Announcing a bonus special event as part of the Gender theme for the Historical Game Network: a livestream playtest of a new tabletop roleplaying game! This livestream will feature four researchers who work in gender and history gathering round the (virtual) table to test out a new game World Weaver: Which Witch? written by myself, Tess Watterson, […]
Guest chair/convenor: Tess Watterson Gender shapes the way that we interact with the world, and thus the way we interact with and in virtual worlds. From avatar creation and embodiment, to the design of non-player characters and in-game interactions, to the marketing and popular reception of games – gender is a crucial factor but not […]
The recording of our Medievalism discussion panel on the 19th March 2025 – featuring Blair Apgar, James Baillie, Katie Newell and Robert Houghton – is now available to watch via the HGN Youtube Channel. You can read more about the theme via the call page, and all of the contributions to Medievalism via the HGN blog.
Developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo, Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War (2007) is a tactical action game that immerses players in the brutal conflicts between England and France during the 14th and 15th centuries. The game is set during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), which was a protracted conflict between England and France marked by shifting […]
In video game design, the deliberate reuse and reinterpretation of architectural elements can function as a form of digital spoliation, evoking historical continuity, cultural layering, and the passage of time within virtual worlds. Spoliation refers to the deliberate reuse of architectural elements, sculptures, or other materials from pre-existing structures in new constructions or artistic contexts. […]
878AD is an immersive living history experience in the Brooks Shopping Centre in Winchester, England. Described as “a multi-sensory museum experience with theatre, tech and play,” it was created through a partnership between Hampshire Cultural Trust, Ubisoft, and Sarner to utilise graphics from Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla (2020) as a backdrop for telling the story of the year […]
The gaming medium can stimulate original perspectives on the past by incorporating underrepresented cultures or minorities into its game systems. However, when reflecting on the concept of accuracy,1 it has been emphasized that games “should also be inclusive without lying to the audience,” and Diana Cristina Răzman specified that the way the gaming industry addresses […]
As both a game developer and a medieval historian, each of my interests informs the other. In this post, I’m going to talk you through some ways I approach putting medieval elements in games and think about why they’re there. The process I use is based on thinking about medieval ideas as a sort of […]
Created as a collaboration between the Council of Europe’s HISTOLAB project and the Historical Games Network, we’ve created a tutorial explores how teachers can begin to use historical videogames in their classes. It uses two games developed by Charles Games (Attentat 1942 and Svoboda 1945) as examples. HGN co-convenors Esther Wright, Iain Donald and Nick […]
Via the HGN YouTube channel, watch the recording of the 10th discussion panel event on the theme of “Technology”, featuring guest speakers Amy Hondsmerk, Hannah Price, and Jonathan Ferguson (chaired by Dimitrios Darzentas). You can read more about the theme, and our speakers, via the call page, and read all of the blog posts for […]