Monthly Subscription Starting at AED 99 + VAT

Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative
  • Level Foundation
  • Duration 21 hours
  • Course by Vanderbilt University
  • Offered by

About

Intended for both newcomers who are curious about video games and experienced gamers who want to reflect on their passion, this course will explore what happens to stories, paintings, and films when they become the basis of massively multiplayer online games. The Lord of the Rings trilogy—the novels, films, and video game—are our central example of how “remediation” transforms familiar stories as they move across media. The course is designed as a university-level English literature class—a multi-genre, multimedia tour of how literature, film, and games engage in the basic human activity of storytelling. Our journey will enable us to learn something about narrative theory, introduce us to some key topics in media studies and cover some of the history and theory of video games. It will also take us to some landmarks of romance literature, the neverending story that lies behind most fantasy games: J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, a bit of Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene, and poems by Keats, Tennyson, Browning, and others. Drawing on centuries of romance narrative conventions, the twenty-first century gaming industry has become a creative and economic powerhouse. It engages the talents of some of our brightest writers, artists, composers, computer engineers, game theorists, video producers, and marketing professionals, and in 2012, it generated an estimated $64 billion in revenue. Anyone interested in today’s culture needs to be conversant with the ways this new medium is altering our understanding of stories. Join me as we set out on an intellectual adventure, the quest to discover the cultural heritage of online games.

Modules

Introduction

    • 2 Videos
    • 1 Readings
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Course Introduction
  • Games as Culture

1 Readings

  • Course Overview

Lord of the Rings Online as Remediation of Tolkien

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • LOTRO Gameplay: Epic Quest Line, Book 1
  • Remediation

A History of Games

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Types of Video and Computer Games
  • A Brief History of Games

Video Game Theory

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Juul: Emergence and Progression
  • Juul: Rules and Fiction

Journeying

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Cavafy's "Ithaca"

Week 1 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 1 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions for Honors Track

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 1 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 1 Standard Quiz and this quiz)

Storytelling

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Modes of Storytelling
  • LOTRO Gameplay: Frodo and the Prancing Pony

Tolkien

    • 3 Videos
Show info about module content

3 Videos

  • Tolkien's Life and Works
  • Tolkien's Popularity
  • Themes in Tolkien's Writing

Questing

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Quests as Structural Elements of Games
  • The Quester and the Quest

Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came"

    • 3 Videos
Show info about module content

3 Videos

  • Part 1: Roland's Psyche
  • Part 2: Elements of the Quest Romance
  • Part 3: The Poem's Lyric Nature

Week 2 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 2 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions and Peer Review Assignment for Honors Track

    • 1 PeerReview
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 2 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 2 Standard Quiz, this quiz, and the Week 2 Peer Review)

1 Peer Review

  • Week 2 Peer Review (Honors students complete the Week 2 Standard Quiz, the Week 2 Honors Quiz, and this peer review)

Gameplay: The Chamber of Mazarbul

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Gameplay: The Chamber of Mazarbul

Romance

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Genres of Romance
  • The Romance Circle

Allegory in Romance Genres

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Allegory Defined
  • Tolkien on Allegory

Wandering Plots

    • 3 Videos
Show info about module content

3 Videos

  • Genre and Plot Forms
  • Lost in an Episodic Plot
  • Wandering and Doubling in Romance

Issues of theme and Content

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Issues of Theme and Content

Characters

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Flat vs. Round Characters
  • Daemonic Characters and Romance Character Systems

Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci"

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci" I
  • Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci" II

Week 3 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 3 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions for Honors Track

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 3 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 3 Standard Quiz and this quiz)

Mental Models, Cognitive Mapping & Storyworlds

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Mental Models and Cognitive Mapping in Narrative
  • Storyworlds

Spatial Issues

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Spatial Issues in Film
  • Gameplay: Spatial Issues in Immersive Games (Stone Trolls)

Point of View

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Point of View in Novels and Films
  • Point of View in Games

Temporal Order

    • 4 Videos
Show info about module content

4 Videos

  • Temporal Order I: Introduction
  • Temporal Order II: Film
  • Temporal Order III: Painting
  • Temporal Order IV: Gaming

Week 4 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 4 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions for Honors Track

    • 1 PeerReview
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 4 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 4 Standard Quiz, this quiz, and the Week 4 Peer Review)

1 Peer Review

  • Week 4 Peer Review (Honors students complete the Week 4 Standard Quiz, the Week 4 Honors Quiz, and this peer review)

Introduction to Spenser

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Introduction to Spenser
  • Spenser, the Man and the Poet

The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Part I

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Stanzas 1-7
  • The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Stanzas 8-19

The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Part II

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Stanzas 20-40
  • The Faerie Queene, Book III, Canto 1, Stanzas 41-67

Gameplay: Faerie Queene Online

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Gameplay: Faerie Queene Online

Week 5 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 5 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions for Honors Track

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 5 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 5 Standard Quiz and this quiz)

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Beginnings, Middles, and Ends I
  • Beginnings, Middles, and Ends II

Fellowship's End

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Fellowship's End

The Many Ends of The Lord of the Rings

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • The Many Ends of The Lord of the Rings I
  • The Many Ends of The Lord of the Rings II

Gameplay: Helm's Deep and the Breaking of Isengard

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Gameplay: Helm's Deep and the Breaking of Isengard

Quest's End: Tennyson's "Ulysses"

    • 2 Videos
Show info about module content

2 Videos

  • Quest's End: Tennyson's "Ulysses" I
  • Quest's End: Tennyson's "Ulysses" II

Optional: Valedictory Video

    • 1 Videos
Show info about module content

1 Videos

  • Optional: Valedictory Video

Week 6 Quizzes

    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 6 Standard Quiz (All students complete this quiz)

Additional Questions for Honors Track

    • 1 PeerReview
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Week 6 Honors Quiz (Honors students complete the Week 6 Standard Quiz, this quiz, and the Week 6 Peer Review)

1 Peer Review

  • Week 6 Peer Review (Honors students complete the Week 6 Standard Quiz, the Week 6 Honors Quiz, and this peer review)

Auto Summary

Explore the fascinating intersection of literature, new media, and narrative with the course "Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative." This university-level offering is perfect for both curious newcomers and seasoned gamers looking to deepen their understanding of how classic stories are transformed into modern games. Guided by an expert instructor, you'll delve into narrative theory, media studies, and the history and theory of video games, all through the lens of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This engaging course takes you on a multimedia journey through literature, film, and games, highlighting the ever-evolving art of storytelling. You'll explore the impact of massively multiplayer online games on familiar narratives and gain insights from a rich array of literary works, including Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene and poems by Keats, Tennyson, and Browning. With a duration of 1260 minutes, this comprehensive course is designed to fit both foundational learners and enthusiasts. Available through Coursera, you can choose from flexible subscription options, including Starter and Professional plans. Join us on this intellectual adventure and discover how the gaming industry, now a $64 billion creative and economic powerhouse, is reshaping our cultural heritage and understanding of stories.

Jay Clayton
Instructor

Jay Clayton