Category: History

Gaming in Ruins

I should be the sort of person that enjoys a lot of lore in my video games. I’m a historian, a history teacher, and a big rpg fan in general. And yet, I’m increasingly aware that the games I enjoy most are the ones where the civilisation, culture and the history of the world is buried. Quite literally buried, in many cases.

I’m very late to the Zelda: Breath of the Wild party. I’m having an absolute blast, not least because of the world aesthetic. The entire premise of a kingdom fallen 100 years ago, exploring it’s ruins, is something I seem to especially enjoy. And this isn’t the first time.

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The GamerPeak Quiz #1 – History

I made a quiz!

It’s 6 rounds, takes about 20 minutes, vaguely History themed and not too challenging. The answers are on the end of the video, so you can play at your own leisure. Should make for some fun with friends and family, or as a great resource for entertaining students in the classroom.

If you enjoy the quiz, leave a like on the video. As well as getting back into writing my blog, I plan to make more of these.

Have fun!

Saint George – Different Perspectives

Teacher – This is an image of the Patron Saint of England, soldiers, farmers and much more. St George isn’t English; he was most likely born in what was Cappodocia (modern day Turkey). He is almost certainly a martyr, dying for his faith rather than making a sacrifice to pagan gods. The dragon was added to his story much later.

Video Gamer – The horse has clearly glitched over the dragon. Horses in video games are always difficult to steer properly. I hope that’s not the final armour or costume St George gets, and that weapon upgrades are available. Not that impressive a monster either. Is this meant to be a boss battle? Pfft. Unique animation style though.

Dungeon Master – that’s not a proper dragon, more like a Wyrmling. They’re only a Creature Rating 2, not that big a deal. And green dragons breath poison, not fire. I’m guessing St George is a paladin? Not sure what class the woman in the background is, but the fact that she has the wyrmling restrained means St George has advantage on his attacks. Not a tough fight.

Haha, you don’t know _____!

I don’t take issue with a great deal while I’m teaching. I’m accepting of the broad span of opinions and preconceptions. I rarely feel the need to lecture people in or out of lessons, and I would never tell you your opinion is flat-out wrong. But when someone laughs at someone for not knowing something, that’s when I dust off the soapbox.

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Teaching Quote Out of Context #2

Student: Sir?

Teacher: Yes?

Student: You know everything we’ve been looking at? The Treaty of Versailles… The League of Nations…

Teacher: I do, yes.

Student: Did it really happen?

Teacher (passively): Yes. History as a study of things in the past.

Student (nodding): Okay cool, thank you sir.

[Student goes back to work, but sees their friend staring at them open-mouthed.]

Student (unwavering): It was a 50-50 question, so I had to ask.

If you do not ask, you do not learn.

It’s been a while…

…but I’ve got the urge to begin posting on my blog again. Whilst I was away, I didn’t actually stop writing; I simply switched where and what I was writing. Three years since my last post, I’m inclined to return to the internet and ramble on about all things geeky, history, gamer-y, teacher-y… and now fatherly!

I ceased adding to my blog for multiple reasons. Firstly, a few years ago I was introduced to a game that has since become my favourite hobby: Dungeons & Dragons. Not only has this game ticked every box in my list of ‘Things I Love About Gaming’, but it also appeals to the joy I find in writing. I have spent a wonderfully nerdy amount of time creating campaigns, monsters, traps and puzzles for my friends (and for myself). There is something about inventing a story that other people can jump into, and add their own personality to, that I find immensely enjoyable, as well as all the other factors that make Dungeons & Dragons a stupendously enjoyable experience.

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How Historically Accurate is The Witcher? Part 3

Compared to other RPGs I’ve played, The Witcher is a very intimate game. Even counting the segments of the city of Vizima as separate locations, the list of places I’ve seen so far is very small. The cast of the game is also quite lean. Both of these conditions are hardly negatives; it gives a feeling of familiarity and makes the interactions more personal. It also helps to enrich the story, in my opinion at least.

This intimate setup has impacted on my observations. Whilst with Skyrim I could skip about, cherry picking historic details, this games narrower landscape has led me to make a more specific consideration of the world.

In the third instalment of my ‘grown-up’ look at the historical accuracy of this fantasy adventure game, I’ve picked out one feature of the main character and two features of the city to analyse. The field of discussion is quite specific, though the History addressed is quite varied. Let’s start with a piece of History that has had one foot in fantasy for a long time.

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