I have taken a particular interest recently in user created histories within video games. My first post on this was on the created history of EVE Online and now I will turn to the interesting case of DayZ. DayZ was a mod for ARMA 2 (2009) and its expansion pack ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead. The mod was extremely well received and...
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This is the second in a four-part series that reflects on a Composition II course taught in Spring 2013 called 20th Century PC Games. You can read part 1 of this series here. Here’s the thing about teaching games as text: it works. But, interestingly, it seems to work better for students who aren’t already invested in...
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There has been a recent blooming of games that place players in narrative-free survival situations (often called “survival sandboxes”). There’s something about the thrill of living when you should be dying. Often, much about these games are taboo in the classroom- hopeless violence, unacceptable language. But games can be...
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The largest battle in the history of EVE Online took place last month on January 27, 2014. EVE Online is a game built on war and destruction but this battle (dubbed the Bloodbath at B-R5RB) was so massive in scale that it caught the attention of mainstream media outlets like Forbes, BBC News and CBS News. Why such interest for a...
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Welcome to Assassin’s Creed Week presented by Play the Past, where for a whole week, Play the Past will push content on the most popular historical video game series ever. Part I introduced the Week and asked why Assassin’s Creed mattered, Part II examined slavery and native relations in the series, Part III explored...
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Welcome to Assassin’s Creed Week presented by Play the Past, where for a whole week, Play the Past will push content on the most popular historical video game series ever. Part I introduced the Week and asked why Assassin’s Creed mattered, Part II examined slavery and native relations in the series and Part III explored...
read more
Welcome to Assassin’s Creed Week presented by Play the Past, where for a whole week, Play the Past will push content on the most popular historical video game series ever. Part I introduced the Week and asked why Assassin’s Creed mattered and Part II examined slavery and native relations in the series. Part III of the...
read more
Collaboratively edited and authored, Play the Past is dedicated to thoughtfully exploring and discussing the intersection of cultural heritage (very broadly defined) and games/meaningful play (equally broadly defined). Play the Past contributors come from a wide variety of backgrounds, domains, perspectives, and motivations (for being interested in both games and cultural heritage). More information on all of our contributors can be found here. A full rundown of our community and commenting policy can be found here. If you are looking to get in contact with us (for whatever reason), point your browser here and drop us a line.
