Literature, Videogames and Learning

Andrew Burn

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000404104
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This innovative book explores links between literature and videogames, and how designing and playing games can transform our understanding of literature. It shows how studying literature through the lens of videogames can provide new insights into narrative and creative engagement with the text.

The book sets out theories of narrative aesthetics and multimodality in literature and videogames, alongside models of literacy needed for such cultural and creative engagement. It goes on to examine game adaptations of children's literature; and a series of videogames made by students based on Beowulf and Macbeth. In each case, the book considers ways in which the original text has been transformed by the process of game design, and what fresh light this casts on the literary narrative. It also considers what kind of learning, creative production, and cultural engagement is apparent in the game designs and emphasises the importance of treating games as a narrative medium in their own right.

With a unique approach to the aesthetics of narrative in literature and videogames, the book will be of great interest to researchers, academics, and post-graduate students in the fields of literature, pedagogy, and game studies.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsement Page
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Lists of figures
• Series editors’ introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 Ludo-literary encounters
• Chapter 2 Ludo-literary aesthetics
• Chapter 3 Multimodality in literature and game
• Chapter 4 Ludic literacies
• Chapter 5 Games and children’s literature I: The Northern Lights
• Chapter 6 Games and children’s literature II: The case of Harry Potter
• Chapter 7 Playing Beowulf 1: Ludic rhapsodies
• Chapter 8 Playing Beowulf II: Of monsters and manuscripts
• Chapter 9 Playing Macbeth 1: Coding and creativity
• Chapter 10 Playing Macbeth II: From character to avatar
• Chapter 11 Playing Macbeth III: Blue dragons, murderers and the endless run
• Chapter 12 Epilogue
• Index