Subject details

At the completion of this subject students will be able to:

  1. analyse the interrelationship and application of play and game theory practices and technology
  2. critique the changing role of games and play in contemporary networked culture
  3. evaluate and assess concrete examples of gaming and gamification in diverse online and cultural settings
  4. communicate the various contexts in which games are produced and consumed and how these intersect with contemporary media and communication.

  • Topics

    • Introduction: Games and Play
    • Evolution of Digital Games
    • Games Go Online
    • Social and Casual Games
    • Mobile Games, Apps, and Locative Media
    • Virtual worlds and MMORPGs
    • Competitive Online Gaming and eSports
    • Global Games
    • Gaming and Gender
    • Trolls, Gamers, and Game Culture
    • Industry, E-learning, and Gamification
    • Indie Games and Development
    • Further Information: List of topics is indicative and subject to minor change prior to the start of each Study Period.

  • Study resources

    • Instructional Methods

      • Disscusion forum/Discussion Board
      • Online assignment submission
      • Podcasting/Leacture capture
      • Web links

    • Print Materials

      • Welcome letter

    • Online Materials

      • Resources and Links
      • Printable format materials

Entry Requirements

You are recommended to have completed the following subjects(s) or have equivalent knowledge before starting this unit:

Others

Students who have completed WEB309 Web Presence previously are still able to complete the new subject WEB310 but please note that this subject will count as an elective in their degree.

Special requirements

No special requirements

This subject was previously known as Web Play, Online Games and Gamification.

This subject explores the broader spaces and nature of play online, and how it relates to the development of digital forms of gaming. The nature of immersion is questioned and the role of interactivity investigated, along with critical perspectives on the popular but controversial notion of 'gamification'. It examines a series of gaming tropes and themes, games as texts, and the ways that games enter social frameworks to convey, refract, engage with, and resist power structures. An ongoing focus is on the function of rules in framing play, particularly in relation to how players cheat, hack and mod their games to break those rules.

Please Note: If it’s your first time studying a Curtin University subject you’ll need to complete their compulsory ‘Academic Integrity Program’. It only takes two hours to complete online, and provides you with vital information about studying with Curtin University. The Academic Integrity Program is compulsory, so if it’s not completed your subject grades will be withheld.

Find out more about the Academic Integrity module.

  • Creative Artefact Exercise (35%)
  • Case Study (40%)
  • Essay (25%)

Textbooks are subject to change within the academic year. Students are advised to purchase their books no earlier than one to two months before the start of a subject.

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