Playing with history in World of Tanks
Negotiated readings, historical realism and cultural memory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21690028 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Natalie Jonckheere (0000-0001-6924-0860, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, corresponding author), Christopher J Persaud (0000-0003-0015-5152, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA), Calvin Liu (0000-0003-0141-4726, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA), Dmitri Williams (0000-0001-7995-4429, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 641-657 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1354-8565 • E-ISSN: 1748-7382 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13548565221130891 |
| OpenAlex | W4298126951 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 27 |
This study focuses on United States-based players of World of Tanks, a historical battle arena game that features many playable tanks based on their actual historical origins, mostly from the World War II and postwar eras. Through a partnership with the game’s developer Wargaming.net, we conducted interviews with 20 players of World of Tanks who indicated that they are interested in history generally or military history specifically. Our findings indicate that playing World of Tanks is one dimension of a broader spectrum of interacting with history as a kind of leisure activity. Players put history in service of their own interests and recreational enjoyment, while acknowledging that historical accuracy is a moving target that must be balanced with elements that shape gameplay structure, competitive potential, and player agency. This study contributes to scholarship on the experiences and motivations of people who play historical games, situates interest in historical games within a broader array of history-related leisure, offers insights for historical game developers interested in players’ cultural and social context, and notes the limitations of games to teach about the past
Aesthetics · Art · Battle · Historical Thinking · Political science · Public relations · Realism · Recreation · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Visual arts · World War II · Digital Games and Media · Educational Games and Gamification · History · Law · Museums and Cultural Heritage
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Cultural Memory Studies
Fandom, Negotiation, and Participatory Culture
The Cultural Studies Reader
Videogames and Postcolonialism
Consuming History
Exploring Player Understandings of Historical Accuracy and Historical Authenticity in Video Games
Heritage Sites and Video Games
But that’s not accurate
Introduction
Gaming History
The Call of Adventure in Call of Duty
Understanding Popular Culture
Rogue Archives
Videogames, Persuasion and the War on Terror
Counterfactual Communities
Playing Cultural Memory
Selective Realism
Strategic Simulations and Our Past
"Remembering" World War II and Willingness to Fight
Social Representations of Events and People in World History Across 12 Cultures
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |