The School of Journalism and Communications’ newest game studies minor is off to a “swimmingly” good start, according to Andy Wilson, Ph.D candidate and a graduate teaching fellow at the SOJC.

The game studies minor, launched at the start of the academic year, gives students the opportunity to explore the design, impact and potential of games. It also examines the cultural, social, economic and psychological aspects of games, according to its website. 

Maxwell Foxman, the director of the game studies minor, has been involved with its creation and launch since he was hired.

“The minor has been a project of mine for about four to six years. It’s been something in the back of my head and in the SOJC’s plans since I was hired in 2018. So to see it come to fruition after a lot of hard work has been really exciting,” Foxman said. 

Wilson teaches JCOM 280: Introduction to Studying Games, which is a gateway to the minor and exposes students to various big ideas within game studies.  

According to Wilson, the minor allows students to apply their personal experience to content within specific classes in the minor. 

“I think it’s exciting for students in the SOJC, and beyond, to have an opportunity to critically engage with games and play from a communication and media studies perspective,” Wilson said. “Whether students want a deep dive into Gamification and the Media or Game Journalism and News Games, there’s a little something for everyone as far as course offerings are concerned.”

According to Foxman, the minor has seen growth in the number of declared students since it was launched.

“We had two students who signed up for the minor basically the minute it was available, but we’ve been growing into the double digits, which is exciting, and we expect to grow even more,” Foxman said.

According to Wilson, having a minor focused on gaming and game studies is “simply cool,” and is an opportunity he would have loved having as an undergraduate student.

Wilson said the minor gives students different ways to think about games.

“The minor will show students there are many ways to think critically about games, what they mean in the context of contemporary society and culture and how games can be an excellent springboard for exploring prominent communication and media studies research areas,” Wilson said.

According to Foxman, the minor has been promoted in other JCOM and SOJC classes with the hope of stirring up interest.

The natural next step for the minor, Foxman said, is establishing a community and doing more “public-facing activities.” 

“I’m excited that now we have the course work sort of completed, we’re moving to build a bigger and [more] robust games community around the minor,” Foxman said.

There have been several community events already, including film screenings, with “game jams” and other activities planned for later in the year, according to Foxman. 

Foxman said he has a three-step plan for the future of the minor. 

Step one, according to Foxman, is building an academic community and establishing scholarship and research opportunities for students.

The second step is looking beyond the university to the community. 

“In the next couple years, I really want to try and build some relationships with our local game stores, whether it’s Funagain Games, which holds regular conventions about gaming, or some of our local studios like Pipeworks. I want to make sure that they feel like they are connected with our students and vice versa,” Foxman said.

The third step, according to Foxman, is strengthening connections with companies and working with alumni to ensure students have success working within games and in the game industry. 

“If you’re a student in art and design or in English or at the SOJC, there is a job related to your specialty within gaming. So part of it is opening up those opportunities and having students see [what] others have achieved,” Foxman said.

According to Foxman, there are opportunities to be involved in games both at the SOJC and around campus, and according to Wilson, the minor hopes to see an increase in interdisciplinary interest from non-SOJC majors.

“There’s something for everyone in the world of games,” Wilson said.