Given your background as an English instructor and your interest in meaning, myth, and systems, I'd suggest studying video game theory from three overlapping angles:
- Games as texts (interpretation and meaning)
- Games as systems (rules and mechanics)
- Games as experiences (players, culture, and society)
A structured course of study might look like this.
Stage 1: Foundations — What Is a Game?
Read
Johan Huizinga — Homo Ludens
- Classic text arguing that play is a foundational element of culture.
- Useful for understanding games beyond entertainment.
Roger Caillois — Man, Play, and Games
- Expands Huizinga.
- Creates categories such as:
- Agôn (competition)
- Alea (chance)
- Mimicry (role-play)
- Ilinx (vertigo/disorientation)
Key Questions
- Why do humans play?
- What separates play from ordinary life?
- How do games create meaning?
Stage 2: The Ludology vs. Narratology Debate
This is one of the most important early discussions in game studies.
Read
Jesper Juul — Half-Real
- Games are both:
- real rule systems
- fictional worlds
Gonzalo Frasca
- Important advocate of ludology.
Janet Murray — Hamlet on the Holodeck
- Argues for understanding digital environments as narrative spaces.
Key Question
When we analyze a game, should we focus primarily on:
- the story?
- or the rules?
A good exercise is comparing:
- The Last of Us (story-heavy)
- Tetris (almost pure mechanics)
and asking how each produces meaning.
Stage 3: Procedural Rhetoric
This is where game studies becomes especially interesting for humanities scholars.
Read
Ian Bogost — Persuasive Games
Bogost argues that games make arguments through rules.
For example:
- A novel persuades through narrative.
- An essay persuades through language.
- A game persuades through systems.
A tax simulation game can make an argument about economics simply by the way its rules function.
Exercise
Play or analyze:
- Papers, Please
- Democracy
- Civilization
Ask:
What worldview is embedded in the rules?
Stage 4: Systems Thinking and Game Design
You mentioned Daniel Cook previously. This is where his work connects.
Read
Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman — Rules of Play
Many consider this the foundational textbook of modern game studies.
Focus on concepts such as:
- meaningful play
- emergence
- systems
- feedback loops
Read
Daniel Cook's essays Especially:
- Skill chains
- Loops
- Value chains
Cook is excellent at explaining why certain game structures create engagement.
Questions
- What behaviors does the game reward?
- What behaviors does it punish?
- What is the player's long-term value chain?
Stage 5: Meaning, Ideology, and Criticism
This may be the most natural area for someone trained in literary analysis.
Read
Miguel Sicart — The Ethics of Computer Games
Read
Ian Bogost — How to Do Things with Videogames
Read
Aubrey Anable — Playing with Feelings
Questions
- What ethical assumptions underlie the game?
- What emotions are being cultivated?
- How does the game construct identity?
You can approach games much as you would novels:
- close reading
- rhetorical analysis
- ideological critique
but always paying attention to mechanics.
Stage 6: Culture, Community, and Players
Read
T. L. Taylor — Play Between Worlds
- Online communities
- MMORPG cultures
Read
Mia Consalvo — Cheating
- Examines player behavior and gaming culture.
Questions
- How do players transform games?
- Where does meaning reside:
- in the designer?
- in the system?
- in the community?
Stage 7: Advanced Theoretical Work
Once you've covered the foundations, move into:
Espen Aarseth
Cybertext
Introduces the concept of ergodic literature.
Alexander Galloway
Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture
Connects games to broader questions about software and society.
McKenzie Wark
Gamer Theory
Provocative and philosophical.
Suggested Reading Order
- Huizinga — Homo Ludens
- Caillois — Man, Play, and Games
- Juul — Half-Real
- Salen & Zimmerman — Rules of Play
- Bogost — Persuasive Games
- Sicart — The Ethics of Computer Games
- Daniel Cook essays
- Aarseth and Galloway
A Literary-Theory Path
Because you teach English, another fascinating approach would be to connect game studies to theorists you may already know:
|
Literary Theory |
Game Studies Equivalent |
|
Reader-response |
Player agency |
|
Structuralism |
Rule systems |
|
New Criticism |
Close play analysis |
|
Rhetoric |
Procedural rhetoric |
|
Marxism |
Labor, economies, progression systems |
|
Feminist theory |
Representation and player identity |
|
Myth criticism |
Archetypes, quests, hero systems |
For example, you could analyze Hades, God of War, or Disco Elysium using myth criticism in much the same way you might analyze Homer or Sophocles—but with the added dimension that the player participates in constructing meaning through action.
If I were designing a semester-long independent study for an English professor, I'd center it around Huizinga → Juul → Salen & Zimmerman → Bogost → Sicart, while making close readings of Hades, Papers, Please, Civilization, Disco Elysium, and Dark Souls. Together they provide an excellent laboratory for examining narrative, systems, ideology, and player experience.
