What can video games teach us, if anything at all?  Decades after the introduction of the ATARI 2600, truly the world’s first successful home video game system, the debate rages on.  Initially, there were the usual criticisms, speaking about “the destruction of our youth” through desensitization or other nefarious means.  Truly these were kneejerk reactions, but not completely without merit.  Later, various studies came to light linking hand-eye coordination, critical thinking, and other skills with the amount of hours spent playing video games.  Today, video games are ubiquitous; Playstation3 alone has sold nearly 34 million units worldwide; and an entire generation of people has grown up playing video games.  Much of the controversy has died down, though some issues remain.

Games are meant for enjoyment, but in enjoyment lessons are usually learned.  But for history buffs and those who study history video games can be a mixture of comedic content and utter frustration.  Like with Hollywood movies, video games are a mixed bag.  How many of us watch a movie like ‘Braveheart’ (1994) and groan at the sight of William Wallace wearing a kilt three centuries ahead of their introduction, or snicker at ‘King Arthur’ (2004) and the eponymous  hero’s wearing of Roman armor two-hundred years out-of-date?  Likewise, we can level the same kind of invective at games like ‘God of War’, which eviscerates Greek Mythology with abandon, or ‘Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War’ which allows the player to control a bosom, scantily clad Cleopatra VII as she slices and dices her way through massive formations of Greek and Roman soldiers (the game also includes the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar as a “Persian” hero with similar super abilities).

For history buffs and those who make their living studying history, such examples could understandably cause derision or dismissal.  What kinds of lessons are learned by impressionable young minds when they play a game like ‘God of War’?  Surely time would be better spent reading Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton, or Herodotus, or Plutarch, this is true, but let’s not be too hasty in dismissing the medium itself as a means by which to communicate the majesty and wonder of a bygone age.

How many times have you heard someone say, “Such and such movie was great and led me to read about the real events and people…”?  Today’s young adults could say something like, “I grew up on 'Age of Empires'; it’s what fueled my passion for history!”  The same could be said for games like ‘Empire:Total War’ and ‘Rise of Nations.’  To those in the know, these games have laughable content, but these games have also fired the imaginations of countless people, young and old, inspiring them to look deeper and to explore the histories in a way that would not have been possible before.  The ridiculousness of ‘Rome:Total War’ has spawned a hundred modding teams, most with the aim to take the core game and change it into something more authentic to the histories, and to give it a more authentic gameplay experience.  Tens of thousands of young players are touched by this, expanding their minds and possibly inspiring them to look deeper.

In the coming blog entries I will be exploring this link between video games and history, specifically ancient history, which is a passion of mine and (likely) yours.  I’ll also occasionally level my attention at Hollywood and its obsession with mutilating history.  We’ll explore together how history is being portrayed and how history should be portrayed.  I will attempt to draw parallels between historically-themed video games and movies and the theme of the latest issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine, sometimes delving into issues-past to draw my parallels and conclusions.  Sometimes I'll be specific and other times broad.  This is going to be a fun exercise and I hope you will have fun reading what I have to say.