MDIA 13

About this course

The impact of game design and game technology on popular culture. Topics will include early history including the early hardware and software designers that emerged after World War II, the rise of the video game entrepreneurs and the resulting multi-billion dollar arcade industry, eight generations of home video game console inventors from the Magnavox Odyssey through the present day, the impact of the home computer on video games, the evolution of the handheld game console from early LCD games through the smart phone, online gaming from the first text-based games built by hobbyists through the current massively multi-player online role-playing games, and the validation of video games as an art form as evidenced by their addition to the collections of prominent institutions such as the Smithsonian and MoMA. For each historical era, the influence of video games on popular culture will be demonstrated through film, television, print, and music.

No section is scheduled at Foothill College for Fall 2026. The course can still be offered in a later quarter.

Enrollment availability changes frequently. Confirm status in the official FHDA registration system before enrolling.

Prerequisites

The Foothill catalog lists no prerequisite for this course.

Advisory: “Advisory: Not open to students with credit in MUS 11F or HUMN 13.”

Transfer pathways that use MDIA 13

ASSIST maps MDIA 13 to a requirement in 2 published pathways from Foothill College.

• Bachelor of Science Major in Mathematics with Departmental HonorsFoothill → University of the Pacific
• CSU General EducationFoothill → CSU Stanislaus