Paper Information
| Title | Let's Play: Vernacular Video Game Criticism and the Composition Classroom |
| Presenter(s) | Kevin Rutherford |
| Session | Player Literacy, player biographies, & player criticism |
| Time | Thursday, October 21, 3:00p-4:00p |
| Location | Green Room |
| Format | Paper Presentation |
| Description | Remixing has long been a hallmark of Internet culture, and more recently that spirit has been co-opted into gaming culture via efforts like Little Big Planet, Spore, and developer recognition of active modding communities. The "Let's Play" genre of videos, consisting of a screen recording (or image capture) of a video game alongside an ongoing narration/explication/commentary, are yet another iteration of remixing media content. However, LPs also have the potential to be a form of vernacular critique and an inlet to learning via video games.
This paper, drawing from research in introductory composition courses and interviews with members of LP communities, makes three claims about LP videos: they are an important cultural touchstone in gauging interest and involvement in video games through direct fan response; they resituate critical work partially outside a classroom space and acknowledge the power of vernacular rhetoric and vernacular criticism; and they encourage students to adopt more expansive views of the role of composition in negotiating semiotic systems. |
| More | View extended abstract |