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Robert Houghton

@robehoughton.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1K following 98 posts

Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Winchester. Author of The Middle Ages in Computer Games. Co-organiser of the Middle Ages in Modern Games conference. Italy; Investiture Contest; Games.

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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
If you missed any of the papers in this weeks @midagesmodgames.bsky.social Asynchronous Conference, you can still find them (and engage with them) over on the website: middleagesinmoderngames.net/category/mam...
middleagesinmoderngames.net
MAMG26 – The Middle Ages in Modern Games
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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
And for our very last paper of #MAMG26 (though do stick around for the closing remarks!) we have @robehoughton.bsky.social on "The Problem with Paladins" - what effect do these pseudo-crusaders have on our gaming? middleagesinmoderngames.net/mamg26/the-p... #Paladins #Crusade #Medieval #DnD
Various Paladins: Keldorn Firecam (Baldur’s Gate II) [Baldur’s Gate Fandom.com], Pallegina mes Rèi (Pillars of Eternity) [Pillars of Eternity Fandom.com], and Casavir (Neverwinter Nights 2) [NWN2 Fandom.com]
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The Middle Ages in Modern Games @midagesmodgames.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
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 · 06/10/2026
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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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
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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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I had a really great time in Stavanger last week. The students, staff and MARRI project are doing a lot of really cool work on modern medievalisms and you should all check it out here: www.uis.no/en/research/...
uis.no
The Middle Ages in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Relevance, Reimagination, Inspiration (MARRI) [IN-13167]
MARRI is an interdisciplinary research project that explores how the Middle Ages continue to shape modern culture, language, and society.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This year's Middle Ages in Modern Games conference gets started in about an hour. @vinicius-marino.bsky.social and @tesswatty.bsky.social have set up three days of awesome sessions which are well worth a look. It's completely free to access and you can ask questions all week.
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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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Markus Mindrebø @markusmindrebo.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Despite it being after hours and amidst stormy weather, we had a wonderful and highly successful lecture with @robehoughton.bsky.social at the UiS campus last night, through the MARRI project. Almost 50 students, staff and alumni came to hear about medieval video games and their academic uses!
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Jonas Fossli Gjersø @jonasgjerso.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thoroughly enjoyed @robehoughton.bsky.social fascinating lecture entitled "Gaming the Medieval World: Exploring, Learning and Researching through Digital Games" today at the University of Stavanger. A special thanks to @markusmindrebo.bsky.social and the MARRI research group for organising it.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I had an awesome time with @michellefranklin.bsky.social on legends and lectures! Check out the episode and the spectacular back catalouge of you've missed any.
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Michelle Franklin│Legends and Lectures @michellefranklin.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
LIVE NOW ON LEGENDS & LECTURES Video games and the Middle Ages with Dr @robehoughton.bsky.social! Talking about Kingdom Come, Crimson Desert, Esoteric Ebb, Pentiment, Witcher, Scriptorium, D&D and more! www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVh-...
youtube.com
The Middle Ages in Video Games
YouTube video by Michelle Franklin | Legends and Lectures
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Akito INOUE @hiyokoya6.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I co-edited an English-language book, Japanese Game Studies: A Guide to Studying Japanese Games link.springer.com/book/9789819... and it is now out. The project started back in 2021, so it has taken us five years to finally get it published... hiyokoya.hatenadiary.jp/entry/2026/0...
hiyokoya.hatenadiary.jp
Japanese Game Studies: A Guide to Studying Japanese Games - Critique of Games メモと寸評
I co-edited an English-language book, Japanese Game Studies: A Guide to Studying Japanese Games https://link.springer.com/book/9789819598564 and it is now out. The project started back in 2021, so it ...
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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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Medieval Art Research @medartres.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Call for Papers: The Middle Ages in Modern Games @ Leeds IMC 2027 (Deadline: 13 September 2026) The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research at the University of Winchester is pleased to sponsor The Middle Ages in Modern Games strand at the Leeds International Medieval Congress, 5 to 8 July…
medievalartresearch.com
Call for Papers: The Middle Ages in Modern Games @ Leeds IMC 2027 (Deadline: 13 September 2026)
The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Research at the University of Winchester is pleased to sponsor The Middle Ages in Modern Games strand at the Leeds International Medieval Congress, 5 to 8 July 2027. This strand examines the use of social groups, hierarchies, and other themes related to the congress theme of “Communities” in the design, representation, reception, and discussion of the Middle Ages in modern games.
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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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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Think I've about hit the end of a run through X4: Foundations and I'm struck by two things: 1) there needs to be a genre descriptor grouping X4 and Bannerlord because they speak to similar fantasies and 2) the first person perspective makes for some remarkable screenshots.
A screenshot from X4 showing the debris of several large battles around a large defense station a gate, with numerous capital ship hulks drifting at odd angles.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I had a great time talking to @michellefranklin.bsky.social about so many games. Keep an eye out for the episode next month and make sure you catch up with all her excellent work.
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Michelle Franklin│Legends and Lectures @michellefranklin.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Finished recording with @robehoughton.bsky.social about THE MIDDLE AGES IN VIDEO GAMES, including discussion on Crimson Desert, Crusader Kings, Kingdom Come, Witcher 3, Dragons Dogma, D&Ds, Dishonoured, Onimusha, Esoteric Ebb, Pentiment, and more! The episode will be out at the end of August:
Picture of Dr Rob Houghton in his office beside me in my office
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Dr. Kurtis Hanlon @kurtishanlon.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
IT'S OUT! My paper on gamifying the classroom is out and open access. And it's not just about using Kahoot quizzes in class; I examine how to utilize agency to actually turn the course into a game, not just a traditionally graded course that looks like a game. READ IT! doi.org/10.33823/pht...
doi.org
Gamified Grading: Using the Principles of Andragogy to Foster Self-Directed Learners | Proceedings of the H-Net Teaching Conference
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Aaron Trammell @aarontram.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
(Also this other bad boy is on the way soon, too…STAY TUNED!!!!)
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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.
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.netCFP 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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Ed Roberts @ecroberts.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
On Thursday 17 September, @memsunikent.bsky.social welcomes Professor Ben Pohl (@benpohl.bsky.social) to Canterbury to give a public lecture on his recent research on the Bayeux Tapestry. 7pm, Canterbury Cathedral Lodge. All welcome - attendance is free, but registration required! Full details:
eventbrite.co.uk
Food for Thought—The Bayeux Tapestry Revisited
A talk by Prof Benjamin Pohl, Professor of Medieval History, University of Bristol.
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Jeremiah McCall (he/him) @gamingthepast.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Friends, Cincinnati Country Day School, is hosting a led-by-me workshop for educators on researching & designing problem space boardgames for classes, Sat. Oct. 3rd. For $20 registration, you get a copy of my new book too. Grateful for spreading word. events.veracross.com/ccds/96-Gaming
A flyer for Cincinnati Country Day School's Workshop, Gaming the Past, Present, and Future: Designing problem space games for durable skills and content across the curriculum.

To register: https://events.veracross.com/ccds/96-Gaming
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Good stuff, you can get me on Robert.Houghton<at>winchester.ac.uk
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
I'd love to!
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Alexander Vandewalle @alexvandewalle.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
New article out! 🎮🚨 I explore hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forces in video game receptions of Greco-Roman mythology, considering whether the contrast between conservative and progressive depictions maps onto the similar distinction between AAA and indie games. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
AAA Versus Indie? Hegemonic and Counter-Hegemonic Forces in Video Game Receptions of Greco-Roman Mythology - International Journal of the Classical Tradition
The reception and tradition of Greco-Roman mythology in video games is traditionally considered as violent, masculine and sexist. Nevertheless, there are alternatives to this generalising description,...
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
You're very welcome! I do enjoy a snarky slide in a big font. I'd already left I'm afraid, but I hope you had a great conference.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Not only is my book, The Middle Ages in Computer Games, now out in paperback, @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social are giving a copy away! Enter by Sunday.
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Boydell & Brewer @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
🌟 Win a paperback edition of The Middle Ages in Computer Games by @robehoughton.bsky.social 🌟 What you need to do: 👉 Follow us 👉 Comment on this post and let us know your favourite video game Last chance to enter: Sunday 12 July 2026. One winner chosen at random from across our social channels.
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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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MAMO Conference 2027 @themamoconf.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
❗It's here! The Call For Papers for MAMO 2027❗ - Seeking a broad range of proposals for papers and events, focusing on aspects of medievalism in the modern world. - Featuring some very special events and keynotes... - You can find a plaintext version of this CFP at shorturl.at/0FJjY.
CFP for MAMO 2027. You can find a plaintext version of this CFP at <https://shorturl.at/0FJjY>
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
This year's Middle Ages in Modern Games conference is being run by @vinicius-marino.bsky.social and @tesswatty.bsky.social, and they've got a great theme! It's moved to October so plenty of teaching opportunities. Make sure you get an abstract in.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Well, there goes my Sunday...
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Erik Lyding @kirrewah.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Hey, if you wanna make some (virtual) money (by taxing peasants) please try the demo for How Empires Work! By @petterv.bsky.social @andrea-mck.bsky.social @inkelksun.bsky.social and me! store.steampowered.com/app/4782540/...
store.steampowered.com
How Empires Work Demo on Steam
An incremental strategy game about history, expansion and development. Grow from humble beginnings to take your place on the world stage!
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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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Justine Breton @bretonjustine.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Point d'étape Fantasy & Histoire : on approche des 20 % ce matin, merci ! À ce rythme-là, on devrait pouvoir vous annoncer quelques belles choses rapidement... 😎 fr.ulule.com/fantasyethis...
fr.ulule.com
FANTASY & HISTOIRE
200 chefs-d'œuvre et trésors méconnus
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Evan Torner @guyintheblackhat.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
I know I am connected to -- and even do consulting work for -- organizations that seek fixed outcomes through role-playing, including assessment. But my personal belief is that these games are ends in of themselves, and that they need neither justification nor tangible social outcomes.
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Alan van Beek @thiliel.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Happy to be included in this massive collection! www.routledge.com/The-Routledg... thanks to @katexe.bsky.social @chriskempshall.bsky.social and @robehoughton.bsky.social
routledge.com
The Routledge Companion to Video Games and History
The Routledge Companion to Video Games and History explores the dynamic intersection between video games and historical scholarship. This comprehensive handbook delves into the ways video games presen...
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Eugen Pfister 🇪🇺 @eugenpfister.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Jetzt geht es an eine ganz dringende Bringschuld. #GameStudies
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Boydell & Brewer @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
"...an especially valuable resource for those researching the intersection of history and media." CHOICE. The Middle Ages in Computer Games by Robert Houghton now in paperback 👉 buff.ly/xhCWC5I #BookSky @robehoughton.bsky.social
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Basically: games can't be accurate, but I don't think that's an issue as long. For me, they're about exploring the past and a bit of 'inaccurate' wiggle room is really useful for that.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
You're right, absolute 'historical accuracy' isn't viable in games (or any medium). I'm not too worried about whether games are accurate though. I'm more interested in how games present the Middle Ages, how that compares to other media, and why we see these differences.
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
I'll need to clear a couple hundred hours, but that's a good idea...
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Thanks Jeremiah!
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Thanks!
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
And I wouldn't worry about being a massive nerd...
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Dark Age of Camelot makes three brief appearances. Which in retrospect feels like an oversight...
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Thanks Mariana!
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Robert Houghton @robehoughton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Thanks! Economics etc aren't a central theme, but I talk about them a fair bit in the 'Rule and Rulership' chapter.
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