Abstract
This paper reflects on the potential of using video games as a medium to teach medieval history. Building on feedback from students and research around the topic of using video games to teach medieval history, this paper explores how video games can be used to create counterfactual simulations and their potential use as an academic teaching tool.
Highlights
I have been considering the implementation of video games in order to teach complex topics on two medieval history modules
The first was at the Leeds International Medieval Congress 2019, when Dr John Jenkins, a research associate at the University of York, delivered a paper on ‘The Becket Connection – Visualising Medieval Canterbury’ and showcased the historically and archaeologically accurate threedimensional rendering of medieval Canterbury, as it was in 1408, giving people the ability to walk around the cityscape in the video game engine Unreal 4 (Dyas and Gibbs, 2020)
As McCall (2016: 527) articulates: ‘Why would a student only have a game to learn from? Why would no other historical materials ranging from historical monographs to primary sources be considered alongside the game?’ if one placed the video game context within the framework of a well-planned seminar session with the primary and secondary source reading to inform their simulation, the students have the ability both to learn from the experience of the game in a counterfactual manner, as well as learning from the historical sources which can inform their understanding of the event in which they just participated or presided over
Summary
I have been considering the implementation of video games in order to teach complex topics on two medieval history modules. The conference delivered on eleven strands of discussion with an international line up of speakers: medieval source material for games; writing history through game mechanics; reenacted and recreating the Middle Ages; historical accuracy and authenticity; games for education and research I and II; medievalist and gaming tropes; gender in medieval video games; medieval games beyond western Europe; magic medicine and religion; and playing the crusades It was while I was playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Warhorse Studios, 2018), that I truly began to consider the implications of the Visualising Medieval Canterbury project. In the more recent instalments of Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft, 2017) and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft, 2018) based in Ptolemaic Egypt (49–47 BC) and during the Peloponnesian War (431– 422 BC) respectively, historical and archaeological information is conveyed through ‘Discovery Tour’ It is a system which utilises teams of international experts in order to create an interactive documentary, where players can visit historical sites in game and receive information in audio and video formats
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