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Strategic Simulations and Our Past

The Bias of Computer Games in the Presentation of History

Trinity Western University

Many popular digital games have historical themes or settings. Taking its cue from recent research emphasizing the educational value of computer and video games, this article investigates the bias of the medium in presenting history. Although sharing an appreciation for the cultural value of history simulations and games, the author argues that the digital game medium currently tends to result in stereotypically masculine, mechanical, and spatially oriented interactive presentations of history. This article does not take a technological determinist stance nor a simplistic view of interpretation. Nevertheless, the author believes that the weight and momentum of the historical development of the digital game medium, its technological structure, and its institutional character have encouraged certain patterns in digital games that should be critically examined.

Key Words: media bias • history • computer games • simulation • digital game medium

Games and Culture, Vol. 2, No. 3, 213-235 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1555412007306202


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