More than Fun: Where this Gaming Paper Has Gone

They want it.

Thanks to Dr. Burton, I found the RMMLA last week: the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association. Their annual conference this year includes a panel called "Games, New Media and Virtual Spaces: At play in new media." Just to try, really, I sent the panel chair an email to ask if I could still submit. She responded very quickly, telling me she would love to see my paper and she's been trying really hard to get this panel off the ground but no one else had submitted yet. So, kind of freaking out, I found Dr. Burton and asked his advice on how to write an abstract. Within a few hours, I had my abstract typed up:

Logo for the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association

"Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On": Shakespeare and the Cultural Legitimacy of Video Games

For years now, the debate has raged over "video games as art." While the medium has taken several steps forward and we now have many strong examples of artistic games, they still have not achieved the sense of legitimacy our culture gives to anything considered "art." In many ways, video games are fighting the same battle that English drama fought in Renaissance England, a battle chiefly won by William Shakespeare.  The video game industry is currently in much the same state that English drama was in when Shakespeare entered the scene, and game designers could learn much from his example, as he arguably innovated a new medium as much as he achieved anything else. 

Part of Shakespeare’s success depended on looking backward to bring already culturally important stories to the stage in order to prove that this new medium could be a vehicle for powerful art. I will argue that in order for video games to win cultural legitimacy they must prove they can do the same, and this paper specifically includes ways in which a video game adaptation of The Tempest could help expand scholarship of Shakespeare's text and exploit some of the unique mechanics of the video game medium to create a new and excellent artistic experience. This is experience would be beneficial to both Shakespeare and video game scholars, but also to students, inviting naturally the kind of engagement that teachers so often struggle to produce. While video games may not yet have their “Shakespeare,” such a legitimizing influence can and will come soon to the video game medium, and, someday, sitting and playing through a video game can and will be seen as a cultural experience and not just a waste of time.

Today, she responded again and told me she loved the abstract and would submit my name to the conference as a presenter. She added, however, that they can't run with just one presenter on a panel, so there's still a chance that it could get cancelled, but as far as acceptance for my paper, it's there.

However, that means I've gotta actually get this thing done and awesome enough to prove why an undergrad is speaking at this professional conference. And as so many posts have proven this week, I've got work to do.

Mostly, I know I need to pin down my organization. I'm making so many points that it's hard to build them right. Also, I need to keep a scholarly tone--but still make sure my point comes across clearly and powerfully. I need to bring my thesis in sooner and make the connection to Shakespeare make more sense as well. I'm confident I can make it. It's very possible I've received more feedback on this paper than any paper I've ever written, which gives me all the more hope that it can hold its own at an actual academic conference.

Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and support. Best of luck to us all and all our great ideas and efforts!

Dear Everyone,

Thank you all for your support and feedback. I know perfectly well what I need to do: cut down the paper and even out secondary sources. I have all the sources I need. I intend to start revising as soon as possible.

To Lizy and Steve . . .From Kaylee with Love

Lizy - Your research and explication are very thorough! Great job on doing your homework!

 If you’re worried about space, I don’t think you need to have an individual paragraph for each play in part 1. In fact, I think that you could probably get away with cutting those three paragraphs entirely and just jumping right in to your paper. I think that a little fine tuning might also help in cutting your paper down. What do you need to drive your point across? What information is superfluous? All in all, good job Lizy!

Steve – Good way of phrasing the old nature vs. nurture argument. It seems like you’re emphasizing the nurture part, saying, “Well it’s not quite all his fault?” Am I understanding that correctly? Anyway, I thought it was quite an excellent viewpoint on a much debated topic. One thing I noticed about the paper that you might want to consider revising: avoid cliché phrases and long sentences. Sometimes there are really long phrases in the sentences, so it’s hard to remember previous clauses by time the sentence is over, and then the sentence doesn’t make sense. Anyway, nice job. After you revise, I think it will look fabulous!

Revisions, revisions.

I misunderstood the original tweethis/bibliography post idea, and split them up. The combined/revised version follows:

Tweethis. Prince Hal in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 surely grew much in his experiences with Falstaff and the lowbrow tavern crowd, so much that he understood better the common man in his later ascent to the throne and in his reign as King Henry V. However, looking at some chronicles of history concerning Hal's relationship to King Richard II, Shakespeare's depiction of Hal's rebellion can be seen as a manner of disapproval or dissatisfaction with his father's usurpation of the crown.

Social Graph. With my thesis leaning toward a historical approach, and my lack of friends who have a knowledge of British history, I haven't been able to get much from roommates, friends or family. I admit I'm also hindered by the fact that I haven't had any formal schooling on British history myself.

New Media. I've dabbled in goodreads and imdb for a few. I've enjoyed reading several reviews on goodreads about not only Henry IV, Part 1, but I also ended up looking into what people had to say about the preceding play, Richard II, and also Henry IV, Part 2. I watched the most recent film adaptation of this play which is part of a BBC series titled The Hollow Crown, which covers from Richard II to Henry V. This version's portrayal of Prince Hal is pretty true to what Shakespeare wrote him to be, so while I really loved the production, it didn't back me up with where I'm going. Back to goodreads for a second, I also checked for groups on Henry IV, but I was given nothing.