3 Historicising Assassin’s Creed (2007): Crusader Medievalism, Historiography, and Digital Games for the Classroom
Abstract
This chapter will sketch out ways in which crusading was presented in the immensely popular 2007 game Assassin’s Creed,1 and demonstrate how we might unpack its vision of crusading and the histories of perceptions of the past embedded in, and transmitted by, the franchise-launching game. In discussing perceptions of the crusades from academic histories to those of Al- Qaeda and ISIS, Kristin Skottki has called for a “relentless historicization and contextualisation” to go beyond mere considerations of accuracy.2 This chapter will model “relentless historicization” in order to play as a historian and to illustrate ways of productively bringing historical games into the classroom. It will locate the game in its historical and cultural contexts, its genealogies, inheritances, and assumptions about crusading. This will help us see the entwined nature of “academic” history and “popular” history and will treat the game as a historical artefact in and of itself - possessing a past, needing contextualization, and influencing perceptions of the past in turn.
Abstract
This chapter will sketch out ways in which crusading was presented in the immensely popular 2007 game Assassin’s Creed,1 and demonstrate how we might unpack its vision of crusading and the histories of perceptions of the past embedded in, and transmitted by, the franchise-launching game. In discussing perceptions of the crusades from academic histories to those of Al- Qaeda and ISIS, Kristin Skottki has called for a “relentless historicization and contextualisation” to go beyond mere considerations of accuracy.2 This chapter will model “relentless historicization” in order to play as a historian and to illustrate ways of productively bringing historical games into the classroom. It will locate the game in its historical and cultural contexts, its genealogies, inheritances, and assumptions about crusading. This will help us see the entwined nature of “academic” history and “popular” history and will treat the game as a historical artefact in and of itself - possessing a past, needing contextualization, and influencing perceptions of the past in turn.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- 1 Introduction: Teaching the Middle Ages through Modern Games 1
-
Part I: The Educational Impact of Games
- 2 Learning About the Past Through Digital Play: History Students and Video Games 29
-
Part II: Teaching through Commercial Games
- 3 Historicising Assassin’s Creed (2007): Crusader Medievalism, Historiography, and Digital Games for the Classroom 47
- 4 Declaiming Dragons: Empathy Learning and The Elder Scrolls in Teaching Medieval Rhetorical Schemes 69
- 5 “What if you are a Medieval Monarch?”: A Crusader Kings III Experience to Learn Medieval History 87
-
Part III: Creating Educational Games
- 6 A Video Game for Byzantine History – Akritas: Playing at the Byzantine Borders 113
- 7 Collaborative Constructions: Designing High School History Curriculum with the Lost & Found Game Series 131
- 8 The Renaissance Marriage Game: A Simulation Game for Large Classes 155
-
Part IV: User Modification as Learning Practice
- 9 Alchemy and Archives, Swords, Spells, and Castles: Medieval-modding Skyrim 175
- 10 Playing the Investiture Contest: Modding as Historical Debate in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Classroom 201
- 11 Game Development in a Senior Seminar 229
-
Part V: Games beyond the Classroom
- 12 The Soundscapes of the York Mystery Plays: Playing with Medieval Sonic Histories 249
- 13 Beyond Education and Impact: Games as Research Tools and Outputs 279
- List of Contributors 299
- Index 303
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- 1 Introduction: Teaching the Middle Ages through Modern Games 1
-
Part I: The Educational Impact of Games
- 2 Learning About the Past Through Digital Play: History Students and Video Games 29
-
Part II: Teaching through Commercial Games
- 3 Historicising Assassin’s Creed (2007): Crusader Medievalism, Historiography, and Digital Games for the Classroom 47
- 4 Declaiming Dragons: Empathy Learning and The Elder Scrolls in Teaching Medieval Rhetorical Schemes 69
- 5 “What if you are a Medieval Monarch?”: A Crusader Kings III Experience to Learn Medieval History 87
-
Part III: Creating Educational Games
- 6 A Video Game for Byzantine History – Akritas: Playing at the Byzantine Borders 113
- 7 Collaborative Constructions: Designing High School History Curriculum with the Lost & Found Game Series 131
- 8 The Renaissance Marriage Game: A Simulation Game for Large Classes 155
-
Part IV: User Modification as Learning Practice
- 9 Alchemy and Archives, Swords, Spells, and Castles: Medieval-modding Skyrim 175
- 10 Playing the Investiture Contest: Modding as Historical Debate in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Classroom 201
- 11 Game Development in a Senior Seminar 229
-
Part V: Games beyond the Classroom
- 12 The Soundscapes of the York Mystery Plays: Playing with Medieval Sonic Histories 249
- 13 Beyond Education and Impact: Games as Research Tools and Outputs 279
- List of Contributors 299
- Index 303
