The History Respawned Podcast

Bob talks with Tracy Fullerton about Walden, a game. Topics include Henry David Thoreau's life and work, historical accuracy in games, the context of life in the 1840s, civil disobedience, and bean farming. Educators can secure a free copy of Walden for classroom use at https://www.waldengame.com/educators.html Support History Respawned on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/historyrespawned Music...

Bob is joined by John Harney and Jeremiah McCall to talk about using Twine and other game development tools for history classes. Topics include student made games, the development process with students, and accessibility. You can read more about Jeremiah on Twitter @gamingthepast and at his website https://gamingthepast.net/. His site includes several useful links and examples of Twine games: The...

Bob and Dr. Kyle Shelton discuss Urban Empire. Topics include city building games, the history of urban development, and the politics of big cities. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo

Bob is joined by Jessica W. Luther to discuss two games in the Assassin's Creed Series. Discussion centers on slavery and black life in the 18th Century Atlantic World. Originally broadcast on YouTube on June 27, 2014. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W....

Bob, Evan Torner and Niclas Heckner discuss Wolfenstein: The New Order. Topics include the game's depiction of Nazi futurism, concentration camps and German language in video games. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo

Bob and John talk E3 2017 and the slate of games with historical settings or themes. There were a bunch! Pirates seem all the rage these days, there is room for optimism that the rest the main Assassin's Creed franchise took has resulted in some great changes in gameplay to go along with the exciting setting, and it seems MachineGames recognized everything they did well in making Wolfenstein: The...

Bob discusses Never Alone with the game's lead writer, Ishmael Hope. Topics include Iñupiaq storytelling, arctic weather, and the challenges of presenting indigenous culture in western media.

Bob and John discuss the reveal of Call of Duty WWII and the recent games they've been playing. Topics include history, public memory, Irish accents, and assassination.

Bob talks with game developer Kevin Chen about his new game Four Horsemen. Topics include the history of immigration and refugee crises as well as how the Syrian Civil War and Trump's Muslim Ban have influenced the development of Four Horsemen. Four Horsemen is now available to vote for on Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=908542703&insideModal=0&requirelogin=...

Bob talks with Professor Ivana Maček about This War of Mine and the history of the Bosnian War. Topics include The Siege of Sarajevo, everyday life during the siege, looting, bartering, scavenging, and ethnic and racial violence. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/4...

Bob talks with Zoyander Street about history, academia, game studies, game preservation, and his curation work at Critical Distance. This episode was recorded at GDC 17. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo

Bob talks with Dr. Laine Nooney of Georgia Tech about her history of Sierra On-Line, collecting oral histories from the game industry, gender in video game history, preserving video game history, and problems facing video game historians. This episode was recorded at GDC 17. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)...

Bob talks with Don Rawitsch, one of the original creators of The Oregon Trail game. Topics include the initial inspiration behind the game, how the game was received by Don's students and fellow instructors, and how Don determined what to include in the game. Bob and Don also talk more generally about using games in the classroom. This episode was recorded at GDC 17. Music is Symphony 40 in G mino...

Bob talks with Navid Khonsari of iNK Stories about 1979 Revolution: Black Friday and using history for games. Topics include the response to 1979 Revolution, balancing the competing views of the Iranian Revolution, and the need to have more serious games. Interview recorded at GDC 17. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommer...

Bob is at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), and in this first broadcast from the show he talks with William Harms about the writing and development of Mafia III. Topics include New Orleans as an "aspirational" city, the research behind the game's setting, and the pros and cons with using history as a backdrop in a video game. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed...

In this slightly extended version of the conversation that informed our video episode, John talks about Ultimate General: Gettysburg with Michael Woods of Marshall University. We talk about how hobbyist culture and the Civil War, how the war has become a conspicuous example of public consumption of history, and the symbolism of the confederate flag. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofis...

Bob and John get together to talk about the Assassin’s Creed film that came out over the holidays. John hasn’t seen it but Bob has a lot of thoughts on why it perhaps didn’t work as well as it could have despite (or perhaps because of?) a clear and strong connection to the games that inspire it. John shares a little bit of information on the next episode of History Respawned for the YouTube channe...

John talks with Tonio Andrade about Civilization VI and how the game (and series as whole) reflects broader issues when discussing history. Topics include discussion of Civ's support of a progressive form of history based on western experience, how Civ gameplay reinforces the series' historical reference points, and things we would like to see in future games. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by te...

Bob talks with Adam Chapman about his new book called Digital Games as History: How Videogames Represent the Past and Offer Access to Historical Practice (Routledge, 2016). Topics include games as popular history, how historical games differ from historical novels or films, the potential for virtual reality and historical games, and how players themselves participate in creating history while play...

Bob and John get together to talk about the most recent History Respawned episode, focused on Battlefield 1, and our upcoming episode discussing Civilization VI. We jump at the chance to talk barbarians, city-states, and other fun Civ things. Bob also takes a bit of time to reflect on a successful semester with his class on video games and history at Louisiana Tech. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor...

Bob talks with Chris Kempshall about Battlefield 1. Topics include the controversy over the game's depiction of the war, the problems with depicting the First World War in a game, trench warfare and boredom, the war that ended nothing versus the war that changed everything, lions versus donkeys, the rest of the world at war, and general embellishments and inaccuracies. Music is Symphony 40 in G mi...

Bob is joined in spirit by Professor Leonard Moore, as he discusses history and Mafia III. Topics include New Orleans in the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement, Mark Essex, the Black Panther Party, and the Cold War. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. M...

Bob sits down with John to discuss the trailer for the recently announced Red Dead Redemption 2 and another trailer for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. Bob also talks to us about the newest episode of History Respawned featuring 2K Games’ Mafia 3 and we talk a little bit about what we have been playing, watching and reading. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed...

John and Bob team up to welcome guest Robert Greene II for a conversation about BioShock and American intellectual history. We discuss character Andrew Ryan's roots in mid-twentieth-century American history and the broader contexts of objectivism in American political discourse. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (...

Bob talks with Professor William Deverell about L.A. Noire. Topics include the postwar boom, the history of the LAPD, and race and ethnic relations in Los Angeles. Music is Symphony 40 in G minor by texasradiofish (c) 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)license.dig.ccmixter.org/files/texasr…iofish/49560 Ft: W. A. Mozart, Big Bonobo Combo