Neverwinter Nights in Alberta: Conceptions of Narrativity through Fantasy Role-Playing Games in a Graduate Classroom

Computer role-playing games offer a unique opportunity to aid graduate-level analysis of hypermedia narratives. In this paper, we discuss the application of complex game authoring tools in HUCO-616: Multimedia in the Humanities, a graduate multimedia course in humanities computing (Huco) at the University of Alberta. Offered annually, this course is intended for students in the second year of their program. Much of the content for this article relates to experiences in the academic years 2003-05. The Huco program embraces a pedagogical imperative to marry theoretical and practical elements (Sinclair and Gouglas 2002; Gouglas, Sinclair, and Morrison, forthcoming). We believe that only those learners who have facility with a particular technology can effectively understand how that technology alters and informs interactions with source material. To paraphrase George Grant (1976), the computer does indeed impose on us the way it will be used; only through informed use can we understand this impact. For many students, the practical component of HUCO-616 was an unprecedented educational experience that required them to reflect on concepts of narrative and interactivity through active engagement with hypermedia environments and the creation of personal digital narratives (Exhibit 1). This approach contrasts common pedagogical practice in various social science and humanities programs where students are rarely asked to try their hands at creating the types of work they are being trained to study.