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Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesInstitute of Archaeology

Archaeogaming

Archaeogaming is an emerging subdiscipline in the archaeological/historical sciences that has emerged in recent years and is concerned with the study of various aspects of video games in relation to history and archaeology. Coined by American archaeologist Andrew Reinhard, Archaeogaming examines, among other things, the influence of video games on the image of the past and the profession of Archaeology (Reinhard 2018).

In the summer semester of 2022, the Archaeoinformatics Department of the Archaeological Institute has partnered with the Digital Humanities Department to create a joint course in which students in Digital Humanities, Digital Archaeology, and various disciplines of traditional archaeology will work independently in groups to develop short video games that critically engage with the issues of the representation of the past and/or the profession of Archaeology.

This page lists the games created as part of this course. For more information on archaeogaming and the past in games:

  • Bonner, Marc, Hrsg. Game | World | Architectonics. Transdisciplinary Approaches on Structures and Mechanics, Levels and Spaces, Aesthetics and Perception. Heidelberg: Heidelberg University Publishing, 2021. https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/reader/download/752/752-68-93331-1-10-20210418.pdf.
  • Chapman, Adam. Digital Games as History - How Videogames Represent the Past and Offer Access to Historical Practice. Routledge Advances in Game Studies 7. New York: Routledge, 2016.
  • Giere, Daniel. Computerspiele - Medienbildung - historisches Lernen. Zu Repräsentation und Rezeption von Geschichte in digitalen Spielen. Forum historisches Lernen. Frankfurt am Main: Wochenschau, 2019.
  • Kapell, Matthew Wilhelm, und Andrew B.R. Elliott, Hrsg. Playing with the Past. Digital Games and the Simulation of History. New York - London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
  • Lorber, Martin, und Felix Zimmermann, Hrsg. History in Games. Contingencies of an Authentic Past. Studies of Digital Media Culture 12. Bielefeld: Transcript, 2020.
  • Mol, Angus A.A., Csilla E. Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke, Krijn H.J. Boom, und Aris Politopoulos, Hrsg. The Interactive Past - Archaeology, Heritage & Video Games. London: Sidestone Press, 2017. http://www.interactivepasts.com/blog-posts/interactive-pasts-hype/.
  • Pfister, Eugen, und Tobias Winnerling. Digitale Spiele und Geschichte. Ein kurzer Leitfaden für Student*innen, Forscher*innen und Geschichtsinteressierte. Glückstadt: Werner Hülsbusch, 2020.
  • Reinhard, Andrew. Archaeogaming - An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games. New York - Oxford: Berghahn, 2018.