IAS Research Development Project: '"Gaming" History?'

Despite the global importance of the gaming industry, and the centrality of video-games and contemporary boardgames as cultural artefacts in the modern world, historians beyond the sub-discipline of Historical Game Studies have often failed to consider games seriously as historical sources, while game-industry professionals do not necessarily consider explicit historical methodologies when designing games set in the past.

Our project will bring together scholars and game developers, kickstarting conversations and potential collaborations between academics and the game industry, and enabling interdisciplinary engagement at the intersection between games studies and the humanities, drawing together Dr. Helen Roche’s historical expertise with Dr. Ladan Cockshut’s games research background.

Drawing on relevant disciplines, including game studies, media studies, literary and cultural studies, and postcolonial studies, we will provide an ambitious and methodologically innovative theoretical framework for treating both digital and analogue games as legitimate historical sources, whilst also engaging game developers with historical research techniques.

This development phase will see the delivery of an Interdisciplinary Workshop in June 2025, bringing together academics and game-industry professionals; publication of relevant material in peer-reviewed journals, and formulation of initial plans for a summer school and/or interdisciplinary MA, in conjunction with the new Durham Game Studies Network.