Heritage, Authenticity, and the Fiction/Nonfiction Dualism in Attentat 1942

Abstract

AbstractThe award-winning Czech game Attentat 1942 (Steam, 2017. https://store.steampowered.com/app/676630/Attentat_1942/) is here explored with regard to historical accuracy/authenticity. Using Mochocki (Role-Play as a Heritage Practice: Historical LARP, Tabletop RPG and Reenactment. Routledge, Milton Park, 2021a) framework for authenticity/immersion in historical storyworlds, this chapter explores the multiple layers of audiovisual and narrative representations and their relation to nonfiction historiography. This reveals a particular emphasis on material objects and documentary evidence, which makes the game museum-like in its narrative strategy. Furthermore, following the recent debate in Fludernik and Ryan (Factual narrative: An introduction. In: M. Fludernik, M.-L. Ryan (eds) Narrative Factuality. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 1–26, 2020), historical authenticity is discussed as a combination of factuality and fictionality. Attentat 1942 uses signposts of both: fictional with regard to its fictive characters and their stories, factual with regard to everything else.KeywordsHeritageImmersionAuthenticityFictionalityFactualityAttentat 1942Historical gamesVideo games