Writing Game Histories is a practical guide for students that looks at the different strategies employed by historians when studying the history of games. The book provides an overview of key historiographical and methodological issues, exploring the multifaceted nature of game history and representations of the past within historical games. The book is written by historical experts and game scholars from a range of international backgrounds. It covers topics such as the political economy of video game production, the practices of game developers, and achieving equitable game histories. The collection also includes two dedicated chapters surveying the current state of the field, bringing together existing trends and approaches, and offering students a concise introduction to the different directions explored later in the volume. Writing Game Histories offers accessible guidance on the complex histories of games and how we can research and write them, the representations of the past found in games, the way they construct historical arguments, and the theoretical background necessary to understand how they do so. It is the perfect guide to this rapidly growing and increasingly popular field of research, and is an invaluable resource when considering its future.

Autorentext
Esther Wright is a Lecturer in Digital History at the University of Cardiff, UK. Iain Donald is a Lecturer in Design & UX at Edinburgh Napier University, UK.Nick Webber is Associate Professor in Media at Birmingham City University, UK.

Klappentext
This book offers an accessible introduction to the dynamic intersection between history and games, and the flourishing discipline of Historical Game Studies. From the representation of the past found in games with historical themes and settings- both digital and analogue- to the histories we might write about games, their development, use and the cultures and discourses that surround them, these methods offer something very new to the study of history.

How do we approach games as objects of historical study, or as ways of creating narratives and representations of the past? What methods and approaches do we need to account for when understanding the complex and multifaceted histories of games, as well as the myriad ways in which games have and continue to engage with history? Writing Game Histories answers these questions and more, offering the perfect guide to this rapidly growing and increasingly popular field of research, and provides an invaluable resource for considering its future.

Inhalt

Introduction: The Present and Future of History and Games, Esther Wright (Cardiff University, UK), Nick Webber (Birmingham City University, UK), and Iain Donald (Edinburgh Napier University, UK)

1. The Historiography of Historical Game Studies I - The Past in Games, Andrew Elliott (Independent Scholar)
2. The Historiography of Historical Game Studies II - The Past(s) of Games, John Wills (University of Kent, UK)
3. History, Games and Cultural Studies, Soraya Murray (University of California Santa Cruz, USA)
4. Postcolonialism, History and Games, Rachael Hutchinson (University of Delaware, USA) and Christoffer Mitch C. Cerda (Ateneo de Manila University, The Philippines)
5. Political Economy Approaches, Emil Lundedahl Hammar (University of Tampere, Finland)
6. Industry/Developer Studies, Ylva Grufstedt (Malmö University, Sweden) and Laine Nooney (New York University, USA)
7. Paratextual Histories, Richard Cole (University of Bristol, UK) and Mikey Pennington (Bath Spa University, UK)
8. Gender, History, Games, Jane Draycott (University of Glasgow, UK) and Tess Watterson (Adelaide University, Australia)
9. Producing Historical Games with Historical Theory, Rudiger Brandis (University of Göttingen, Sweden) and Robert Houghton (University of Winchester, UK)
10. Narrative and Historical Games, Adam Chapman (Independent Scholar)
11. Space and Environments, Souvik Mukherjee (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta, India)
12. Global Histories, Aphra Kerr (Maynooth University, Ireland)
13. Local/Regional Histories, Melanie Swalwell (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia), Maria Garda (University of Turku, Finland) and Carl Therrien (University of Montréal, Canada)
14. Working with Interdisciplinarity, Angus Mol (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
15. Play(ers) and Historical Practice, Pieter Van den Heede (Erasmus University, The Netherlands), Alexander Vanderwalle (Ghent University, Belgium) and Ben Redder (University of Waikato, New Zealand)
16. Games and Historical Time, Nick Webber (Birmingham City University, UK)

17. Analogue Games, Maurice Suckling (Rensselaer Polytechnic University, USA)

    Bibliography
    Index