About the Course
Intended for both newcomers who are curious about video games and hard-core gamers who want to reflect on their passion, this course will explore what happens to stories, paintings, and films when they become the basis of massively multiplayer online games.  The Lord of the Rings trilogy—the novels, films, and video game—are our central example of how “remediation” transforms familiar stories as they move across media.  We will study The Lord of the Rings Online against the backdrop of other games such as Final Fantasy , Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Skyrim; narrative theory, intermediality, and game theory; poems by Spenser, Coleridge, Keats, and Browning; fiction by Tolkien and others; and art since the Pre-Raphaelites that has influenced the neo-medievalism of much fantasy literature and gaming.

Drawing on centuries of romance narrative conventions, the twenty-first century gaming industry has become a creative and economic powerhouse.  It engages the talents of some of our brightest writers, artists, composers, computer engineers, game theorists, video producers, and marketing professionals, and in 2011, it generated an estimated $64 billion in revenue.  Anyone interested in today’s culture needs to be conversant with the ways this new medium is altering our understanding of stories.  Join me as we set out on an intellectual adventure, the quest to discover the cultural heritage of online games.

Course Syllabus
Week 1: Game on!  The history and theory of MMOs

Week 2: Tolkien and the romance tradition

Week 3: Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Ring trilogy

Week 4: Pwning Spenser’s Faerie Queene

Week 5: Space and time in virtual narratives

Week 6: Culture Guilds: Coleridge, Keats, and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

Week 7: The Holy Grail: A good end game

Recommended Background
No background in gaming is required.  Whether you are non-gamer who is interested in understanding what video games are all about, a person who loves both popular culture and serious literature, or a guild leader who runs large raids three nights a week, this course will challenge you to think more deeply about important issues confronting our culture.

The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) is free to play.  There is no cost to download or play in the Shire, Bree, and the other regions we will be studying.  Most people who continue playing for longer than a few months choose to pay for what Turbine calls VIP status, but the free-to-play content will provide you with months of game time.  Students will need access to a computer capable of running LOTRO. The computer requirements for LOTRO are detailed on the Turbine web site: http://www.lotro.com/free.php.
Course Format
This class will consist of lecture videos, which are between 10-20 minutes in length.  There will in-game, interactive assignments and written assignments, with the option of student video projects and game design projects.
FAQ
•What computer resources will I need for this class?

The Lord of the Rings Online™ (LOTRO) is free to play. There is no cost to download or play in the Shire, Bree, and the other regions we will be studying. Most people who continue playing for longer than a few months choose to pay for what Turbine calls VIP status, but the free-to-play content will provide you with months of game time. Students will need access to a computer capable of running LOTRO. The computer requirements for LOTRO are detailed on the Turbine web site: http://www.lotro.com/free.php. 

•What is the coolest thing about this class?

The chance to meet in-game with your instructor and fellow classmates.

•Will I get a certificate after completing this class?

Yes. Students who successfully complete the class will receive a certificate.