Week Eleven: Literature and Gaming

Sceen shot from Heavy Rain

This week we are considering gaming narrative and whether or not the narrative experience of gaming might be considered a literary experience and thus whether games might be/become literature.

Your assignment this week is to read, You,  a new novel by the game designer, Austin Grossman. The events of the novel unfold over a background of a history of electronic games. The protagonist undertakes a quest that has him playing through games from the earliest computer games to games resembling those of the present generation. We will discuss the novel in class.

Also in class we will consider any games you think might be offer a literary experience. Here are some additional resources for our discussion. 

Play Everybody Dies by Jim Munroe

Play Shade by Andrew Plotkin

Game Studies an Online Journal

"Perspectives of Computer Game Philology"