SlugAtlasUC Santa Cruz

ARTG 180Personal Narrative in Play

5 creditsUndergraduateStudent Option

Explores how storytelling techniques can align with game mechanics to examine and provoke questions of identity and personal narrative. Drawing from games that express personal experience through autobiography, to games that question the relationship and separation between player and character, students develop exploratory prototypes in digital and/or nondigital formats around potential mechanics for personal narrative and expression. Course culminates in a final piece of interactive art as well as designing the exhibit and public documentation for this work.

Prerequisites

seniors in AGPM who have completed at least one upper division course in ARTG, ART, CMPM, FILM, MUSC, or THEA.

Find a section and add it to your scheduleLive seat counts, time-conflict checks and the walk from your previous class.

When it runs

Winter 2027Open Winter 2027

SectionTypeWhenWhereInstructorSeats
01Studio
Tue Thu 9:50am–11:25am
Digital Arts 308d. wrightOpen 0/25

Spring 2026Open Spring 2026

SectionTypeWhenWhereInstructorSeats
01Studio
Mon Wed 12:00pm–1:35pm
Digital Arts 230d. wrightClosed 31/25

Winter 2026Open Winter 2026

SectionTypeWhenWhereInstructorSeats
01Studio
Tue Thu 9:50am–11:25am
Digital Arts 308E. A. SwensenClosed 25/25

Who teaches it

InstructorRatingDifficultyWould take againReviews
Elizabeth Swensen4.8 / 52.8 / 5100%5

From RateMyProfessors, which is student-submitted and not a survey. Small review counts move a long way on one bad quarter.

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