Video Games Set in the Middle Ages

Abstract

Within the study of video games, there is a burgeoning interest in the phenomenon of historical representation; nonetheless, few studies have centered on the reflection of particular eras of History, such as the Middle Ages and the effect of this on interpretations of culture and potential pedagogical applications with respect to this specific period of time. In this study, we present and discuss the compilation and content of a database of over 600 medieval titles released between 1980 and 2013, demonstrating the growing popularity, with producers and consumers, of what we could now refer to as a stand-alone genre. We discuss our categorization of the collection as purely historical or as hybrid and provide what could prove a very rich source of data for researchers on typical plot lines, most and least popular eras or events in history, genres commonly adopted within both types of game.

The tangled ways to classify games: A systematic review of how games are classified in psychological research

“…A total of 89 575 participants took part in the studies included in this systematic research (including 27,88% women). The subgenres were mentioned in sixteen studies [ 19 , 48 , 49 , 52 , 53 , 57 , 68 , 76 , 79 , 92 , 99 , 106 , 109 , 112 , 125 , 126 ]. However, four articles included subgenres only for specific genres, e.g., subgenres were retrieved only for RPG.…”

“…However, four articles included subgenres only for specific genres, e.g., subgenres were retrieved only for RPG. Strategy Games or Adventure [ 19 , 48 , 84 , 92 , 112 ]. Furthermore, two studies provided only one main genre: Action [ 106 ] or Social Network Games [ 126 ] which were divided into subgenres that were classified as individual genres in other studies, e.g., Sport or Adventure were understood as one of the subgenres of the Action games.…”

“…It is also important to mention that only twenty-six articles not only listed several game genres included in their research but also defined them [ 20 , 21 , 44 , 46 , 51 , 53 , 57 , 66 , 71 , 74 , 76 , 78 , 81 , 85 , 89 , 94 , 95 , 98 , 105 , 108 , 112 , 118 – 120 , 125 , 126 ]. However, some provided definitions are not separable; e.g., Thorne [ 119 ] used “puzzle-solving” phrase to describe both Action/adventure and strategy genres.…”

“…Shooter as a genre was included in 33 articles. However, it is important to mention that in most studies where researchers included Shooters in their genre classification, they did not add FPS to it [ 25 , 29 , 55 , 80 , 88 , 89 , 104 , 107 , 108 , 112 ]. Furthermore, FPS was included as a subgenre of Shooters in three studies [ 19 , 79 , 109 ].…”

“…Recently, new mechanics and multigenres such as Adventure RPG [ 120 ] and Text Adventure [ 74 , 104 ] were diversified from the broad category of Adventure games (n = 30). Furthermore, some researchers mention Survival and Horror games as an entirely excluded category where player need to survive in the potentially scary and extreme environment [ 61 , 74 , 88 , 95 , 112 , 117 , 122 ]. However, some researchers included such games in the Adventure and Thrillers category [ 94 ].…”