Video Games in the English Language Arts classroom Pt1

This Friday I am conducting a workshop at the Education Queensland's Innovation Learning Centre with a focus on studying video games as texts in English classrooms. Studying games in English makes sense as a natural progression from teaching literature, popular fiction, film and television. Or does it? Games are not books, television or film. Yes, games are texts, but they are not just texts. Yes, games are multimodal texts, but are not just multimodal. Yes, games are visual, but they are not just visual. Yes, games are interactive, but they are not just interactive.

In many respects gameplay may have more in common with something like playing sport (which also relies on language, narrative, structure, representations) than using books and other types of texts. Therefore why study in the English classroom? I think it is important to study games, but I think the rationale for their inclusion needs to be different than for studying other types of texts, particularly literature. In turn, this will change the types of activities that make sense for use in the classroom.

Games can be simulated worlds; puzzles; challenges; social experiences; affinity spaces; competition spaces (likes sports); they can be extensions of a person’s lived realities; they are spaces for experimentations with identities; they are good fun; and they are spaces which often (purposely) exclude adults – likes some types of popular music. For these reasons, the relationship between students, teachers and games differs (usually) than for students, teachers and books.

So we need to be careful about the motivations / rationales for introducing games into the English classroom. However, there is a level on which games can be “tamed” for use in English classrooms – and if done well, students may even find it enjoyable, will develop their language skills, and be motivated. This includes: Genre analysis; Narrative analysis; and Discourse analysis (including analysis of representations etc). Some approaches from the use of literature, film and television are useful here.

A second level (which probes further) and will make more sense to gamers (but is still a form of intellectualisation that is somewhat at odds with the whole purpose of playing games) Might include: analysis of gameplay (descriptions of levels and challenges – providing “walkthroughs”); Identifying elements of game design (immersion, increasing challenge, avoiding “dead man walking” etc).

A third level is important: This combines analysis of gameplay with game designs, remixes, and fancuts; (but also reflections / explanations of what the student is aiming to achieve (for example, via reflective blogging). This level of consideration also includes the gameplay experience of other (for example, through audience research – why do students enjoy playing, why do others enjoy playing?). This third level draws in questions of identity / subjectivity that are important to consider when studying games in English. More thoughts after the workshop...