The University of Illinois Springfield is merging technology and academics by using the campus Esports Arena in a first-year seminar led by Professor Tena Helton. The course, ENG 113: Video Games and Gaming, utilizes video games to deepen students’ understanding of narrative structure and analysis.
Since developing the course in 2014, Helton has focused first on making the class accessible for all students, particularly when it comes to gaming equipment.
“Consoles are expensive, and I couldn’t necessarily depend on everyone having a personal laptop, especially one geared towards gaming,” Helton said.
Helton had previously relied on library resources but saw an opportunity with the development of the new UIS Esports Arena.
“It seemed logical to work with Zach Logsden in ITS and the Rec Center to use the arena for academic purposes,” she explained.
The course centers on the critically acclaimed video game “Bioshock Infinite,” a 2013 first-person shooter game known for its complex narrative and exploration of topics such as American exceptionalism, racism and moral choice. Set in the floating city of Columbia in 1912, the game follows protagonist Booker DeWitt on a mission to rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious woman with special powers, while confronting political and philosophical choices.
“Players encounter the same moral and political dilemmas, the same character growth, and the same narrative strategies as they do in the best novels, stories, film and plays,” Helton said.
While the students get the opportunity to use the Esports Arena, most of the gameplay happens outside of class, similar to how independent reading would be assigned in a traditional English course. This allows students flexibility in how they engage with the material.
“We talk about the game and gaming during class,” Helton said, explaining that class discussions encourage a close, analytical approach similar to studying literature. “I want everyone to play close. Playing close is akin to reading closely, and it means students need to attend to the details of the narrative and the rendered world—setting, structure, plot, character development—the typical analytic features of literary analysis.”
Helton said the course, designed as a general education humanities seminar, helps students develop scholarly habits through the analysis of video games as cultural artifacts. She hopes that through this approach, students realize that critical analysis does not diminish their enjoyment of gaming, but rather enhances it.
“Analysis doesn’t ‘ruin’ something they enjoy as a hobby; it instead enriches the experience,” she explained.
According to Helton, the course fosters critical thinking, collaboration and intellectual engagement.
“Importantly, students enhance their scholarly skills, employing them in pair, group and independent assignments that demand creative problem solving, research and intellectual intensity,” she said.
Looking ahead, Helton envisions future academic uses for the Esports Arena across a variety of disciplines.
“We have more opportunity to use interactive games in the classroom because we have a facility focused on gaming,” she said. “Lots of subject areas could increase active learning through the use of games.”