Playing the Past

History and Nostalgia in Video Games

Zach Whalen, Laurie N. Taylor, Zach Whalen, Laurie N. Taylor

• Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN:
  9780826516015
  9780826516008
• eBook ISBN:
  9780826592460
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Social History
• Index: History

Playing the Past brings together a group of interdisciplinary scholars to examine the complementary notions of history and nostalgia as they are expressed through video games and in gaming culture. The scope of these related concepts moves from the personal to the cultural, and essays in this collection address video game nostalgia as both an individual and societal phenomenon, connecting the fond memories many of us have of classic gaming to contemporary representations of historical periods and events in video games. From Ms. Pac-Man and Space Invaders to Call of Duty and JFK: Reloaded, the games many of us have played since childhood inform how we see the world today, and the games we make and play today help us communicate ideas about real world history. By focusing on specific games, historical periods and media ecologies, these essays collectively take an in depth look at the related topics of nostalgia for classic gaming, gaming and histories of other media, and representations of real history in video games.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1. Playing the Past: An Introduction
• Part I: Playing in the Past: Negotiating Nostalgia and Classic Gaming
• Part II: Playing and the Past: Understanding Media History and Video Games
• Part III: Playing with the Past: Nostalgia and Real History in Video Games
• Contributors
• Index