Archaeogaming is a newer sub-field of archaeology that integrates the methods of archaeological discovery into the synthetic environment of video games so that by playing games, one can teach and learn about the past. Classical antiquity has always been well represented in traditional media (e.g. Hercules; Clash of the Titans; Gladiator). However, the last two decades in particular have finally seen classical history and mythology begin to influence a wider range of popular video games. Some games explicitly try to recreate the ancient world or bring mythology to life while others are more subtly influenced by it. While the success of popular games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and the Civilization series has proven that video games can rival traditional media in their ability to shape modern audience’s perception of the past, classical scholarship has only recently started to embrace video games as a serious vehicle of classical reception. 

It wasn’t until 2013 that Dr. Andrew Reinhard, a pioneer of video game archaeology and reception, first coined the term “archaeogaming” in a blog post. It has been proven that kids love video games, and according to Psychology Today, children and teens in the US play on average between one and three hours a day. Unfortunately, this medium is rarely used within educational environments. Our goal at The Ozymandias Project is to help bridge this discrepancy through our specifically crafted educational videos and custom lesson plans for classroom usage. 

Upon request, our team can create and provide educational archaeogaming videos for educators to use as a visual aid to take students to see the pyramids in Ancient Egypt, temples in Ancient Greece, or sail around Dark Age England. Additionally, our customizable lesson plans can accommodate both synchronous and asynchronous learning. There are many games that are ideal for Archaeogaming lessons, including the Assassin’s Creed series, the Age of Empires series, the Civilization series, and others. These games offer both first-person role-playing games and third-person strategy games to accommodate all individual learning needs, abilities, and interests.

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If you are interested in learning more about this exciting new sub-field, we suggest starting with Andrew Reinhard’s book Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games and Christian Rollinger’s edited volume Classical Antiquity in Video Games: Playing with the Ancient World. We also recommend reading, “Assassin’s Creed Origins as a Digital and Pedagogical Tool” or “Video Games as Time Machines” by Christian Casey, Jane Draycott’s edited volume Women in Historical and Archaeological Video Games and “When Archaeology and Video Games Come Together” by Tine Rassalle. We are always happy to suggest other ways to get involved or how to learn more about the fast-growing field and its benefits for both the academic and gaming communities.