(Not) In the Game: History, Paratexts, and Games

Book

(Not) In the Game

History, Paratexts, and Games

Edited by: Regina Seiwald and Edwin Vollans

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2023

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

How to publish with us

This book is in the series

Volume 13 | Video Games and the Humanities

About this book

Now in paperback

How do games represent history, and how do we make sense of the history of games? The industry regularly uses history to sell products, while processes of creation and of promotion leave behind markers of a game’s history. The access to this history is often granted by so-called paratexts, which are accompanying elements orbiting texts. Exploring this fully, case studies in this work move the focus of debate from the games themselves to wider, ancillary materials and ask how history is used in, and how we can use history to study games.

Author / Editor information

Regina Seiwald, Postdoctoral Researcher, Birmingham City University; Ed Vollans, Teaching Fellow, University of Leicester.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Introduction: Video games as networked texts Regina Seiwald and Ed Vollans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
Section 1: Games and paratexts – a theoretical approach
De-centralising the text: The text–paratext relationship of video games Regina Seiwald Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	15
Paratexts, “authenticity,” and the margins of digital (game) history Esther Wright Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	33
Section 2: History as game paratext and games as historical paratexts
Account, accuracy, and authenticity: A framework for analysing historical narrative in games Iain Donald and Andrew James Reid Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	57
The past as (para)text – relating histories of game experience to games as texts Nick Webber Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	81
Section 3: Game reception and paratexts
Histories of Hearts of Iron IV: Understanding the past(s) through HOI4 Wiki Michael Pennington Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	101
Video game fanvids as paratexts and as texts E. Charlotte Stevens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	119
Section 4: Game production and paratexts
Video games with footnotes: Understanding in-game developer commentary Alan Galey and Ellen Forget Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	139
Artefact, advert, or advertising? Getting to grips with game trailers Ed Vollans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	161
Making sense of gameswork: University marketing materials as games paratexts Alison Harvey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	177
Section 5: Paratextual practices of play
“On a scale of 1–5, what floor are you on?” Practising methodologies of fun and play with transformative communities Esther MacCallum-Stewart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	197
Conclusion Regina Seiwald and Ed Vollans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	217
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	221
Author information Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	223

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

August 21, 2023

eBook ISBN:

9783110732924

Hardcover published on:

August 21, 2023

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110737691

Paperback published on:

November 4, 2024

Paperback ISBN:

9783111631868

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

6

Main content:

224

Coloured Illustrations:

9

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110732924

eBook ISBN: 9783110732924

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110737691

Paperback ISBN: 9783111631868

Keywords for this book

paratext; video games; digital culture; reception

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars of history, popular uses of history, and historiography; Game scholars, Game designers, students

Safety & product resources

Manufacturer information:
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

(Not) In the Game

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Bibliographic data