New Publication: Special Issue "Digital Games through Muddled Pasts and Modded Histories", Digital Culture & Society, 11(1).

Guest editors: Eduardo Luersen (University of Basel) / James Wilson (University of Groningen) (Eds.)

The emerging field of historical game studies focuses on the representations of the past in digital games. However, aside from notable exceptions, one aspect has often been overlooked: the significant role of game production aspects in these representations. This special issue of Digital Culture & Society integrates new perspectives from History, Digital Humanities, and Game Studies to explore the epistemological, aesthetic, and political implications that arise from the practical interweaving of game development and historical knowledge. The contributions show how decision-making processes behind these games are tailored through collaboration between developers, narrative designers, and historical advisors, and illustrate the different roles of historical knowledge and popular historical narratives within the gaming industry.

Table of Contents:

Digital Games through Muddled Pasts and Modded History: Introduction
Eduardo Luersen, James Wilson
pp. 7-19

Source Material and the Problem of Authenticity in Historical Game Development
William Hepburn, Jackson W. Armstrong
pp. 23-40

Historians Making Games: Unveiling a History Game Design Ethos
Magnus Henrik Sandberg, Eirik Brazier, Ragnhild Hutchison
pp. 41-62

Enchanted Imaginings: Involving Museum Visitors in Heritage Adventures
Eva Kingsepp, Linda Ryan Bengtsson
pp. 63-81

Cultural Combinatorics and Conjured Spectres: The Representation of Culture and Cultural Hybridity through the Game Mechanics of Crusader Kings III
Michael A. Conrad
pp. 85-111

Playing Adewale: The Politics of History in Assassin’s Creed Freedom Cry
Osvaldo Cleger
pp. 113-135

Historical Empathy and Player Agency in Computer Roleplaying Games: Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Pentiment
Robert Houghton
pp. 137-160

The Truth(iness) is a Lie: Historical Re-visions of the Cold War through Call of Duty Paratexts
victoria l. braegger, Samantha Blackmon
pp. 163-185

Queering Hong Kong: Modded History in A Summer’s End: Hong Kong 1986
Diego Barroso Sánchez
pp. 187-210

Calculated Actions: How Game Code Makes Arguments About the Past
James Baillie
pp. 212-230

Re-Enacting 9th Century Baghdad: Interview on the Narrative and Worldbuilding Aspects of the Past, as Rendered in Assassin’s Creed Mirage
James Wilson, Eduardo Luersen, Raphaël Weyland, Sarah Beaulieu
pp. 231-240