INTERACTIVE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION: THE ETHICS OF HISTORICAL VIDEO GAME DESIGNM. H. Beals, Loughborough University

@mhbealsORCID: 0000-0002-2907-3313

INTERACTIVE MEDIA (VIDEO GAMES)

A GAME IS A SERIES OF INTERESTING CHOICES …

KNOWLEDGE VECTORS

ENCYCLOPAEDIC• Historical Basis of Game Mechanics

• Period Context

• Character Sketches

• Narratives of Key Events

Sid Meier's Civilization V, Firaxis Games, 2010

Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft, 2012

EXHIBITIONAL• Realistic or Representative Sets

• Free Movement of the User

• Knowledge through Exploration

• Costumes, Weapons and Transportation

Rome: Total War, The Creative Assembly, 2004

L.A. Noire, Rockstar Games, 2011

NARRATIVE• Cinematic View of a Sequence of Events

• ‘Reliving’ Specific Experiences

• Re-enacting Historical Events

• Opportunity for Counterfactual Histories

Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, Microsoft, 1999

EXPERIENTIAL• ‘Learning by Doing’

• Simulation of Historical Actions

• Role Play (User Decision Making)

• Use of Historical Weapons or Tactics

• Use of Historical Tools or Processes

Minecraft ‘Terrafirmcraft’, Mojang, 2011

Empire: Total War ‘Darthmod’, The Creative Assembly, 2009

IT DOESN’T MATTER! IT’S JUST A GAME!

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS?• Compression of Historical Narratives

• Historical Voyeurism

• Character Assassination

• False Impression of Reality

Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activision & Square Enix, 2012

Assassin’s Creed III, Ubisoft, 2012

Bioshock, 2K Boston, 2007

INTERACTIVE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION: THE ETHICS OF HISTORICAL VIDEO GAME DESIGNM. H. Beals, Loughborough University

@mhbealsORCID: 0000-0002-2907-3313