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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 15h

That's our last paper for today, but the floor is still absolutely open for comments and questions to all our speakers, so do head over to middleagesinmoderngames.net and ask any questions you might have to our scholars and experts! We'll be back tomorrow with the last day of #MAMG26 papers!

middleagesinmoderngames.net

The Middle Ages in Modern Games – Exploring medievalisms in modern gaming contexts

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 15h

In our last paper of #MAMG26 day two, Ian Regueiro-Salcedo discusses agency, memory and micro-history in Pentiment, and how the game presents the player with choices around constructing historiographies: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/when-...

A scene from Pentiment that includes large numbers of coloured woodcut-style townsfolk drinking and doing a range of other activities.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 16h

Last session of day two, and we're on lore and ingame histories, with Ricardo Santana arguing that trade and merchant caravans are a key part of building the sense of Tamriel as a medievalist world: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/some-...

On the left, a medieval image of a spice merchant and shop. On the right, the character of Belethor from Skyrim giving his famous line "Some may call this junk. Me, I call them treasures." which is spoken prior to selling things to the player.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 17h

For our next #MAMG26 paper, we move to the tabletop as Hannah Victoria explores how medievalism can be used as a stand-in for hegemonic institutionalism in a modern D&D context: middleagesinmoderngames.net/uncategorize...

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 17h

In our next Morality and Ideology #MAMG26 paper, Quangang Lee looks at Wind Fantasy III and IV and argues that they take a distinct reappropriation of medievalist tropes to build unconventional narratives around faith: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/reima...

middleagesinmoderngames.net

Reimagining Medievalism in Chinese-Language Games: Wind Fantasy III and IV – The Middle Ages in Modern Games

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 18h

We now move to a session on Morality and Ideology, starting with Johansen Quijano on Final Fantasy XVI - he looks at whether its nature is more early modern than medieval, and why that might matter: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/betwe...

middleagesinmoderngames.net

Between Feudalism and Empire: Liminal Temporality and (un)Grounded Aesthetics in Final Fantasy XVI – The Middle Ages in Modern Games

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 19h

In our last Analogue approaches paper, Jakub Ivanecky looks at the medievalism and horror intersection in Magic: The Gathering's Innistrad and its evocations of gothic medievalism and the Cathars: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/the-d... #MAMG26

Two Magic: The Gathering cards, one of a Gavony Township (left) and one of the Archangel Avacyn (right). Both have timber-framed houses as prominent elements in the art.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 19h

In our second paper on Analogue perspectives, Thom Gobbitt (@booksoflaw.bsky.social) explores his concept of "Lawplay", looking at the use of speculative and TTRPG style setups to explore the possibility space of early medieval law codes: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/from-... #MAMG26

Varied polyhedral dice sitting on top of what appears to be a facsimile of a medieval manuscript.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 20h

In our first #MAMG26 paper on Analogue perspectives, Anastasija Ropa discusses the ways in which a long-running medievalist LARP group adapted and changed, including adapting to life and technology but also changing explorations for the players: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/possi...

Two feasts with cups and food. One from 2005 on the left, done in person: one during the pandemic, seen over Zoom, on the right.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 21h

And in our second paper, ending this #MAMG26 Time and Death session, Baykar Demir looks at Graveyard Keeper and its mechanisation and economic construction of sacred processes: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/death...

The church interior in Graveyard Keeper, where sacred space is linked to sermons, faith, donations, and the player’s broader economy of progression. It is a pixel art view of a church seen top-down, with columns, hooded figures standing in the shadows around pews at the bottom of the image, and a single light-framed character with a beard reading from a book in front of the altar, with other spots of light to either side.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 22h

Welcome back! Another two paper session, this time on Time and Death, to kick off #MAMG26 day two. We start by returning to A Plague Tale, where Ron Heckler discusses how the game mixes modern and medieval imaginaries of apocalypse and community: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/possi...

Public life and festivities in the Red City in A Plague Tale: Requiem. The image is in a realistic style and shows a stage with musicians and a number of people dancing underneath it, and a man standing behind some tables at the bottom right with some bottles out. The background has a tree and some timber-framed houses, and some strings of small decorative flags.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 22h

In a few mins we're starting #MAMG26 day two with a panel on Time and Death - stay tuned for more exciting engagements with games and medievalism. All of yesterday's papers are available on our middleagesinmoderngames.net website, and are still open for comments and discussion, so please do join in!

middleagesinmoderngames.net

The Middle Ages in Modern Games – Exploring medievalisms in modern gaming contexts

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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 22h

The second day of the Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference is starting shortly over on middleagesinmoderngames.net. Today's sessions include work on Time and Death, Analogue Games and Morality and Ideology - it looks like a great day.

middleagesinmoderngames.net

The Middle Ages in Modern Games – Exploring medievalisms in modern gaming contexts

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Institute for Iranian Studies @iranianstudies.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

From our @jubalbarca.bsky.social, a contribution to the blogpost-conference @midagesmodgames.bsky.social that looks at using randomisation-based exploration of medieval western Asian sources as a basis for creative historical explorations:

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Exilian @exilianofficial.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's the @midagesmodgames.bsky.social annual virtual conference! Happy to be helping host this event once again :) It's all available online and for anyone interested in #GameDev or #Medieval history to head over and ask questions of the experts! Do take a look at their feed & links below:

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Maxime Kremer @maximekremer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

My MAMG 2026 article is out! Check out the way in which counterfactual modding explores new layers of video game historiography through the CK3 The Winter King mod adapted from Cornwell's books. Don't hesitate to go and read other MAMG 2026 articles, I'll be answering questions in the coming days :)

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Oh dear! Hopefully you can catch up at some other point :)

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Cartogriffi @cartogriffi.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Happy to say I’ve written a second academic paper on modding, this time for MAMG's publicly available (and ongoing) online conference! middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/skyri...

middleagesinmoderngames.net

Skyrim Puzzles Mods: Finding Indie Freedom within Mainstream Gaming – The Middle Ages in Modern Games

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Last paper of #MAMG26 day one! Jéssica Iolanda Costa Bispo argues that the real-time temporality of The Longing (2020) allows it to reflect medieval western senses of temporality and meditation in a way few games allow: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/tempo...

Screenshot. The screen is bordered: in the centre there is a statue or visual of a king, all in brown and half melded into the floor which is the same colour. He sits on a grey chair with grey columns. At the bottom a small, yellow-eyed creature in black, who is the player character, can be found.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For our second paper of this last day 1 #MAMG26 session, Poppy Tester discusses the strange individualism of Medieval Dynasty where players take a nominally medieval setting but using far more permissive forms of landscape engagement: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/the-w...

A game screenshot where a bison in the centre stands in shallow water, surrounded by reed-mace rushes and trees with a blue cloudy sky behind.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In our next #MAMG26 paper, "Tides of Pestilence", Blair Apgar explores how ecological anxiety is mechanised and gamified in the form and force of the rats of A Plague Tale, using medievalist aesthetics to reflect and explore a modern crisis: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/tides...

The rat swarm destroys Marseille in A Plague Tale: Requiem. The player character is in the middle of the picture running right whilst an almost fluid-looking tide of rats pours around the corner on the left-hand side of the screen.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

And in our second modding paper we have Andrew Griffiths talking about the puzzling question of why people use mods rather than building games when exploring historical and pseudo-historical puzzle building. Check that out here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/skyri... #MAMG26 #Skyrim #Modding

NexusMods cover images for (left): SIRENROOT and (right): Carved Brink

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

We now have our #MAMG26 Game Modding panel! Two papers in this session: first, Maxime Kremer talks about mods as a way of exploring historiography, looking at the systems of Crusader Kings III and how requirements for modded historical events are shaped: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/recon...

Maps of Britain with different early medieval peoples marked upon them, from the Crusader Kings III game engine.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Thank you so much to all of our presenters in this first panel for #MAMG26 👏👏 Stay tuned everyone as there is so much more to come today and over the next two days! We have a break now until the next panel at 4pm (UTC+1) which is all about modding and medievalism!

The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Last, but certainly not least, is our third paper, 'Designing around medieval sources: a thought experiment' by James Baillie, demonstrating the possibilities of informed design experiments in this space! James is online and keen to discuss this more at: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=1472

middleagesinmoderngames.net

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Once again you can check out the prototype for yourself as you read this paper, then come share your thoughts in the comment section of the paper: v-marino.itch.io/galar

v-marino.itch.io

Galar (Chapter 1) by Vinicius Marino

An ecological VN about the plague in Ireland

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The second paper for our Design panel is by Vinicius Marino Carvalho, titled 'Playing the Irish Annals: Narrative Agency and the Gamic Mode of History'! Come join us and ask your questions now at: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=1490

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Come and check out the video about this interesting project and then join us in the comments section with your questions! You can also have a look at their prototype on the Acoustic Heritage Collective website to learn more! acousticheritagecollective.org/thingvellir/...

acousticheritagecollective.org

Thingvellir 3D - Interactive Experience

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

First paper in our 'Design Case Studies' session today is in video and text form, by The Acoustic Heritage Collective on “KAFLI 141”: An Interactive and Immersive Heritage Gamification Experience of the Acoustics of Lögberg, Þingvellir National Park'! Check it out: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=1314

middleagesinmoderngames.net

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The next session is our first panel of papers, starting in just 5 minutes at 2pm (UTC+1), and it's all about 'Design Case Studies'! #MAMG26 Remember you can check out the full programme on our website, which is updated with links as we go: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/middl...

middleagesinmoderngames.net

Middle Ages in Modern Games, October 5-7 2026: Programme – The Middle Ages in Modern Games

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Thom Gobbitt 🎲✨🌿☠️⚖️📖 @booksoflaw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Leandro has me reflecting on player tendencies towards making characters of higher social standing in the medieval-set TTRPGs that i run. I'd guess ~⅔ go for free characters, ~⅓ unfree - but I think that's preferences of individual players, seen across multiple games?! Something to poke at 🎲🔍

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

We have a break now then our first panel of papers begins at 2pm (UTC+1) on 'Design Case Studies' with three really exciting and insightful papers that really showcase possibility and new games and game ideas - see you then! #MAMG26

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Thank you so much to Leandro Wallace for getting us started with such a wide ranging discussion on the theme 👏 Everyone please continue to pose your questions and share your thoughts in the comments section, our presenters will be replying throughout the conference #MAMG26

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Truly starting #MAMG26 is our Keynote Address from Leandro Wallace: ‘Why we play the Middle Ages? A proposition for engaged thinking’, so join us now and bring your questions for a thought-provoking discussion about medievalisms, colonialism, and more: middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=1310

middleagesinmoderngames.net

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The #MAMG26 Opening Address by conference organisers Tess Watterson & Vinicius Marino Carvalho is now live, explaining how it all works and introducing our 2026 theme: ‘Possible Worlds / Possible Pasts'! Join us at middleagesinmoderngames.net?p=1512- now!

middleagesinmoderngames.net

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Just five minutes to go until the 2026 Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference #MAMG26 begins with our opening address at 9:45am (UTC+1)! Everything you need to follow along will be in the programme: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/middle-

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It's time! The Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference 2026 begins TODAY, October 5th, at 9:45am UTC+1 with our opening address to kick off a fantastic programme of three days of papers. Everything you'll need is in the live programme here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/middl...

middleagesinmoderngames.net

Middle Ages in Modern Games, October 5-7 2026: Programme – The Middle Ages in Modern Games

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The programme for our next asynchronous MAMG conference is live! We are very much looking forward to a batch of incredibly interesting papers! As always, our conference is held virtually at the following address: middleagesinmoderngames.net

The Middle Ages in Modern Games 2026
Possible worlds / Possible pasts
Conference programme
All times UTC + 1
Monday October 5th
9h45 – Opening Address. Vinicius Marino Carvalho and Tess Watterson
10h – Keynote Lecture

‘Why we play the Middle Ages? A proposition for engaged thinking
– Leandro Wallace
Monday October 5th
Session 1 - Design case studies

14h – ‘KAFLI 141”: An Interactive and Immersive Heritage Gamification Experience of the Acoustics of Lögberg, Þingvellir National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Iceland)’
– Emilio Marx & Ginebra Raventós de Volart, Acoustic Heritage Collective

14h20 – ‘Playing the Irish Annals: Narrative Agency and the Gamic Mode of History’
– Vinicius Marino Carvalho

14h40 – ‘Sources and Serendipity: Experimenting with randomisation and medievalism’
- James Baillie
Session 2 - Modding

16h – ‘Reconquering Lloegyr in Crusader Kings III: Modding as a counterfactual historiographical exercise’
– Maxime Kremer
16h20 – ‘Skyrim Puzzles Mods: Finding Indie Freedom within Mainstream Gaming’ – Andrew Griffiths
Session 3 – Ecology and the Non-Human

18h – ‘Tides of Pestilence: Mechanizing Eco-Anxiety within a Fourteenth-Century Dystopia’
– Blair Apgar

18h20 – ‘The wilderness, self-reliance and community in Medieval Dynasty’
– Poppy Tester

18h40 – ‘Temporal Experience and Medieval Contemplation in The Longing’
- Jéssica Iolanda Bispo

Tuesday October 6th
Session 4 – Time and death

10h – ‘Possible Medieval Pandemics? How A Plague Tale Constructs a Playable Apocalypse’
– Ron Heckler

10h20 – ‘Death as Procedure: Sacred Language and Undead Labour in Graveyard Keeper’
– Baykar Demir
Session 5 – Analogue perspectives

12h – ‘Possibles Lives: An Autoethnographic Journey into a Lifetime Engagement with One TTRPG/LARP’
– Anastasija Ropa

12h20 – ‘From “Docufiction” to “Lawplay” — On Speculative Engagement with Early Medieval Law’
- Thom Gobbitt
12h40 – ‘The Dark Ages over Innistrad: Medievalism and Gothic Horror intersection in Magic the Gathering’
– Jakub Ivanecky
Session 6 – Morality & Ideology I

14h – ‘Between Feudalism and Empire: Liminal Temporality and (un)Grounded Aesthetics in Final Fantasy XVI’
- Johansen Quijano
14h20 – ‘Reimagining Medievalism in Chinese-Language Games: Wind Fantasy III and IV’ – Quangang Li

14h40 – ‘Medievalisms and Opposition to Institutionalised Religion in Worlds Beyond Number: The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One’ – Hannah Victoria
Session 7 – Lore analysis & in-game histories

16h– ‘Reading the Response to Bero’s Speech in Skyrim as a historical text’
– Phillip Wallinder

16h20 – ‘“Some may call this junk. Me, I call them treasures”: Invisible Trade Networks and Possible Worlds in The Elder Scrolls Series’
– Ricardo Santana

16h40 – ‘When an era comes to an end: agency, memory and micro-history in Pentiment’
- Ian Regueiro-Salcedo
Wednesday October 7th
Session 8 – Gender

10h– ‘Queens of Hell: Kleopatra, Lilith, and Possible Pasts in Medieval Fantasy Games’
– Kurtis Pope

Wednesday October 7th
10h20 – ‘‘I do not seek a marquis title but peaceful seas’: The imagination of an alternative Chinese maritime history in Uncharted Waters IV’
- Hanjun Shi
Session 9 – Nostalgia and Presentism

12h – ‘Between the Hearth and the Kremlin - Nostalgic Entanglements: Gender, Affect, andMateriality in Digital Depictions of Medieval Rus’’
– Kristina Wittkamp

12h20 – ‘Virtual Battles for the Past: Medievalism as Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda in the Russo-Ukrainian War’
Yaraslau Kot

12h40 – ‘When the Past Returns as the Future: Video Games, Roman Imaginaries, and Historical Possibilities’
Lu Yahuai
Session 10 – Alchemy and Deviance

14h – ‘The Sign Is Added Later: Blood Magic and the Moralisation of Possible Worlds’
- Peter Färberböck
14h20 – ‘Agendered Alchemy? Postmodern Rebis Analysis in Elden Ring
– Marcus Jensen

14h40 – ‘The Problem with Paladins: Eulogising Crusaders in CRPGs’ – Robert Houghton

15h – Closing Remarks
- Vinicius Marino Carvalho and Tess Watterson

The conference will be held asynchronously at the following address:
https://middleagesinmoderngames.net/

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

We're heading to the Middle Ages in the Modern World conference in Oxford (22-24 Jun 2027) with a strand around Adaptation and Translation! Find our Call for Papers with deadline 13 September here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...

Adaptation and Translation play an increasingly important role within medievalist games. Medieval texts and medievalist books and films have been adapted to produce a growing range of games with recent titles influenced by such diverse texts as Beowulf, Dante, Kingdom of Heaven and the Name of the Rose. Recent years have also seen a growing trend towards the translation of medievalist games into multiple languages, often introducing different perspectives of the period to new audiences. Modders and homebrew game designers have often taken the lead on both these developments, while translation and linguistic boundaries have appeared as a game mechanic in several medievalist games. Meanwhile, studies into medievalist games have continued to fall into distinct schools divided by language.

This strand addresses engagement with adaptation and translation within and around games. We invite papers of 20 minutes addressing any aspects of the medieval period or medievalism in any forms of digital or tabletop games, but we particularly welcome contributions which engage with ‘Adaptation’ and ‘Translation’ broadly defined.

Topics may include (but are not restricted to):

Translation as game mechanic
Adaptation of medievalist works to ludic format
Game mods
Translating medievalist games
Scholarship across languages
Roleplay
Transposing games into different periods
Global approaches to medievalist games
Ludic medievalist influences beyond games
Pedagogy through commercial games
Medieval and ancient languages in games
Cultural appropriation and reclamation
Queering medievalist stories through play

Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words and brief biographies, to midagesmodgames@gmail.com by Sunday 13 September.

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Cartogriffi @cartogriffi.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Last month I had a fantastic time participating in the @midagesmodgames.bsky.social panels at the Leeds IMC. It was an incredible experience listening to all of the papers, and presenting my own. Everyone was wonderful, and I can't wait for the next opportunity to challenge myself like this again.

I'm standing behind a small desk giving a presentation while wearing a felt Dragonborn helmet and a stylized Sheogorath t-shirt. I have a particularly goofy grin on my face.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

We also managed to catch some of the team in action, presenting their research ☺️ And spotted @robehoughton.bsky.social's book at the exhibition stand - already reserved in the morning of day 1 😎

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A bit late...we know...but thanks to everyone who presented at and attended our strand at @imc-leeds.bsky.social last month. So many papers, so much to reflect on. Thank you everyone, we hope to see you next year 😊 Here's a photo of the organising team looking proud.

Organising team sitting at the front of a seminar room, behind them a screen with another member joining online.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Due to popular demand, and to make it easy for our colleagues just getting back after conference season, we decided to extend the deadline for this year's #MAMG conference. If you feel like participating, but haven't submitte yet, worry not! Make sure to send us an abstract by August 8th.

the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research at the University of Winchester presents The Seventh Middle Ages in Modern Games Asynchronous Conference on 5 to 6 October 2026. The central themes of this year’s event are ‘Possible worlds / Possible pasts’.
In a time of growing political and environmental anxieties, the Middle Ages are often sought as a source of inspiration for alternative futures. Ecologically-minded games like Of Life and Land look to the medieval past to explore alternative, non-exploitative engagements with nature. Medievalist RPGs have long served as possibility spaces for players to interrogate and experiment with notions of sexuality, gender, and identity more broadly. Games like Scriptorium and Traveller’s Rest imagine medieval pasts divorced from the logics of violence often associated with the period. Medievalist fantasy games like Metaphor: ReFantazio openly engage with utopian thinking and our capacities to imagine possible worlds.
This conference considers the Middle Ages and Medievalism in Modern Games. We invite analytical ‘papers’ (comprising 400-500 words of text or 5-minute videos) and sessions of 3 to 5 papers which address any aspects of the medieval period or medievalism in any and all forms of modern games. We particularly welcome papers addressing the central conference themes of ‘Possible Worlds’ and ‘Possible Pasts’. The conference will be conducted remotely and there will be no registration fee. To promote accessibility and inclusivity, the event runs asynchronously across time zones.
We are able to accept papers in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Please send abstracts of no more than 200 words, brief biographies, and indications of time zone and availability as attachments in Word to midagesmodgames@gmail.com by Sunday 8 August.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

We're heading back to @imc-leeds.bsky.social in July next year for a strand on 'Communities' or any other aspect of the medieval and medievalism in modern games - organised by @blairapgar.bsky.social with @tesswatty.bsky.social. Get your abstracts to us by 13 September!

CALL FOR PAPERS post image #1:

The Middle Ages in Modern Games invites submissions for its strand at Leeds IMC (5–8 July 2027), sponsored by the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research at the University of Winchester.

This year's strand explores the congress theme of Communities, examining how medievalist games imagine, construct, and negotiate social groups. Papers may consider communities as systems of governance, identity, cooperation, conflict, trade, religion, reputation, or belonging, as well as the ways players form communities around games. We are particularly interested in how games shape understandings of medieval communities through mechanics, narratives, and audiovisual representation.

We welcome papers and sessions (3–4 papers) addressing any aspect of the medieval period or medievalism in digital or tabletop games, across any region and within a broad definition of ‘medieval’—including fantasy.
We particularly welcome submissions engaging with Communities broadly defined.

Abstracts due 13 Sept. All inquiries to midagesmodgames@gmail.com. For more info, visit: https://middleagesinmoderngames.net

CFP image #2 -

Topics might include (but are not restricted to):

Teaching Medieval Communities through Games
Membership and inclusion within communities; “the Other”
Religious groups within medievalist games
Migration and mobile communities
Race, ethnicity, and cultural identity-based communities
Gender, sexuality, and queer communities
Chosen families and alternative kinship structures
Colonialism, indigeneity, and community representation
Assimilation, hybridity, and multicultural communities
Community lines along social class and/or castes
Enclaves, splinter cells, and secession
Communities of violence and disruptive communities
Cooperation and obligation within medievalist games
Relationship and favorability mechanics in medievalist games
Guild systems in massive multiplayer online games (MMOs)
Language and visual signifiers of communities
Player communities of medievalist games
Positive and negative community exchanges

Abstracts due 13 Sept. All inquiries to midagesmodgames@gmail.com. For more info, visit: https://middleagesinmoderngames.net

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Blair Apgar @blairapgar.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

CFP now open! The Middle Ages in Modern Games returns to Leeds IMC 2027. We're inviting papers on medievalism in digital and tabletop games, especially those engaging the congress theme of Communities. Abstracts due 13 Sept. Visit middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement... for more information.

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

We're heading back to @imc-leeds.bsky.social next week for two days of papers on the Middle Ages in Computer Games! Come and find us Maurice Keyworth 1.06 (Mon) and Clarendon Building 1.01 (Tue). Full programme here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/leeds-imc-20...

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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

The CfP for the upcoming #MAMG26 is now live! The event will take place on 5-7 Oct, assynchronously and online. Come join us from anywhere in the world to discuss medievalisms in games and alternative approaches to the ludic past.

In a time of growing political and environmental anxieties, the Middle Ages are often sought as a source of inspiration for alternative futures. Ecologically-minded games like Of Life and Land look to the medieval past to explore alternative, non-exploitative engagements with nature. Medievalist RPGs have long served as possibility spaces for players to interrogate and experiment with notions of sexuality, gender, and identity more broadly. Games like Scriptorium and Traveller’s Rest imagine medieval pasts divorced from the logics of violence often associated with the period. Medievalist fantasy games like Metaphor: ReFantazio openly engage with utopian thinking and our capacities to imagine possible worlds.

We invite analytical ‘papers’ (comprising 400-500 words of text or 5-minute videos) and sessions of 3 to 5 papers which address any aspects of the medieval period or medievalism in any and all forms of modern games. We particularly welcome papers addressing the central conference themes of ‘Possible Worlds’ and ‘Possible Pasts’. The conference will be conducted remotely and there will be no registration fee. To promote accessibility and inclusivity, the event runs asynchronously across time zones.

We encourage submissions from medievalists, games scholars and developers at any point in their career— especially those from Postgraduate Students, Early Career Researchers and members of any groups under-represented within the academy and industry. We welcome pieces addressing any region globally, and within a broad definition of ‘medieval’ and ‘medievalism’.

We are able to accept papers in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Please send abstracts of no more than 200 words, brief biographies, and indications of time zone and availability as attachments in Word to midagesmodgames@gmail.com by Sunday 3 August.

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