GDC 2025 Session Viewer
Avoiding the Historical Accuracy Trap: Lessons from Five Thousand Years of Fun
Angus Mol (Director, Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities)
Aris Politopoulos (Assistant Professor in Archaeology and Cultural Politics, Leiden University)
Location: Room 2005, West Hall
Date: Wednesday, March 19
Time: 10:30 am - 11:00 am
Pass Type: All Access Pass, Core Pass - Get your pass now!
Track: Design
Format: Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: All
Aiming for historical accuracy in games is a trap: history's answer to 'what really happened', is at best a solid theory and at worst a deeply divisive ideological frame. Making games based on historical facts and accurate reconstructions of the past is costly and can generate destructive debates within both developer and player communities.
This presentation by two 'play archaeologists' presents a different approach, knowledge-driven storytelling, rooted in studies of the past, particularly of how people played in and play with the past. The aim of the paper is to provide inspirational insights from the intersections past and present play to create more interesting, diverse, accessible, and inclusive experiences of the past in video games. This paper will combine knowledge about the past and its implementation in video games by focusing on the Royal Game of Ur, a 5000 year old board game, and the development of a video game based on it.
Takeaway
Attendees can expect to leave with a good understanding of the trap presented by historical accuracy in games as well as an alternative approach to implement the past in video games. They can also expect a discussion on finding the fun in the past, knowledge-driven game development, and cultural representation.
Intended Audience
This presentation is intended for developers of historical or other games based on (historical) knowledge, designers who are interested in incorporating or are inspired by history and the past, and all those who take the past seriously, and want to tell more inclusive and diverse stories about our shared history.