My Work on Play the Past

Chalk this announcement up to 'meant to say something earlier, but kind of kept putting it off.'  I've been very excited in the explosion of coverage over the past few years on gaming and thoughtful explorations of games under different disciplinary backgrounds, with one of the best examples being the phenomenal Play the Past website.  Here, authors from diverse professional backgrounds mull over topics such as 'The Presence of the Past in Fallout 3', 'What Comes Before the Platform: The Refuse of Videogames' and even 'Lies & Gamification'.

A few months ago, I was asked if there were any topics I though might be good for Play the Past and I immediately turned to the idea of player modifications, as they relate to one's sense of cultural heritage, in the very popular Cold War board game 'Twilight Struggle.'  Next, I tackled the question of 'Validating Model COIN's', which analyzed how game models of counterinsurgencies achieve validation through their combination of play-design mechanics and secondary source evaluation.  I then wrote on a topic, first written and debated here on Peasant Muse, about 'Interpreting History Through Games' which made the argument that board games could be analyzed as 'platforms' as defined by Ian Bogost and Nick Montford in their seminal work 'Racing the Beam'.

I've enjoyed writing for Play the Past.  I find it to be a great venue for exploring the intersections, boundaries and transdisciplinary approaches that are so vital for examining the world of gaming and cultural heritage.  That's why it makes me very happy to announce that I will be joining the fantastic group of authors at Play the Past as a regular contributor.  You can see my very first attributed post (the previous posts listed above were written under a guest writer account) discussing religious elements found in the sandbox game, Minecraft- 'Pilgrimage in (Minecraft) Middle Earth'.

I will still explore game topics here at Peasant Muse- I just now have another venue to engage a different sort of audience, with a cast of supporting authors that, frankly, make me realize how much I still have to learn and consider.  As I said above, this is a very exciting time for those of us interested in exploring games with more thoughtful consideration and I am personally thrilled to be a part of what I consider one of the shining exemplars of how this work can be done.