GD
Jun 17, 2016
An interesting course for anyone who likes lord of the rings online, fantasy (modern and presents), literature, video games, and/or movies! It's the ultimate combination for maximum nerddom!
AM
Feb 20, 2018
It was very interesting and fun. I liked the literature and examples of the workshop, it was very interesting and It did awaken a much slept passion for poetry and romance.
By Jonathan B
鈥Dec 17, 2024
As a non-credit course, it was pretty enjoyable. However, the discussion forums and related game guilds are mostly inactive, so don鈥檛 expect timely replies or engaging conversations there. If you鈥檙e planning to check out Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO) as recommended in the course, I suggest heading over to the LotRO subreddit鈥攜ou鈥檒l have a much easier time finding a guild there. If I happen to see your post about looking for a guild/kinship, I might even share some links to my server鈥檚 community Discord or my own guild. Overall, it鈥檚 an excellent course鈥攎aybe a bit dry鈥攂ut still fun and easy. I wouldn鈥檛 recommend taking it too seriously; it鈥檚 more something to enjoy for its own sake.
By Linda R
鈥Jun 18, 2016
This was just a life-changing perspective-changing course for me. I have always loved Tolkien and have a background in literature and theatre. However I had always thought of LOTR as genre fiction and not "serious" literature. Studying it in the context of English Romantic quest narratives and poems changed my perspective. Beyond that, the world of online gaming was opened to me. I had viewed games from a distance with fascination but they missed my generation and so I had never dived in. As a newbie gamer over 60, it WAS a steep learning curve but I loved the challenge and the community I met in the game. Such a lively and nice bunch of people. I don't know what I did with my time before.
By Marni
鈥Oct 11, 2022
This course was fun and challenging in the best possible way. The only thing that would have made it better is if I would've been able to play the video game used as the central example (Lord of the Rings Online), but it's not compatible for Mac users.
By Amy S
鈥Mar 6, 2024
Really enjoyed this course. The course material was interesting and I liked the vibe of the lectures/video discussions. I would have done the Honors Track, however I encountered difficulties thanks to my pc.
By 袗薪薪邪 袩
鈥Jun 19, 2023
I enjoyed it a lot. This course helped me to reguard storytelling in different ways, includind its path from the Middle Ages to my console! Thank you!
By Minh T P
鈥Mar 28, 2022
The course brings a lot of interesting experiences. I gained more knowledge about culture, game theory and literature.
By Pete P
鈥Apr 2, 2023
Course was a lot of fun
By Leo
鈥Feb 26, 2025
Very interesting course! I loved seeing LOTR from a completely new POV as I had only seen the movies before completing this course. I only put 4 stars because the french version of this course has very unclear formulations so the questions get very tricky. I had to switch back to english after the first module.
By Catalina
鈥Jul 25, 2018
The content of the class is very interesting, however as non-native English speaker it was hard to follow at times. Particularly, the readings have complex vocabulary. Also, I wanted to complete the honors tasks, but was unable to since downloading LOTRO requires a lot of memory space.
By Barbara M
鈥Sep 17, 2024
I was not convinced by the setting (mainly a teacher and a few students with group discussions) to begin with but came to find it lively and engaging. Very interesting topics and notions. I enjoyed this course.
By Matt
鈥Dec 7, 2016
The Course itself is fun. The videos are enjoyable. The subject matter is great. However the quizzes are way to hard. They ask to many questions with multiple answers and the online student is expected to know so much more materials that is probably taught in the actual class, and does not have access to. For that it becomes frustrating. Especially that the material is not easy to digest.
By Tatum D
鈥Dec 7, 2018
There is nothing inherently flawed in the course, it just wasn't what I expected and keeping on it only frustrated me. I wanted to explore about the narrative in online games, not focus on Tolkien's life and works. I also dislike the live discussion parts of the lessons. The idea's great, but some of them weren't very thorough and felt more like comments. I liked the breakdowns a lot better.
By THELMA C S O
鈥Aug 26, 2020
The class is great! Serves a basic theory on video games, literature, and remediation. To my surprise, it also travels through different English literature pieces of chivalry, mythology, or adventure that serves as content to compare the narrative in videogames and films. This part was really enjoyable and so I also recommend this class if you want to know the basics of romance literature. This part also serves to show how many videogames have taken elements of this narrative into their own. Didn't have the opportunity to play LOTRO, but I must say it make me want to play it in the future and to also read the trilogy of Lord of the Rings.
By Noela L
鈥Jun 18, 2016
A fascinating course for those who love games, digital narrative, and literature.
The course materials are done with love and it shows: the videos are fantastic, clear, entertaining and well paced.
The course revolves around Lord of the Rings (in its iterations of books, films and videogame), but discussion about art, literature, gaming and narrative in general is encouraged.
The community is supportive, helpful and very friendly, in the forums and in the game, so those who are new to gaming but are interested in the course have no reason to shy off!
By MARIE M
鈥Aug 19, 2017
Ce cours est tr猫s int茅ressant car il ne porte pas que sur l'oeuvre de Tolkien, on y d茅couvre des textes, des po猫mes etc qui permettent de comprendre la tram narrative, les choix d'茅critures et ce qui a inspir茅 Le Seigneur des Anneaux, sans oublier le fait que ce cours explore aussi le travail effectu茅 pour l'adaptation en jeu vid茅o de l'histoire du Seigneur des Anneaux. Je ne suis vraiment pas d茅莽ue et j'esp猫re retrouver un cours d'aussi bonne qualit茅 sur le catalogue de 糖心vlog官网观看!
By Michaela S
鈥Jun 21, 2016
Exceptional course that explores the remediation of books, narrative, and other artwort like paintings into MMOs. The discussed example is Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and the games "Lord of the Rings Online".
The support is outstanding on 糖心vlog官网观看 as well as in the game. Several servers are home to course accompanying groups who offer support and guidance with course related in-game assignments and the game itself.
Great fun, great people, great content.
By Courtney R
鈥Jun 21, 2016
Although I鈥檓 not really a gamer, I took the first session of this course since I was studying art and computer science in school, and I thought this course would give me some insights as to what decisions people make when they design a computer game based on a well-known existing story, and as to how art and technology are integrated into the overall game design. It certainly did! And I found it so engrossing that I鈥檝e continued to play LOTRO ever since.
By C-Louise T
鈥Jun 23, 2016
A very enjoyable course that shows art can be appreciated in many forms, people of all walks of life and ages enjoy online games and that you can be anything you want with a little imagination.
The course videos are a series of discussions between the course tutor and his team of young enthusiasts. Its an unusual method and one I thought was lively and entertaining.
By Thamires P
鈥May 17, 2020
Even for someone who is not much into games (but who is very much into literature and LOTR) this course was a pleasant surprise. I loved to see the interaction between the students during the course, everyone is very knowledgable, and everything is discussed in depth and detail in the course. I absolutely loved the course!
By Joseph B
鈥Jul 14, 2016
Fun and engaging course with a lot of material I would have otherwise not looked into. I made so many friends and have a deeper appreciation for Tolkien and LOTRO than I did before this course! I highly recommend this to anyone looking to take a course that can truly be informative and fun at the same time.
By Yudhanjaya W
鈥Dec 4, 2016
Loved it. A pleasure from start to finish. Jay Clayton is so clearly in love with what he teaches that you cannot resist being pulled along for this ride. I gained a great deal of knowledge on the construction of stories and how they've evolved across the years, from books, to painting, to video games.
By Alina S
鈥Apr 25, 2017
This was a very interesting course that brings together different and unexpected sources and ties them with Tolkien's classic narrative in ways that help you gain new perspectives on LOTR, but also on modern and classic works of art, books, games.
By Ricardo J P D L T
鈥Apr 26, 2021
Filled with emotions and amazing content, this course delivers a complete notion of how narrative works in video games, films, and literature. And in some others that we wouldn't have considered before, such as architecture or painting.
By Tanya B
鈥Feb 2, 2017
This course was incredible! Jay is such a passionate instructor and the course materials between literature, gaming, and narrative are so engaging. The only thing I wish is that I could have been present for the discussions!
By Ross
鈥Dec 20, 2016
very special course, combines; literature, gaming, lord of the rings, creative writing structures,
rarely do i find a course so specifically right for me it could have been personally tailored for me.
simply mind blowing.