Deconstructing the Conceptions of History in Digital Games

Project Info

Project Description

Have you ever had the feeling that computer games manipulate the way you perceive history?

In this workshop we will analyse conceptions of history that are implicitly conveyed in digital games. In doing so, we will try to find answers to the following questions: How do digital games use historical settings to promote stories and involving narratives? How are they bound to genres like shooters or strategy games and how do these genres influence their implicit concepts of history? How do games try to balance out narrative and gameplay and thus modify their historical settings?

We are going to use creative ways to craft and express our findings. Special assistance will be given by historian Nico Nolden and media educator Tobias Miller. Our aim will be to create exhibits which will be then presented to the public.

This workshop is provided by

The Federal Agency for Civic Education

 

Teamer

NICO NOLDEN

Germany

  • Wrote his PhD thesis on multiplayer online games and commemorative culture
  • Reviews video games from a historical perspective on his blog “Keimling
  • Part of Public History Hamburg since 2014, teaching project-based history courses

 

TOBIAS MILLER

Germany

  • Studied Media Education, Sociology and Economics
  • Specialised in game reviews from a pedagogical perspective, regular updates available on twitter: @tbsmllr
  • Former editor in chief at spielbar.de (bpb, 2007-2017) and works as a senior project manager in software development at OuterMedia