Understand the genre of any given videogame as an ‘impossible’ taxonomy, a fluid hybrid of aesthetic practices, mechanic intentions, and (social) interaction. Follow the cultural history of genres and their importance in contemporary society. Understand their usage in game design as discursive contracts between developers, cultural institutions, and audiences. Understand the importance of genre discussions in game journalism and game studies.At the end of the seminar, students are able to analyse a videogame for its genre components, to draw conclusions from their observations regarding their own game design practices, and to take critical positions.

Synchronous sessions featuring lectures, discussion parts, and student presentations. Asynchronous sessions of self-guided analysis (gaming diary).

The seminar provides an overview of the topic cluster genre and videogame focusing on state-of-the art approaches beyond taxonomic evaluations. It provides a foundational understanding of what genres are and mean to our society, embeds this knowledge into relevant. Central hypothesis of the seminar is that of an ‘impossible’ taxonomy defining the nature of videogame genres from which new research outlooks are going to be explored.

Literature in shape of book chapters and research papers is going to be provided on Moodle as necessary.In addition, students are required to analyse one videogame new to them as a part of the seminar. Students are free to choose which game they want to analyse but must guarantee that they have the necessary hardware to engage with it over an extended period of time.

Evaluation of the seminar is based on the following assignments:A gaming diaryA presentation/moderated discussionA final oral examParticipationFailing one of these central assessments fails the entire course!

Gaming diary: An informal, analytical notebook on personal experiences/observations regarding a single videogame’s genre. Despite its informal character, the gaming diary must be approached with the seminar’s theoretical background in mind, refer to its critical insights, and follow academic conventions of citation and reference. A thorough instruction on the composition of the gaming diary is going to be provided.(Worth 30% of the final mark)Presentation and discussion: The results and personal insights of a student’s gaming diary must be discussed during a seminar session via a 25-minute-presentation. For that purpose, the analysed game must be presented with a focus on its genre, followed by a critical discussion moderated by the presenting student. In contrast to the gaming diary, the presentation is to be understood as an academic exercise, including references to supplementary works, proper citations, and a complete bibliography. The concluding discussion of 35 minutes maximum must be guided via questions by the moderating student. (Worth 30% of the final mark)Oral exam: Each student must conclude the seminar with a 30-minute oral exam with their lecturer. For the oral exam, each student must provide six theses derived from the seminar’s content. Two of these theses must focus on how the seminar’s content is potentially going to impact future working practices of the games industry or the student in question.(Worth 30% of the final mark)Participation.(Worth 10% of the final mark)

Game diary:CoherenceCritical insightReliance on seminar-related topics and theoryInclusion and formatting of citations and bibliographical entriesPresentation and discussion:Making game content understandable to audienceSummary of personal analysesCorrect citation and bibliographyRelevance of questions provided for the discussionCompetency in answering content questionsOral Exam:Provision of six thesesTheses must be provided at least one week before the examination via e-mailAbility to freely discuss any of these given thesesCorrect understanding and repetition of thesis materialAbility to critically reflect on and answer to questions challenging a thesisParticipation:Attendance during the first session is mandatory for seminar participationAttendanceProperly announcing/excusing missed attendanceContributions to discussions, both in class and onlineGeneral remark on our code of conduct and plagiarism policyProvide properly cited sources (latest Chicago Manual of Style format) on all your assignments.Have a look at the departmental policy: (https://www.aau.at/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/anti-plagiarism-declaration_english-department.pdf)Students caught plagiarising will be removed from class immediately.Read the Code of Conduct on our departmental homepage (https://www.aau.at/en/english/study/code-ofconduct/). Violation of this code will result in your immediate removal from class.