5 Conclusions

This thesis examines the relationship between computer games and history, with the representation of history in historical computer games as its core question. We start from a broader perspective and go into a number of themes - the acceptance of computer games as a subject for academic study, imagery in general, the position of computer games relative to other media (in this case film), and the educational value of computer games - in order to arrive at the relationship between games and history. This is examined from two angles: the history of computer games and history in computer games. For each of the aspects above, a number of conclusions can be drawn.

The study of computer games is not yet seen by everyone as serious scholarship, but the economic and cultural importance of games is beyond doubt. The attitude of a number of academics can be compared with the attitude that initially existed towards the medium of film. A medium to which the term entertainment is applied is hard to recognise as serious. But we may state that the medium has grown up together with the young people who grew up with it. The generation that grew up with computer games sees the game as simply another form of communication. It will be clear that the rise of video game research as an academic domain in higher education is a new development in learning and technology. Although this trend is fairly recent and perhaps still fairly marginal, there are indications that more and more scholars are investigating the possibilities of gaming as a legitimate pedagogical tool. It is true, however, that much research is under way - the academics involved exchange experiences at congresses and symposia - and many results have not yet been published in book form. If one checks the bibliography, it is clear that the books that specifically have games as their subject are of recent date (post 2000).

Game research seems so far to focus on two not unimportant aspects: the influence of violence in computer games - a theme that, incidentally, is spread across the media with clockwork regularity after some violent crime by a young person/gamer - and the educational value of computer games.

On the influence of violence in computer games there is no consensus among researchers: according to some, games are harmful to the (social) development of the young person; according to others, games are an ideal outlet and allow the player to break a number of rules - a typical urge of every young person. As far as social development is concerned, we can rest assured. Computer games do not lead to social isolation, certainly not nowadays, with the ubiquity of multi-player games. Gamers discuss the games, for example (admittedly, via the internet). Young adult gamers are becoming sought-after employees because of their social skills.

As for the educational value of computer games, the answer is not unambiguous either. There are fervent defenders but also rabid opponents, but it looks more and more as if the proponents are gaining the upper hand (witness the lightning-fast development of so-called "persuasive games", which are brought to market with the support of governments and international organisations - for example the United Nations). The central idea behind all these efforts is that games are excellently suited to teaching people how complex systems work. More and more studies show that game technology makes it possible for students to acquire new knowledge while navigating sophisticated virtual worlds. Computer games also contain a persuasive factor that is found in neither film nor books: they allow the player to be another person (at least for a few hours) and thus to view the world from a different perspective.

As for ‘Games and History’, we look, as mentioned above, at two different facets. The history of the computer game provides an overview of forty years of computer games: from the primitive and simple - both graphically and in content - computer games of the 1960s up to and including the advanced technological and graphical feats of today. Completeness was impossible, especially for the last decade: the number of games brought to market has increased explosively, so that a selection was called for. The selection was made on the basis of my own experience as a gamer and of the impact the games had on the gaming world in general (mentions on gamer websites and internet forums). That part is merely ordering and describing facts and is therefore not controversial. The mention of certain computer games is, however, my subjective choice, which implies that other gamers/historians might mention other games. One thing is certain: we may conclude that, after forty years, the time is ripe for a complete "encyclopaedia of the computer game".

As for the other aspect - history in computer games - we can establish that the computer industry by no means ignores history. There are dozens of "historical" games on the market - and they do enjoy success - but there is a danger that history is reduced purely to entertainment (which would prove the sceptics among the academics right). In the analysis of three recent and popular historical games – Age of Empires III, Rome: Total War, Civilization IV - we were able to establish that the game element indeed often takes precedence over historical correctness. This leads to mixed feelings: for a number of gamers the games provide a history lesson they would not otherwise have received, but at the same time we must admit that the game industry has more of an eye for commercial success than for scientifically justified "correctness", and that further research is needed. Moreover, many historical games concentrate on a number of (often military) highlights from history rather than promoting an understanding of the coherence of the past. The general conclusion we can therefore draw is that historical computer games give the player a picture of history and create a form of awareness, but that the gameplay of those games nevertheless takes precedence over historical accuracy. It is and remains a game.

The future of games as a historical source will depend on whether there is more demand from students to bridge the gap between their technological interests and their academic studies. The historical computer game should be seen as a means of conveying those aspects of the past that cannot be communicated by written history. Written history tells us, for example, precisely what the important historical cities looked like: the computer game offers the additional possibility of "recreating" those cities in 3D. The player's emotional involvement goes further than with non-interactive media. That is precisely the strength of computer games. A definitive answer to the question of whether "computer games and history" are now a perfect marriage or a wrong combination unfortunately cannot yet be given: the intrinsic possibilities of the computer game offer many opportunities, and computer games could therefore become fantastic partners for the historian. I deliberately use the conditional "could" because to this day researchers find themselves in practically the same situation as gamers engaged in a speculative history game: there are quite a few "what if" situations: both technologically (even better graphical representations) and in content (ever more use of "cross-genre") everything evolves at lightning speed, so that it seems impossible to predict how the relationship between computer games and history will evolve in the coming years. As with all technological innovations, the stimulus for a revolutionary change will have to come from a new generation of students and inspired teachers.

At first sight, "Game Studies" does not yet seem to be a full-fledged scientific discipline in Belgium: there seems to be little academic interest in the subject for the time being. I therefore hope that this thesis, this basic work, can in the future encourage a few people to delve further into this recent but extremely fascinating and socially influential medium.