Gespeelde geschiedenis: videogametechnieken en historische representatie

Abstract

Video games are frequently situated in historical worlds. In this contribution, I explore the possibilities and limitations of the video game as a medium for representing the past using two narrative strategies that can occur in video games: 'embedded narratives' and 'emergent narratives.' In doing so, I will also address perhaps the most important feature of video games: the strong focus on telling a story through the shaping of space (environmental storytelling). In this context, it is also interesting to take a foray into the museum world, where such strategies are sometimes already used to tell a non-fiction story about the past.