Comments on: History in Video Games – A Closer Look

By: Elijah G

Elijah G — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:40:15 +0000

I agree with Rob M in being up front with what is real and what is not, historically, although that can be difficult to do in the run of gameplay. I’ve enjoyed games that had some historical background in the manual itself (Panzer General, I think did this). But as far as MGS3 I think the risk there is that younger gamers who have little interest in history could be led to believe that Lyndon Johnson and Krushchev and other historical facts and realities are just made up game elements. It’s only a matter of time before stock footage and FMV sequences are indistinguishable, so I think developers need to be more careful in the future.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Historical facts seem rather accidental to a game, but games are very good at exploring the systems and rules. Probably the best way to understand how the stock market works is to play a simulation of one. A game that is based on a barter system is much more ‘educational’ than reading a book on a barter system.

For an example from my childhood, Oregon Trail II. When you buy all your supplies at the beginning you have to make lots of decisions. If I get x amount of food, I can’t take x amount of tools to repair my wagon. That’s universal economics but it also puts you in the mindset of those pioneers. You *feel* the dilemmas they had because you see the outcomes.

I think that talking about ‘historical accuracy’ in terms of graphics details or marketing misses the point.

By: Rob M

Rob M — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:07:17 +0000

As a developer of historical video games (http://www.longbowgames.com) I’m a strong believer that games can provide a unique and powerful way to explore history – there’s no better way to really understand something then to interact and experiment with it. However, the struggle of how close to stick to history and when to take liberties is a tough one. Generally the philosophy I prefer is to be upfront with what’s real and what isn’t. There are a lot of practical reasons developers can’t always be perfect (both technical and marketing limitations) and I quite enjoy blatant historical fantasy like god of war, resistance or wolfenstein. However, I find it permanently ruins the enjoyment for me when I discover that a movie/book/game that gives the impression of historical accuracy is really making it all up.

By: fat mouse

fat mouse — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:16:35 +0000

Of course there are are so many WWII games. We (Americans) were the good guys.

How many Vietnam War games do you think there are? I checked: not so many.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_video_games
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Vietnam_War_video_games

By: Patrick G

Patrick G — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:46:23 +0000

I’ve being meaning to get into The Europa Universalis series, I’m a huge Total War fan those

By: Steven D

Steven D — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:42:58 +0000

I realize you seem to be focusing mostly on console games, but how can you write an article about History in Video Games without mentioning Paradox Interactive. Their Europa Universalis series, as well as Victoria, Hearts of Iron, and Crusader Kings, are all deeply rooted in history… attempting to create it in accurate detail… while at the same time allowing you to play it and change that history however you can. You can start in 1543 at the fall of the Byzantine Empire and play the expansive Ottoman empire… or you can start a few years prior and attempt to fend off the Ottomans and preserve Constantinople as Constantinople… take that song away from They Might Be Giants! Maybe the Native Americans should have banded together to fend off the French/English/Spanish colonies… go do it. Maybe you want to lead a Victorian era Brazil to be a world power to reckoned with… you can.

If you’ve never played any of the Paradox games, you should look into them. There’s a steep learning curve, but they’re SO vast and so fun.

By: skavenger

skavenger — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:37:54 +0000

For the sake of brevity, allow me to borrow the words of a certain space monster…

HISTORY DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!

By: Docus

Docus — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:43:26 +0000

“Call of Duty – World at War is absolutely ruthless in its depiction of war, and rightfully so. Yet, it fails to show Japanese and German forces as anything more than cruel villains to be swept aside by the “good guys”; macho Americans and vengeful rampaging Russians.”

While this is certainly true for the Japanese (which are depicted as suicidal Banzai charging sadistic soldiers without a face), I found that during the the Russian campaign, it was shown that both sides were ruthless. On more than one occasion the Germans shoot or try to shoot unarmed prisoners, but the same goes for the Russians. There are at least two times in CoD that you run into some Russian soldiers guarding unarmed Germans that beg for mercy, yet get mowed down by the AI if you don’t do it yourself.

By: Steven G

Steven G — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Michael, I know what you mean about sanitising the conflict, but it was actually quite brave of them to set the game there. What with all the possibilities to offend Jews, Muslims and Christians with everything from narrative to the actual physical layout of the city. It was a tinderbox of a setting, and no wonder they had to start with one of the most unique disclaimers ever to be seen at the start of a videogame.

Additionally in many ways they did utilise a truth about the crusaders. Even though they were meant to be about religion, they often were as much about plunder and fortune. Thats why one of the major crusades never actually made it to the middle east and instead raped, pillaged and murdered its way through various non christian communities across eastern europe first!

Within that setting of greed, such a fantasy narrative as that in AS kinda works. Along with the idea that there was a history of fanatic sects carrying out assassinations of collaborators and ‘aggressors’ dating back to the occupation of the land by the syrian-greeks, then during the Roman occupation and then continued by Arabs during the crusader times. Its rich in historical detail to add credibility to the mumbo jumbo story!

A great article, my only real comment is that the movie business has been rewriting history for ages now so its only natural games follow.

By: Patrick G

Patrick G — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:49:49 +0000

Civilisation series turn me into a history nerd , I love history in a game as long as it’s done right. Looking a you AC.