An interesting upcoming event to be held by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World:
Re-Rolling the Past: Representations and Reinterpretations of Antiquity in Analog and Digital Games
Conference organized by Gabriel Mckee (ISAW Library) and Daniela Wolin (Yale University & ISAW Research Affiliate)
Registration is required. You will receive the necessary Zoom information under the “Additional Information” section in the confirmation email from Eventbrite.
Analog and digital games (e.g. video, role play, board, card, pedagogical, and alternative games) are platforms for modeling and experiencing events in fantastic, modern, or historical settings. When devising games based on ancient historical and archaeological contexts, an informed and critical approach is essential, lest games perpetuate problematic narratives or provide inaccurate representations of the past. “Rerolling the Past” builds off of the recent increase in academic studies of games to show how games can serve as a fruitful avenue for communicating information about the ancient world. This conference will bring together historians, archaeologists, scholars of gaming, and game designers to discuss three intersecting themes: archaeology in/of games; pedagogy and games; and critical approaches to game design. We hope to acknowledge and address common issues and challenges that cut across disciplinary divides and envisage how increased collaborative initiatives can be developed in the future.
Schedule:
Wednesday, November 11th
Session 1
11:00 Gabriel Mckee, NYU ISAW – “Re-Rolling the Past: Representations and Reinterpretations of Antiquity in Analog and Digital Games”
11:20 Andrew Reinhard, American Numismatic Society – “Video Game Antiquity and the Immediacy of Digital Heritage”
[10 minute break]
11:50 Anne-Elizabeth Dunn-Vaturi, Metropolitan Museum of Art – “Hounds and Jackals and its Variants in Modern Times”
12:20 Christian Casey, NYU ISAW – “Assassin’s Creed Origins as Time Machine”
12:40 Clara Fernandez-Vara, NYU Game Center – “Game Spaces and Indexical Storytelling”
Thursday, November 12th
Session 2
11:00 David Ratzan, NYU ISAW – “New strategies for teaching old games: Playful approaches to teaching ancient economic and institutional history”
11:25 Gina Konstantopoulos, University of Tsukuba – “Knowledge Checks: Representing (and Teaching) the Ancient Near East through Gaming”
[10 minute break]
12:00 Sebastian Heath, NYU ISAW – “Gamifying Gamification at Pompeii”
12:30 Mi Wang, NYU ISAW – “Dwelling in Archaeology: virtual museum of Bamiyan in the game engine of PlayCanvas”
Friday, November 13th
Session 3A
11:00 Hamish Cameron, Victoria University of Wellington – “The Painful Art of Abstraction: Representing the Ancient World in Modern Games”
11:25 Alexander King, NYU Game Center – “Systems, Theming and Accuracy in Representations of the Past in Games”
[10 minute break]
11:55 Daniela Wolin, NYU ISAW – “Gender Across the Board: Representations in Ancient World-Themed Games”
12:20 Shawn Graham, Carleton College – “From agent based model to analogue archaeogame: how we made FORVM: Trade Empires of Rome”
Session 3B:
1:30-2:30 Panel discussion
Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.
ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.
Register for the event through the Eventbrite site linked to here. Of related interest, here is a review of Dungeons and Dragons Adventure. See as well these previous posts on my blog that relate to gaming and the teaching of history:
Historical Jesus: The Role Playing Game (Jonathan Tweet Debates Richard Carrier)
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