Literacy and Games: An English Student Examination

The traditional division of literature is no longer the paradigm of communication. Where English studies were once understood as a discipline responsible for inculcating through printed books and historical texts, 21st-century advances have demanded the inclusion of mediums that go beyond the pages in a book. But if educators want to use nontraditional tools to teach, they first need to understand how to teach students to use those tools. We cannot assume that all young people are “digital natives”, are equipped to approach games critically, or are playing games. Accordingly, video games desperately call for the attention of educators and scholars.

New literacy studies have been integrated by many English departments in academic institutions that now offer classes such as “Multimodal Composition” and “Writing and New Media” (both of which I have taken at my institution). In this digital age, the National Council of Teachers of English advises learners to “participate effectively and critically in a networked world”, and through “...a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools/modalities.” (1) Video games are not only an area of interest for today’s youth but are also a tool with enormous potential for teaching and developing game literacy, which is the ability to successfully interact and navigate in game/digital spaces. Twenty-first-century learners acquire visual and spatial reasoning through multimodal literacy and learn to evaluate and critically assess media in media literacy, which are two necessary forms of literacy that are being taught in classrooms like mine. Literacy in media and multimodality are necessary, but are not sufficient, in preparing students to be fully literate in the digital age. English and literacy education would benefit from incorporating games into their curriculum to supplement the teaching of traditional forms of literacy and develop the necessary skills on how to navigate and interact with digital and gaming environments.

Despite video games’ controversial status as an art form in philosophical communities, games continue to mature and garner acceptance in academic communities as more people become literate in games. In the coming decades, there will be a large increase in interest to incorporate games into workplace and classroom environments. Already, companies are investing time and resources into learning how they can use games to increase team productivity, using “gamification” marketing techniques to drive customer interactions, while innovative educators are using games as a platform to teach different subjects. Games literacy is becoming increasingly crucial for work, education, and play, but there’s still a long road to go before a comprehensive understanding of literacy in games is achieved by the masses.

Gamers are already suited to understanding the mechanics and functionalities of games because they have worked, passionately, towards becoming literate through their investment and time into the genres of games that they play. For those who wouldn’t consider themselves gamers or “digitally literate”, the path to being literate in games can be overwhelming. But not all gamers are equipped to understand the expectancies of other games— a Starcraft veteran would be baffled by Europa Universalis and vice versa. Games have not reached the same level of scholarly understanding in comparison to its media peers, and they won’t until there is a greater contribution of research on games and the application of games in educational contexts. While developing this new type of literacy, it’s important that the frameworks of other media types are not directly translated into games. Video games, unlike their media counterparts, are unique for their mechanics (the rules and constraints imposed upon a player that are designed for interaction with a game state). A new type of literacy for games would focus on the multiple dimensions of games, integrating knowledge from both a cultural and critical standpoint, but perhaps most importantly, focus on the operations of the game— how a player progresses through a game alongside an underlying rule system.

The few educators who understand the potential of games equip students with the necessary tools to think critically, work through problems, and communicate effectively. They also recognize that video games, unlike other forms of media, are highly interactive and encourage play. Games inform practices such as experimentation, exploration, and innovation in a creative, open, and interactive space. Educators can encourage a de-centering of teacher authority by directing the focus of the students onto their own engagement and reflection. In this way, games offer a perfect opportunity for teachers who are interested in letting students “take the reins” and critically solve their problems. By incorporating games into their teaching practices, educators are preparing their students to be literate in games while also breaking away from contemporary pedagogical practices. It is crucial that teachers work hand-in-hand with game developers to advance game literacy. Those who are part of the process of developing games understand the logic of computer programs, the varying levels of game literacy for their audience, and how to manipulate players into operating within the boundaries of game-based rule systems, so they are perhaps the most well-equipped in terms of game literacy.