Robert Houghton (dir.), Playing the Middle Ages. Pitfalls and Potential in Modern Games, Bloomsbury, 2023.

The Middle Ages have provided rich source material for physical and digital games from Dungeons and Dragons to Assassin’s Creed. This volume addresses the many ways in which different formats and genre of games represent the period. It considers the restrictions placed on these representations by the mechanical and gameplay requirements of the medium and by audience expectations of these products and the period, highlighting innovative attempts to overcome these limitations through game design and play.

Playing the Middle Ages considers a number of important and timely issues within the field including: one, the connection between medieval games and political nationalistic rhetoric; two, trends in the presentation of religion, warfare and other aspects of medieval society and their connection to modern culture; three, the problematic representations of race; and four, the place of gender and sexuality within these games and the broader gaming community.

The book draws on the experience of a wide-ranging and international group of academics across disciplines and from games designers. Through this combination of expertise, it provides a unique perspective on the representation of the Middle Ages in modern games and drives key discussions in the fields of history and game design.

Table des matières

List of Figures
List of Contributors
1 The Middle Ages in Modern Games: An Adolescent Field Robert Houghton, University of Winchester, UK
2 Unbending Medievalisms: Finding counterfactual history in sandbox games set in the Middle Ages, Ylva Grufstedt, Malmö University, Sweden
3 Playing the Sonic Past: reflections on sound in medieval-themed video games, Mariana López, University of York, UK
4 Medieval Sounds, Sounding Medieval, Karen M. Cook, University of Hartford, USA
5 All on board for the Crusades, Gordon Smith, University of Edinburgh, UK
6 Subverting the Valiant Crusader: The Sarafan in the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series, Liam McLeod, University of Birmingham, UK
7 Making Friendships, Breaking Friendships: Exploring Viking-Age Social Roles Through Player Strategy in A Feast for Odin, Adam Bierstedt, University of Reykjavik, Iceland
8 Abandoning Civilization: Medieval Rulership in Crusader Kings III, Reigns, and Mount and Blade: Warband, Robert Houghton, University of Winchester, UK
9 Joan of Arc, the Meme of Orléans: The Playful Liberties Taken with History by the Age of Empires 2 Gaming Community, Jonathan Bloch, Independent Scholar
10 On the Postcolonial Analysis of ‘Indians’ in Age of Empires II: A Theory of “Ethical Programs” Behind Postcolonial Criticisms of Videogames, Neil Nagwekar
11 Virtually (De)Colonized: Racial Identity and Colonialism in the Middle Ages and as Depicted in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Innocence: A Plague Tale, The Elder Scrolls, and Black Desert Online, Johansen Quijano, University of Texas at Arlington, USA
12 Representations of Medieval Gender Archetypes in Fantasy Role-Playing Games, Markus Eldegard Mindrebø, Royal Holloway, UK
13 Ashen, Hollow, Cursed: Fragile Knighthood in the Dark Souls Series and its Medieval Antecedents, Patrick Butler, University of Connecticut, USA
14 Matilda of Canossa and Crusader Kings II: (Papal) Warrior Princess, Blair Apgar, University of York, UK
Index

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