Abstract
While video games have been much maligned in the popular press, a number of scholars have begun to explore the positive side of these games, especially in terms of learning. Some critics have analyzed video games and the act of game play as complex, cultural texts. In college courses, such as composition, in which one goal is the development of rhetorical skills like analysis, video games and game play can be used as texts that are both accessible to students and rich in meaningful information. In this article, the author presents a case study of a composition course she developed using the book Everything Bad is Good for You, in which Steven Johnson focuses on popular media, such as video games. Through exposure to Johnson's complex discussion and by drawing on their own experience and observations, students were able to think and write critically about abstract concepts and produce their own meaningful analyses.