The Ancient World in Digital Gaming

Module 5 explores some of the ways in which the Classical World has been represented and transformed in the fully digital environment of digital games. Three important distinctions are to be made between the receptions in Module 5 and those previously examined in this course. Firstly, the receptions in Module 5 are fully digital; no pre-digital “video” games are focused on. Secondly, in digital games the “reception” of the ancient world is created in part by the game player, albeit in a limited way. And thirdly, in a fully digital environment, the limitations of physical reality can be transcended in a way that previous media were unable to achieve. In practice, this new freedom may be limited in various ways by, for example, the need for audiences/players to be able to “read” and respond emotionally and in other ways to this new virtual “reality.” In the context of the reception of the Classical World in digital gaming, the interplay between recognizability (in terms of modern audiences’ perceptions of what the ancient world was “really” like) and the new freedom of the medium is affected – and perhaps given greater licence – by the fact that the supernatural agency of divine beings was fully accepted as part of “reality” in the ancient classical world.

As discussed in module 5.1, Veugen (2012) notes that every digital game – and there are many ways of categorizing the enormous number of games currently available – is the product of, firstly, “choices made by the creators”; secondly, “the ‘language’ of the medium used”; and thirdly, “the restrictions posed by the medium” (47-48). Nevertheless, terms such as “interactivity,” “player agency,” player skill,” and “simulation” become relevant here in a way they have not been in earlier receptions. It is in the interaction between this three-fold architectural design of the game and the player’s limited agency that the reception jointly occurs. The nature of this kind of reception is therefore to an extent partially unique, and it would be impossible to analyze all individual player contributions to “the reception of the ancient world in digital gaming.” But one might also argue that the interaction between a cultural production of some kind and an individual receiver (whose response is to a large extent unknowable) is a situation common to all receptions. Certainly, such a description will apply to the receptions covered in both Module 5 and Module 6 (“Digital Tragedy”) of this course.

Module 5.2 surveys some of the ways in which classical antiquity has been represented and simulated in this new medium. As Chapman (2020) notes, it is the question of “what games newly offer or newly restrict in their engagement with the past in comparison to other forms of history that is a central concern of the field of historical game studies “(234). The many different kinds of games which feature classical content include God-games and Human-Scale games, historical battle and strategy games, action-adventure games, economic simulations and city-building games, and even vehicle simulation games.

In order to analyze the way that violence has been depicted in digital games featuring the military might of the Roman Empire – a favorite theme in many digital games – module 5.3 examines the fighting techniques, equipment and command structure of the ancient Roman army. What this examination makes clear is that the agency afforded the individual player in relevant digital games is somewhat illusory. 5.4 then analyzes the appeal of violent action in digital games set in antiquity. As Berti (2020) asserts, “violent spectacles, especially when set within an exotic frame, appear to be both fascinating and irresistible…today’s audiences appear to be particularly greedy for gory details” (1-2). Moreover, antiquity seems to have become the locale for the modern expression of extreme violence, and especially prominent in these games is the “soldier’s perspective” of “the face of battle” introduced into modern receptions by the movie Gladiator (2000). Berti (2020) notes a tendency “to project any kind of increasingly graphic brutality onto Antiquity, creating a sort of ‘dark Antiquity’ which … has become a ‘free space’ in which to display the most lurid modern fantasies, especially where violent sex is concerned … ” (5). Within this overall context, module 5.4 then analyzes such concepts as: realist versus conceptual simulations, embedded versus emergent narratives, and history as description versus history as representation.

Module 5.4

In module 5.5, specific digital games in which the Roman army is featured are examined, such as The Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome, Rome: Total War, Total War: Rome II, and Field of Glory II. The role played by cut-scenes (“short cinematic interludes between moments of continuous gameplay that provide the player with further information, introduce new missions or provide closure to a scene”: Machado 2020, 93) is also analyzed. Digital Games set in Greek and Roman antiquity constitute a new field of engagement with the Classical World, and for many game players, potentially the first and only such engagement. These games are therefore particularly worth extensive analysis in general as well as in this particular course.

Recommended Readings

1. French, Tristan & Andrew Gardner. “Playing in a ‘Real’ Past: Classical Action Games and Authenticity.” In Rollinger, Christian, ed. Classical Antiquity in Video Games: Playing with the Ancient World. Bloomsbury, 2021, pp.63-76.
2. Machado, Dominic. “Battle Narratives from Ancient Historiography to Total War: Rome II.” In Rollinger, Christian, ed. Classical Antiquity in Video Games: Playing with the Ancient World. Bloomsbury, 2021, pp 93-105.
3. Champion, Erik. “Playing with the Past.” In Champion, Erik. Playing with the Past. Springer, 2011, pp.129-55.
4. Daneels, Rowan, Steven Malliet, Lieven Geerts, Natalie Denayer, Michel Walrave and Heidi Vandebosch. “Assassins, Gods, and Androids: How Narratives and Game Mechanics Shape Eudaimonic Game Experiences.” Media and Communication, Volume 9, Issue 1, pp.49–61.
5. Figueroa, Jordy Orellana and Eberhard Karls. “A Historical Overview of Women in Ancient-Period Video Games.” In Draycott, Jane and Kate Cook, eds. Women in Classical Video Games. Bloomsbury, 2022, Chapter 2 (page numbers not yet available).