At the University of North Georgia, video games are at an academic level. The class is called Intro to Game Studies.
Professor Ryan Thames, who teaches the class, says, “This course, in some form under the title of Reading Video Games, predated my arrival at the university. I first taught it for a modest-sized class in 2019, then I made it my own and revamped it, launching the current online version in 2020. Since then, it has been consistently full with a waitlist, and while I miss the back and forth of in-person discussion, I think this class is uniquely well-suited for online instruction,” he said.
“My main goal is, of course, an understanding of the medium as a consumer, but also of the theory behind what makes games work as a medium, how they can make the player feel and think, as well as how they impact and are impacted by culture.” – Ryan Thames, professor
Thames says he also wants the class to have a sense of “community.” He says students complete game journals, create presentations and participate in discussion boards to let students engage with each other and showcase their unique takes on the video games they like.
For Thames, the course is both a personal and professional passion, he says, “Video games have been a passion of mine since childhood, and studying them has been a career focus since I graduated college,” he said. Thames was initially hired to teach Film Appreciation, Intro to Media Studies and Public Speaking, but says he was “pleased” to hear that the video game class was already “on the books.”
Thames began working with Dr. Jeff Marker, director, School of Communication, Film & Theatre, and Dr. Shane Toepfer, assistant professor in the School of Communication, Film & Theatre, in the to have more courses like this available. “I quickly started working with Dr. Marker and Dr. Toepfer to develop more game courses, and I’ve taught Intro to Digital Game Design, History of Digital Games and Transmedia Entertainment which cover storytelling across multiple media, including video games.” he says. Students can also now pursue a minor in Game Studies in collaboration with Visual Arts.
