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Back to Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative by Vanderbilt University

4.6
stars
181 ratings

About the Course

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....

Top reviews

GD

Jun 16, 2016

An interesting course for anyone who likes lord of the rings online, fantasy (modern and presents), literature, video games, and/or movies! It's the ultimate combination for maximum nerddom!

AM

Feb 19, 2018

It was very interesting and fun. I liked the literature and examples of the workshop, it was very interesting and It did awaken a much slept passion for poetry and romance.

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26 - 50 of 52 Reviews for Online Games: Literature, New Media, and Narrative

By Joy S

May 14, 2017

Great juxtaposition of online game play and relevant classic literature. Interesting format. Makes the opposite of the usual boring lecture class.

By Rebecca R

Jan 13, 2020

Extremely interesting and course material that is one of a kind. Definitely a must learn if you have an interest in video games and literature!

By Jessica H

Apr 26, 2017

Great class, thank you for teaching us about all those great works of Literature. It was really enjoyable to listen to you and your students!

By Pham T M T

Mar 28, 2022

The course brings a lot of interesting experiences. I gained more knowledge about culture, game theory and literature.

By Nathan G

Sep 28, 2017

This was challenging and rewarding. I loved it. Very well done! Thank you!

By Lee

Oct 17, 2017

An excellent insight in Literature through the modern medium of gaming.

By Andrea G P

Aug 22, 2021

Great course. I will never forget this wonderful experience!

By Danial S

May 7, 2020

It was an awesome experience!!! The course is great!!!

By Stiles W

Mar 18, 2018

I loved the fusion of literature, movies, and games

By Perizota

Jun 17, 2016

Excellent, informative, and fun!

By Kamen P

Dec 8, 2020

That is one great course!

By Atheena H

Sep 23, 2020

Great learning experience

By Peter P

Apr 1, 2023

Course was a lot of fun

By Caio T O P d C

Jul 14, 2017

A great experience!

By RIHA G

Sep 17, 2020

Loved the course!!

By Дмитрий Ф

Mar 12, 2022

Great cource!

By Paolo M V

Jul 5, 2021

love it

By Siebren T

Jan 5, 2018

As a long-time LotR fan and LotRO player, I enjoyed this course immensely. I had not read many of the great texts that are discussed in the course but I really enjoyed learning about the connections between the different media discussed, and also making my own connections in the various assignments!

By RIVI J

Sep 21, 2020

This was a wonderful course which I enjoyed. As someone who did not play video games I was completely unware of the rich narrative video games were capable offering. The course gave me new insights into the world of video and gave me a border view of how intertwined different media types are today.

By PEDRO H B

May 21, 2017

Quite an interesting course for those interested in the literature of Tolkien, especially for understanding how it was and can be translated to other mediums.

Come expecting an introductory course on literature and not a course about game design and narrative.

By Joris v B

Nov 9, 2020

Like a hobbit, this course may seem small and unassuming yet covers much more literary ground than one would expect. As someone with a game design background this has enriched me and I can fully recommend it.

By Karole-Anne C

Apr 13, 2021

Comprehensive, interesting course. Doesn’t rely heavily on gaming, so those who are more comfortable with literature are engaged. The video format added to the experience.

By Juan I O

Jun 25, 2022

Te explicna muy bien todos los puntos del la literatura adentro de los videojuegos, peliculas y poemas.

Muy buena descripcion en cada uno de los videos

By Felipe V

Aug 16, 2022

Great course, mostly easy to follow for non english native speakers, except for week 5

By Renzo L P R

May 22, 2022

Buen curso