Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames: Representation, Play, Transmedia

by Ross Clare, Filippo Carlà-Uhink (Editor), Martin Lindner (Editor)

Overview

This volume presents an original framework for the study of video games that use visual materials and narrative conventions from ancient Greece and Rome. It focuses on the culturally rich continuum of ancient Greek and Roman games, treating them not just as representations, but as functional interactive products that require the player to interpret, communicate with and alter them. Tracking the movement of such concepts across different media, the study builds an interconnected picture of antiquity in video games within a wider transmedial environment.

Ancient Greece and Rome in Videogames presents a wide array of games from several different genres, ranging from the blood-spilling violence of god-killing and gladiatorial combat to meticulous strategizing over virtual Roman Empires and often bizarre adventures in pseudo-ancient places. Readers encounter instances in which players become intimately engaged with the “epic mode” of spectacle in God of War, moments of negotiation with colonised lands in Rome: Total War and Imperium Romanum, and multi-layered narratives rich with ancient traditions in games such as Eleusis and Salammbo. The case study approach draws on close analysis of outstanding examples of the genre to uncover how both representation and gameplay function in such “ancient games”.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350194113
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/26/2023
Series:	IMAGINES - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Ross Clare is a University Teacher in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Liverpool, UK. He specializes in the study of antiquity in popular culture, particularly video games, film and television, and science fiction and fantasy.

Filippo Carlà-Uhink is Professor of Ancient History at Potsdam University, Germany. His main research areas are the social and economical history of Late Antiquity, the history of the Roman Republic, the cultural history of ancient Rome, with a particular attention for space concepts and the construction of space, and the reception of antiquity in modern media. He is co-editor of Bloomsbury Academic's series IMAGINES - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts, and editor of Caesar, Attila & Co. Comics und die Antike (2014) and, with Irene Berti, Ancient Magic and the Supernatural in the Modern Visual and Performing Arts (Bloomsbury Academic, 2015).

Martin Lindner is Lecturer in Ancient History and Curator of the Tom Stern Collection film archive at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations

An introduction to key concepts (or, always read the manual)
1. (or, a Tutorial Level): How Might We Study Ancient-World Videogames?
2. Finding a New Epic in Action-Adventure Videogames
3. Ideas of “Rome” in Ancient Strategy Games
4. First-Person Antiquity: Contemporaneity and Experimentality
Not Game Over: A Conclusion

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Clare's approach is not only useful for those studying the ancient world, but other historical periods as well.” —Manchester Metropolitan Game Centre

“Starting with a helpful and in-depth explanation of his theoretical approach, which will make the tome accessible even to those who have never played Minesweeper, Clare analyses big name franchises and little-known, independent games with equal seriousness.” —Greece & Rome

“It is clear from this engaging and broad study that research into classical reception in videogames has successfully completed the tutorial stage – what comes next, as in true videogame style, is up to us, the players and interpreters of these digital worlds, to decide what to explore next.” —The Classical Review

“This is the first monographic treatment of the receptions of classical antiquity in video games and a book that I have been expecting for years. Through an eclectic selection of case studies, Clare develops an intriguing approach to classical receptions in this vibrant medium.” —Christian Rollinger, Lecturer in Ancient History, University of Trier, Germany

From the Publisher