From ‘Oregon Trail’ to ‘Uncharted,’ video games make history fun
From ‘Oregon Trail’ to ‘Uncharted,’ video games make history fun
From ‘Oregon Trail’ to ‘Uncharted,’ video games make history fun
August 5, 2022
By Julio Capó Jr.
Summary
Delving into the history of how video games have utilized - and distorted - stories of the past reveals a persistent demand for historical education through entertainment, a reminder that people are constantly searching for new ways to engage and find meaning in the past.
As Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska has argued, it was in the 1970s that history "Became as much about feeling as about thinking, about being inside the past instead of looking upon it." Immersive video games helped history come alive in the 1970s, much like new period-piece TV shows, historical reenactments, oral history projects and museum exhibitions did.
The ability to weave a strong nationalist story in video games is by no means unique to the United States or limited to the historical backdrop of World War II. In 2012, the Cuban government released "Gesta Final" to help teach Cuban youths about the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
Whether fictional or not, the inclusion of museums and historical and archaeological sites in video games can also tell us something important about changing attitudes toward the accessibility and the gatekeeping of history.
Video games may make history more accessible, but there is a downside because these historical experiences are often presented without a critical or analytical lens or guidance.
A 2020 survey revealed that 93 percent of historical video game players had felt inspired to learn more about a particular event or person in history while 90 percent thought that video games had the power to change people's perspectives on a historical event.
As the market for video games continues to grow and advance, so too can its ability to create and disperse knowledge of the past.
Reference
Capó Jr., J. (2022, August 05). Perspective | from 'Oregon trail' to 'uncharted,' video games make history fun. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/08/05/oregon-trail-uncharted-video-games-make-history-fun/