In this presentation, I will analyse two historical themed video games, Age of Empires II HD Edition and Total War: Rome II, applying Critical Discourse Analyses to demonstrate how Eurocentric discourses remain in these games. I will argue that these representations are related to assumed conceptions of history, and that the medium’s possibilities for subversion remain ignored. Moving away from eurocentrism and exploring history in meaningful ways requires critical engagement to deconstruct the traditional identity of historical knowledge. I will finish by bringing some ideas on how this exploration could materialize in video game form in order to promote diversity.
About the presenter
Manuel Alejandro Cruz Martínez’s research moves across the disciplines of history, education, cultural studies, and computer science. His main interest is on the relations between history, video games, identity, and epistemology. His current research, funded by the Sussex Humanities Lab at University of Sussex, focuses on the capabilities of video games to explore history in new and meaningful ways, analysing the role of identity in the construction of the past and the conceptualization of history.