Prerequisite(s): CMST 210. Students broaden and complicate the way they think about video games, as well as the kinds of activities and communities they enable and foster. Over the duration of the semester, students will work to call into question common assumptions about who plays video games and why they play them. Students will examine video games not only in terms of design and playability, but also from the interrelated perspectives of aesthetics, narrative, industry, gaming communities, and popular culture. Equivalent course CMST 215 effective through Summer 2021.