in almost all aspects of our lives, from games on our mobile phones, in advertising, in workplace and now in school! The purpose of video games is no longer just to entertain – games are being used for marketing, education, politics and socialising. With such a strong presence in our lives, it makes sense that you are equipped with the skills to critically engage with video games as a text form and understand how game designers use the features of games to create meaning. Let's face it, you probably already have these skills - so let's use this course to develop and challenge what you think you know about video games!

During this semester-long course, you will be spending a lot of time playing video games (woohoo!) but you'll also spend time getting critical about the games you play and the way in which video games reflect and shape your attitudes to other people, yourselves and the world! Of course, you will also get to be creative as well by creating your own online game reviews and designing your own video game.

This course is made up of FOUR main projects - two are individual projects and two are team projects. You can find out more about each project by clicking on the buttons below:

Attribution for images in header:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwl/4595324641/sizes/m/in/photostream/ (Things are going to get a bit crazy in here by kennymatic)http://www.flickr.com/photos/99472898@N00/4856986697 (Finally by kennymatic)http://www.flickr.com/photos/8344872@N05/4255155915 (8-bit Basement by Alex Eylar)