Sean Duncan's "Infocom Shelf"
This class will examine the relationship between literature and videogames by looking at a range of artifacts: novels about videogames, works of interactive fiction, electronic literature, and modern digital games that take on certain literary qualities. The goal of this class is not necessarily to equate videogames with novels or poems but to instead consider how videogames intersect with and complicate the category of "literature." Students in this class will read novels, play games, and make games. No technical expertise is required. The course will take place in one of UW-Madison's WisCEL classrooms and will use a "lecture lab" format. Students will register for both a lecture section and a discussion section, but the latter will be used both for discussing and making. Students will learn how to make works of interactive fiction and games with platforms such as Twine.
[Image Credit: "Infocom Shelf" by Sean Duncan]
