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World War Two Simulated:

Digital Games and Reconfigurations of the Past

This book examines how WWII is simulated with computer games, such as shooters, simulators, and strategy games. It argues that a dynamic emerges in ‘simgames’, especially when players begin with a simgame but looks beyond gameplay for an understanding of how to play the game and how to understand the past.

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Chapters

Flight and tank simulators
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Simgames like IL2 Great Battles require a focus on flight capabilities and tactics of WW2 aircraft far beyond arcade-style flight sims.

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First-Person Shooters

Recent FPS attempt degrees of realism far beyond games like Call of Duty and Battlefield.

Grand Strategy Games
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Strategy games provide a different scale along with different ways to engage the past that encourage counter-factual scenarios.

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A 'simtext' is any media that requires some form of interpretation, even if it is simply something that helps a player succeed in a simgame. But increasingly these simtexts provide historical context that requires interpretation.

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Fiction
Film

Short stories, novels, theater, fan fiction

Cinema, series, blockbusters, documentaries

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Youtube

Mashups, fan films, education, shorts

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Museums

Heritage centers, re-enactment, military parks, festivals

Forums
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Scholarship

Short stories, novels, theater, fan fiction

Reddit, Wikis, virtual squadrons

Military history, biographies, general histories, memoirs, technical histories

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