Chris Carloy

Assistant Instructional Professor, Master of Arts Program in the Humanities, Department of Cinema and Media Studies, The College

I received my PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago in 2018 with a dissertation titled "'True 3D': The Form, concept, and Experience of Three-Dimensionality in 1990s Videogames." My research focuses on videogame history and theory; theories of space and place; genre history and theory; reception; and phenomenology - and I am committed to interdisciplinary work that places videogames within longer traditions of art, media, and architecture. I received my BA from Baylor University in 2006 and my MA in Cinema and Media Studies from UCLA in 2009. 

I spend my free time wandering the Art Institute of Chicago and the city's many parks; taking and posting photographs; listening to and playing music; watching college football and basketball, US Women's soccer, and the Cubs; and trying to get cheap tickets to the Opera. Also, you can ask me about good food in Chicago - I've spent a decade eating my way across the city.

 

From Open Worlds to Angry Birds: Videogame History 2000-2010 (Spring 2025, Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:50AM)

This course will trace developments in the videogame medium and videogame cultures in the first decade of the new millennium. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: the rise and influence of the open world/sandbox genre; the spread of online gaming with Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs, networked First-Person Shooters, and virtual worlds; changes in the embodied experience of play introduced by rhythm/music games, motion controls, and touch screen interfaces; the proliferation of independent game development and online distribution; the rise of "art games" as a distinct (and debated) category; the reemergence of "retro" styles and repackaging of vintage games; the blurred boundaries of the "magic circle" and everyday life in Alternate Reality and Augmented Reality gaming; the increasing popularity of mobile and casual gaming; and the emergence of Videogame Studies as an academic field. This class will be a mix of history and historiography. We will not only learn about the history of the decade, but also discuss the unique possibilities and difficulties arising from the study of recent history - and put these discussions into practice through research-based assignments.

Course Listings: MAAD 25650, MAPH 45516, CMST 27816/37816