Semester(s) Offered: Fall
Credits: 4
Course Call Number: GAMES-GT 221
Prerequisite(s): None
Intro to Games Journalism is a one-semester course that explores both the history and practical application of games journalism. The focus of the class is to help students understand how and why games journalism serves the people who play, make, market and publish games. Students will be asked to develop an understanding of the industry’s history. They will have a chance to meet and interview important members of the games press. Students will also practice a variety of journalistic tasks, including writing a feature, blogging news and live-streaming gameplay. Although the focus of the class is to introduce students to the perspective of a games journalist, they will also learn how to pitch stories and write self-promotional emails on behalf of their own games.
This course aims:
1) To provide students the fundamentals of journalism, including style, structure, practice and ethics.
2) To provide students an understanding of the many styles of games journalism, from the 1970s to the present.
3) To provide students with a basic vocabulary of the the key publishers, writers and movements in games journalism.
4) To introduce students to the current popular news outlets and the roles they play in the industry.
5) To provide students an opportunity to write, record and publish a variety of journalistic works.
6) To provide students with an experience of both receiving and submitting journalistic pitches.
7) To inform students about the link between the history of games and the history of games journalism.
8) To provide students a better understanding of the impact game journalism has on the game industry and games themselves.
9) To provide students the tools they will need to work with journalists throughout their careers.