När nu möter då i Call of Duty: World at War och Europa Universalis III. Historididaktiska perspektiv på datorspel.
(2013) HISS33 20131History
- Abstract
- The study (written in Swedish) aims to study computer games as cultural artifacts of history and thus find expression of historical consciousness. The study builds on theories on the use of history and considers cultural products with historical content as part of a communicative context of the past. Computer games are interactive in nature, which means that the player has the opportunity to influence the historical narrative and in some cases construct counterfactual history. The study questions are: In what ways do the interactive form effect the portrayal of history in computer games? How does the dynamic narrative in computer games relate to accepted explanations for historical events such as causality? What is the function of the... (More)
- The study (written in Swedish) aims to study computer games as cultural artifacts of history and thus find expression of historical consciousness. The study builds on theories on the use of history and considers cultural products with historical content as part of a communicative context of the past. Computer games are interactive in nature, which means that the player has the opportunity to influence the historical narrative and in some cases construct counterfactual history. The study questions are: In what ways do the interactive form effect the portrayal of history in computer games? How does the dynamic narrative in computer games relate to accepted explanations for historical events such as causality? What is the function of the counterfactual scenarios in the games from a historical-cultural perspective? In what contexts do we find genetic and genealogical use of history in computer games and what function does it have? How are expressions of historical culture and historical consciousness manifested in computer games? The theoretical context consists of different ways to understand and convey the story – genetic, genealogical, causal and counterfactual.
The study consists of the games Call of Duty: World at War (Activision 2008) and Europa Universalis III (Paradox Interactive 2007). CoD belongs to the genre of FPS – first person shooter – and consists of a linear narrative, conveyed from a first-hand perspective. EU3 is a grand strategy game. It is structure-focused and allows the player to, within certain specified limits, change the course of history. Both games have been studied using analytical tools related to the games’ narrative, form and creation of history. The games’ narratives have been studied by considering the story and mediation with particular regard to the dynamics that occur in the interactive story. This reveals, for example, how causality is constructed in the games. The form corresponds to the relationship between the game and the player and how this contributes to perceptions of for instance "closeness" and "distance" to the past. The analysis of the historical portrayal raises questions about historical selection of events and audiovisual markers.
The study shows that genetic and genealogical perspective on the past coexist in the studied games. Genetic events in the game world can, from a player's perspective be genealogical, and vice versa. Relations between the two perspectives are intricate and dynamic, and thus the player can be regarded as both receiver and producer of history. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3806011
- author
- Grufstedt, Ylva LU
- supervisor
-
- Ulf Zander LU
- organization
- course
- HISS33 20131
- year
- 2013
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- historiebruk, historiedidaktik, history, historia, historiekultur, historiemedvetande, datorspel, historical consciousness, historical culture, computer games, video games
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 3806011
- date added to LUP
- 2013-06-12 08:00:33
- date last changed
- 2013-06-12 08:00:33
@misc{3806011,
abstract = {{The study (written in Swedish) aims to study computer games as cultural artifacts of history and thus find expression of historical consciousness. The study builds on theories on the use of history and considers cultural products with historical content as part of a communicative context of the past. Computer games are interactive in nature, which means that the player has the opportunity to influence the historical narrative and in some cases construct counterfactual history. The study questions are: In what ways do the interactive form effect the portrayal of history in computer games? How does the dynamic narrative in computer games relate to accepted explanations for historical events such as causality? What is the function of the counterfactual scenarios in the games from a historical-cultural perspective? In what contexts do we find genetic and genealogical use of history in computer games and what function does it have? How are expressions of historical culture and historical consciousness manifested in computer games? The theoretical context consists of different ways to understand and convey the story – genetic, genealogical, causal and counterfactual.
The study consists of the games Call of Duty: World at War (Activision 2008) and Europa Universalis III (Paradox Interactive 2007). CoD belongs to the genre of FPS – first person shooter – and consists of a linear narrative, conveyed from a first-hand perspective. EU3 is a grand strategy game. It is structure-focused and allows the player to, within certain specified limits, change the course of history. Both games have been studied using analytical tools related to the games’ narrative, form and creation of history. The games’ narratives have been studied by considering the story and mediation with particular regard to the dynamics that occur in the interactive story. This reveals, for example, how causality is constructed in the games. The form corresponds to the relationship between the game and the player and how this contributes to perceptions of for instance "closeness" and "distance" to the past. The analysis of the historical portrayal raises questions about historical selection of events and audiovisual markers.
The study shows that genetic and genealogical perspective on the past coexist in the studied games. Genetic events in the game world can, from a player's perspective be genealogical, and vice versa. Relations between the two perspectives are intricate and dynamic, and thus the player can be regarded as both receiver and producer of history.}},
author = {{Grufstedt, Ylva}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{När nu möter då i Call of Duty: World at War och Europa Universalis III. Historididaktiska perspektiv på datorspel.}},
year = {{2013}},
}