---
# System prepended metadata

title: ENGLISH 189vg Video Game Storytelling

---

# ENGLISH 189vg Video Game Storytelling

![alt text](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F06E12SLD7F/20230222.0.1600_eng189vg.gamemechanics.workshop_stills_068.jpg?pub_secret=fd3a5bad25)

Students in ENGLISH 189VG: Video Game Storytelling learn about the fundamentals and possibilities of game design, creating multimedia essays and presentations that analyze the form and content of video games. In support of these assignments, Media & Design Fellow Carly Yingst (English) designed and facilitated workshops that introduced students to the digital tools used to actually construct video game assets and game environments (e.g., Blender, Unity), as well as the narrative structures that game designers use to map out the stories that structure gameplay (e.g., branching and string of pearl narratives). 

[The Harvard Gazette featured the course](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/new-english-class-focuses-on-video-game-narratives/), describing the workshop Carly took the lead in designing:

“As part of the curriculum, students attended a workshop hosted by The Bok Center’s Learning Lab, which sought to provide insight into the technical side of gaming. One station was set up to teach students how to code their own games using Unity, a development platform. Another allowed students to try out VR headsets, consoles, and equipment, seeing firsthand how different technology can affect player experience. And yet another had students cutting images from newspapers and magazines to construct game narratives, forcing them to choose between more linear storylines or ones that branch out into many potential endings.”

![alt text](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F06E40PUFR8/20230222.0.1600_eng189vg.gamemechanics.workshop_stills_082.jpg?pub_secret=612073134f)

![alt text](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F06E3SRSH5H/20230222.0.1600_eng189vg.gamemechanics.workshop_stills_066.jpg?pub_secret=be9a3aa530)

![alt text](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F06E6DXKH8U/20230222.0.1600_eng189vg.gamemechanics.workshop_stills_031.jpg?pub_secret=1c2ae0a06f)

![alt text](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F06E6DZJD7E/20230222.0.1600_eng189vg.gamemechanics.workshop_stills_074.jpg?pub_secret=8bcad31ecf)

## Planning
* [ENGLISH 189VG Planning Book](https://hackmd.io/@ll-22-23/rJW3ci5ai/%2F-uqNfV4pSvqFsbWp0bAs9g)


