research proposal: video games as texts in college english courses

Video Games as Texts in College English Courses

Running Head: VIDEO GAMES AS TEXTS IN COLLEGE ENGLISH COURSES


Max Lieberman

University of Arizona South

1


Abstract

The question of whether video games can be taught in college English courses has gotten

relatively little attention in academic literature. This paper proposes a quasi-experimental

pilot study comparing two first-year college English classes, one of which would teach

traditional texts (e.g. novels and films), while the other would also include a video game

text. A common grading rubric based on established methods of assessment would be

used for both classes. This research would provide educators with much-needed hard

evidence about the value of video games as texts in English curricula. Past research and

theory suggests that students in the experimental course would produce work of a quality

at least as high as that of students in the traditional course.

2



The subject of video games as texts that can be taught alongside traditional media

in college-level English courses has gotten relatively little attention in academic

literature. What has been written is largely theoretical, and case studies are rare

(Alexander, 2009). The existing literature does suggest that games have the potential to

motivate students, and that games will support the same sorts of critical literary analysis

as other media. The quasi-experimental pilot study proposed in this paper would evaluate

these claims by comparing the work produced by freshman-year college students in two

similar English courses, one of which would examine a video game alongside traditional

texts.

English as a discipline has long been open to nontraditional texts including non-

fiction writing, films and television programs. Such texts are commonly used in college

composition and comparative literature classes, as well as in general English courses that

apply multiple analytical disciplines. Works in nontraditional mediums are used because

educators have come to accept that they repay analysis to the same degree as written

fiction. Institutions of higher education also recognize that it is important to maintain a

focus on the wider culture as it constantly evolves (Aiex, 1999). Because student work

can be evaluated by the same basic criteria regardless of the medium of the original text,

there is no need for a radical restructuring of the curriculum (Alexander, 2009).

Video games show great potential to immerse and motivate players. This strength

aligns closely with a clear need to engage college students in literacy activities. College

reading and writing skills have declined to problematic levels, and test scores continue to

drop (Jameson, 2007). Fewer than 40% of students arrive at college with adequate

3


reading skills to do their work, while the numbers for writing are even lower (Alexander,

2009). Writers on this topic suggest several causes for this decline, and two related

factors come up repeatedly: student motivation and the relevance of the literary material

to students' lives (Jameson, 2007; Jolley, 2008; Adams, 2009). Anectodal evidence

suggests that integrating video games into existing literature curricula increases student

engagement, particularly among otherwise reluctant readers (Jolley, 2008; Adams, 2009).

Colby and Colby, proposing a composition class based on World of Warcraft, write that

video games excel at creating the immersion necessary for deep engagement with a text

(2008).

Video games are relatively new as a technology, and even newer as an art form. It

is difficult to make a case for games as texts worthy of serious study upon their

commercial introduction in the 1970s, except insofar as their themes reflected the wider

culture. Modern games are quite different, and are capable of telling sophisticated stories

using words, images, sound, and interaction. In other words, they contain elements of

new literacies alongside traditional ones. In a recent case study, Alexander analyzed the

narratives constructed by two college undergraduate World of Warcraft players. He found

that these players demonstrated numerous "high-level literacy skills" which manifested in

"visual, technological and textual" modalities (Alexander, 2009). These results align

closely with those of other researchers and theorists (Gee, 2007; Selfe, Hawisher &

Ittersum, 2007). Alexander concluded that "we should seriously consider using complex

video games as primary 'texts' in composition courses," highlighting the need for further

research in this area (2009).

4


Evidence from other educators who have seen fit to use games as texts in English

courses similarly suggests that students respond enthusiastically, and that the quality of

student work produced is satisfactory (Clayton & Hall, 2008; Jolley, 2008; Adams,

2009). However, many of the studies conducted so far have focused on the creation of

games by students as a form of literary composition (Robertson & Good, 2005;

Carbonaro et al, 2007; Alexander, 2009; Owston, 2009). Arguments for games as texts

worthy of study is largely theoretical, or at best anecdotal (Clayton & Hall, 2008; Colby

& Colby, 2008; Jolley, 2008; Adams, 2009). There is a clear need for more research in

this area.

The quasi-experimental study proposed here is intended to evaluate performance

of college students in an English class that includes a video game alongside traditional

texts as a work to experience and analyze. This study is conceived as a pilot study can be

repeated with different populations and modified to fit different curriculums, using a

variety of texts. In this way, it will serve as a first step towards the creation of a

meaningful set of data with which to determine whether English courses that use video

games as literary texts can provide the same quality of instruction as courses that do not.

Past research and theory suggests that students in the experimental course would produce

work of a quality at least as high as that of students in the traditional course, and this is

what we would expect to find.

Methods

Each of the two English classes participating in this study would contain

approximately 80 college freshmen, with an average age between 18 and 19, and a gender

5


ratio of roughly 1:1. The sample selection would be quasi-experimental (cluster

sampling), since students cannot be screened to equalize the groups for significant factors

such as existing writing and reading skills.

This study would be a standard a nonequivalent control group design, including

both control and experimental groups, as well as a pretest, "treatment" and posttest.

Although it is impossible in a quasi-experimental study to ensure parity between groups

for all moderator variables, we can at least determine the degree of discrepancy on these

factors using a pre-treatment test. Possible moderator variables for this study include

existing reading and writing skills, dedication to schoolwork, amount of experience

playing video games and video game genre preferences.

Just as avid readers may prefer very different books, "gamer" is not a blanket

descriptor covering all video game players. The video game proposed for use as a text in

this study is BioShock, a first-person shooter with some mechanics reminiscent of role-

playing games. Determining whether such a game is accessible to non-gamers is

important, but no more important than determining whether it is accessible to regular or

occasional game players unfamiliar with those game genres.

A fairly simple pretest, consisting of a 2-3 page essay on a short story or

nonfiction article (the same one for each sample group) and a short in-class survey, could

provide useful data on these variables.

Pretest survey questions would include the following:

How many hours do you spend on homework each week, on average?

What was your grade point average (GPA) in high school?

Do you consider yourself a (circle one):

6


o below-average student

o average student

o above-average student

Do you play video games (circle one)?

o Yes o No

If you answered "Yes" above, how many hours per week do you play video

games, on average (circle one)?

o 1-2 hours o 3-5 hours o 5+ hours

Do you play video games with three-dimensional graphics?

o Yes o No

Please rank your favorite video game genres from those listed below. Place a "1"

next to your favorite genre, a "2" next to your second-favorite genre, and so on,

for as many genres as you enjoy playing.

o Action games

o Adventure games

o Simulation/management

games

o Strategy games

o Role-playing games

o Puzzle games

o Shooters

o Driving games

o Other ___________

All of the questions above could be easily quantified and coded, as could letter

grades on the pretest essay assignment. Although there is no clear way to correct for

differences between the two classes that would be identified by this pretest, the data

collected could suggest avenues for further research in the future. This is especially true

if differences identified by the pretest appear to correspond with significant differences in

the dependent variable, which will be measured as described below.

7


Aside from the moderator variable, this study design is fairly straightforward: the

independent variable is the use of the video game BioShock as a text in the experimental

class but not in the control class. The dependent variable is the quality of student work

produced, which would be evaluated using a rubric based on established English writing

course standards (College Board, 2002). This rubric would have no impact on teacher

grades, and would be intended to provide a quantitative evaluation of the quality of

student work. In order to ensure inter-rater reliability, both teachers as well as a

researcher would evaluate each piece of student work, and the results of these evaluations

would be averaged together.

The details of exactly how BioShock would be used in the experimental class

depend on the teaching style of the course instructor, but what follows are general

guidelines and suggestions. First, because BioShock is a complex game played from the

first-person perspective, time must be taken to introduce students to the basic mechanics

(movement, inventory, shooting, interacting with the environment). Students may be

expected to arrive at college with fundamental reading skills in place to build upon, but

the same is not true of what may be termed gaming literacy. Once this has been done,

students should be provided with a short introduction to the intellectual context of the

game, which includes numerous references to the work of author Ayn Rand and to her

philosophy of Objectivism. A discussion of BioShock's unusual narrative structure, in

which the story of the bizarre world entered by the player's in-game avatar is presented

through fragmented audio logs scattered across the game world, should also be

undertaken. Students should be instructed that their primary goal in playing game is to

reconstruct this story, and to consider both the plot and the way that it is being told.

8


Students should also be provided with a list of online resources including web-based

strategy guides to the game and The BioShock Wiki, a Wikia-based website that features

transcriptions of in-game story content like the aforementioned audio logs. Weekly

journal assignments could be used to track students' progress through BioShock and their

experience of the game as both game and text, providing invaluable information about

unforeseen challenges for future researchers. A traditional essay could be assigned as a

final project related to this video game text; a list of suggested topics could range from

questions about character motivation in the game's story to arguments about how game

narrative varies from written fiction due to the nature of each medium.

The 7-category evaluative rubric proposed for use in evaluating these essays

(Table 1) is taken from the College Entrance Examination Board's AP Vertical Teams

Guide for English handbook (2002). Scored using the point values provided below, an

essay that is rated as exemplary for all characteristics would receive 98 points (the

equivalent of an 'A'); a commendable essay would receive 84 points (a 'B'); an effective

essay would receive 70 points (a 'C') and an essay that merely approaches effective would

receive 56 points, a failing grade.

9


Table 1

Common Grading Rubric for Written Student Work

Writer’s Choice

Thinking Organization Content Sentence Structure

Language Mechanics

Writer’s choice of voice, audience, form, and purpose

Development of ideas

Clarity and logic details

Supporting sentences

Variety and quality

Effective variety, figurative language, dialogue

Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing

EXEMPLARY — 14 points Skillfully uses variety of voices

Synthesizes complex ideas

Clearly and artfully ordered

Rich and substantive

Variety enhances style and effect

Rich, effective vocabulary

Very few or no errors

Sophisticated sense of audience

Sophisticated evaluation of ideas

Organization enhances meaning

Stimulates new responses

Sophisticated patterns

Sophisticated figurative language

Use of mechanics furthers meaning

Sees complexities and implications

Generates original insights

Sophisticated integration of sources

No errors in structure or usage

Artful use of dialogue/ quotations

Breaks rules artfully

Sophisticated choice of form

Keen insight Sophisticated use of title

Elegant sentences

COMMENDABLE — 12 points Powerful and consistent voice

Synthesizes ideas Clearly focused Interesting and meaningful

Appropriate variety

Effective, furthers meaning

Few errors

Clear sense of audience

Careful evaluation of data

Skillful transitions Effective/ ”telling” details

Some use of sophisticated structures

Generally uses rich language

Capitalization and punctuation correct

Ambitious purpose achieved

Evidence of original thinking

Skillful development of ideas

Effective integration of sources

Few errors in structure or usage

Effective figurative language

Effective paragraphs

Effective choice of form

Displays insight Effective introduction and conclusion

Effective title Effective use of syntax

Effective use of dialogue/ quotations

EFFECTIVE — 10 points Effective voice Attempts

synthesis Generally focused Many details Some sentence

variety Acceptable vocabulary

Errors don’t interfere with meaning

Sense of audience

Evidence of evaluation

Consistent point of view

Details support focus

Attempts sophisticated patterns

Attempts sophisticated language

Spelling generally correct

Purpose stated and achieved

Evidence of analysis

Adequate introduction and conclusion

Information is correct

Errors do not interfere with meaning

Generally correct usage

Simple punctuation

Appropriate use of form

Some insight Adequate integration of sources

Some figurative language

Adequate title

APPROACHES EFFECTIVE — 8 points Inappropriate or stilted voice

Lacks original ideas

Focus limited/ too broad

Insufficient detail

Little sentence variety

Simple vocabulary

Frequent errors distract

Some sense of audience

Recognizes important data

Awkwardly organized Some details don’t support focus

Relies on a few simple patterns

Some errors in usage

Errors in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization

Some awareness of purpose

Attempts analysis

Needs additional transitions

Information is correct

Errors interfere with meaning

Too wordy

Awkward use of form

Little insight Awkward introduction or conclusion

Attempts integration of sources

Repetitive structure awkward syntax

10


Because of the design of this study, data collected would be subjected to the t-test

for dependent samples in order to determine the statistical significance of any differences

between the two groups. The fact that we can then set the desired level of risk does not

mean that the results of this study will be relevant to all questions about the usefulness of

video games in classrooms. The results are generalizeable only to other situations in

which games with strong narratives are used as texts in college-level English courses.

Results

The fictitious data set in Table 2 represents the results we might see were we

unable to reject the null hypothesis (no significant difference between the groups).

Table 2

Hypothetical Grade Distribution, 3 Written Assigments for each Class of 80 Students

A-level work B-level work C-level work D-level work F-level work0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

45 48

75

48

24

4248

80

46

24

Control ClassExperimental Class

11


Were the research hypothesis supported to a statistically significant degree, the

data in Table 2 would show greater variation between the control and experimental

groups, with the grades trending generally higher for one class or the other.

Discussion

Were the results of this research to support the acceptance of the research

hypothesis, the conclusions that must be drawn would depend on the direction of the

statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups. In the

event that the experimental group which studied BioShock in addition to more traditional

texts produced work of an inferior quality (and thus learned less) than the control group,

this would suggest that video games are not interchangeable with traditional texts in a

college-level English course format. A logical next step for researchers would be to begin

asking questions about the ways that players engage with video games as texts, and how

this engagement differs from the experience of reading a novel or watching a film. The

debate between ludological (play-based) and narratological (story-based) understandings

of games might be illustrative in this case.

However, the data might instead support the acceptance of the research hypothesis

by showing that students in the experimental group outperformed students in the control

group. In this case, the previous suggestion for research into the ways that players

experience games as distinct from the ways that they experience other texts would remain

valid, perhaps with an added emphasis on the relationship between immersion and

motivation. Research into the kinds of games appropriate for use as texts, as described

more fully below, could also prove fruitful.

12


In the event that the null hypothesis could not be rejected, this would serve as

evidence that the use of games as texts in college-level literature curricula can be

pedagogically sound. Further research into the advantages of and obstacles to such uses

would be strongly recommended. Focusing on specific characteristics that make certain

games or game genres strong candidates for use as texts would be a logical next step. For

example: does a strongly linear narrative tend to correlate with good results, as opposed

to a branching narrative? Does student success in courses that integrate games correlate

strongly with any identified moderator variables?

Truthfully, even if this study produces interesting and statistically significant

findings, it is not widely generalizeable. The sample size is simply too small. As a pilot

study, though, it can point the way for further research on the subject of games as texts in

college-level English courses—a great deal of hard and soft data will be generated about

the immediate subject of the study, as well as about the effectiveness of the research

design and the relationship between gaming literacy and comfort with game texts among

students. For that reason, we consider it a valuable proposal and submit it for

consideration.

13


References

Adams, M. G. (2009). Engaging 21st-century adolescents: Video games in the reading classroom. English Journal. 98 (6), 56-59.

Aiex, N. K. (1999). Mass media use in the classroom. ERIC Digest. D147.

Alexander, J. (2009). Gaming, student literacies, and the composition classroom: Some possibilities for transformation. College Composition and Communication. 61 (1), 35-63.

The Bioshock Wiki. (2009, December 9). Wiki communities for everyone! -- Wikia.com. Retrieved December 9, 2009, from http://bioshock.wikia.com.

Carbonaro, M., Cutumisu, M., Duff, H., Gillis, S., Onuczko, C., Siegel, J … Waugh, K. (2008). Interactive story authoring: A viable form of creative expression for the classroom. Computers & Education. 51 (2), 687-707.

Clayton, J., & Hall, M. J. (2008). Worlds of Wordcraft — class audio and video (Podcast). Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/vanderbilt.edu.1365623720.

Colby, R. S., & Colby, R. (2008). A Pedagogy of Play: Integrating computer games into the writing classroom. Computers and Composition. 25 (3), 300-312.

College Entrance Examination Board, & Educational Testing Service. (2002). The AP vertical teams guide for English. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.

Gee, J. P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Jameson, D. A. (2007). Literacy in decline: Untangling the evidence. Business Communications Quarterly. 70 (1), 16-33.

Jolley, K. (2008). Video games to reading: Reaching out to reluctant readers. English Journal. 97 (4), 81-86.

Owston, R., Wideman, H., Ronda, N. S., Brown, C. (2009). Computer game development as a literacy activity. Computers & Education. 53 (3), 977-989.

Robertson, J., & Good, J. (2005). Children's narrative development through computer game authoring. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. 49 (5), 43-59.

14

http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/vanderbilt.edu.1365623720

http://bioshock.wikia.com/


Selfe, C. L., Hawisher, G. E., & Ittersum, D. V. (2007). Gaming lives in the twenty-first century: Literate connections. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

15