SAA

VIDEO GAMES AND ARCHAEOLOGY
VIDEO GAMES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
ENJOYABLE BUT TRIVIAL?
Angus Mol, Csilla Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke, Krijn Boom, Aris Politopoulos,
and Vincent Vandemeulebroucke
Angus Mol is a postdoctoral researcher in the field of archaeological network approaches at the Department of Anthropology, Stanford University,
Stanford, California. Csilla Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of museum studies at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
Netherlands. Krijn Boom is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of archaeological heritage management at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
Netherlands. Aris Politopoulos is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of archaeology of the Near East at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University,
Netherlands. Vincent Vandemeulebroucke is an independent video game researcher in the Netherlands.
The thrill of discovery and exploration combined with
the opportunity to relive the past is something that
appeals both on an instinctive and emotional level.
Video games have played into this desire in several ways. As
with many instances of popular media appropriation of specialized
fields, archaeologists are critical of how their discipline,
as well as past places, people, and cultures, are portrayed.
However, as also argued by other contributors in this
special issue, we feel that archaeology and video games can
be combined in ways that have a positive impact on society,
education, and research. This is why, early in 2015, we
founded the research group VALUE: Videogames and
Archaeology at Leiden University. Even if video games are
not on the radar as a serious research subject, this does not
mean that there is no interest in the topic among individuals.
Therefore, one of the first projects we undertook was a
survey that charted the interest in and appreciation of games
that incorporate archaeological and historical themes among
students and professionals.
Survey
This survey was conducted in February and March 2015 at
the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. 1 One of the
key questions was how many people at our faculty played
video games and, if so, if they also played historical and
archaeological games. Secondly, we sought to get an understanding
of the perceived relevance of video games for
archaeology and vice versa. Finally, we wanted to see whether
people would be interested in actively taking part in future
research within the field of archaeogaming.
We asked both bachelor and master students (123 students,
average age 21 years old) as well as staff members (46 staff,
average age 31 years old) to fill out the survey. In total, we collected
169 questionnaires, which contained both closed and
open questions, as well as rating scales. The first half of the
survey focused on playing video games in general: genre
preference, gaming platforms, time spent on games, and
preferred gaming elements. The second half was aimed
more specifically at the intersection of archaeology and video
games. These questions were aimed at uncovering the enjoyability,
importance, and representativeness of archaeology in
games.
The majority of the respondents, 69 percent, stated that they
play video games. There was a difference between staff
members, roughly half of whom play video games, and students,
three-quarters of whom are gamers (see Figure 1).
Interestingly, there is no gender gap in absolute numbers
among these gamers. There is, however, a percentage difference
in the gender of non-gamers, with the majority being
female. Additionally, on average, women indicated that they
spent less time per week playing video games, roughly under
6 hours. Male respondents play video games from 2 to 10
hours on average per week. Overall, the respondents cover a
wide spectrum from hardcore gamers to more casual players,
some having several pieces of dedicated gaming equipment
(dedicated PCs or laptops, consoles, etc.), while others
mainly play browser or smartphone games.
Archaeologists enjoy a variety of genres, with strategy games
and massively multiplayer online role-playing games
(MMORPGs) being the most popular. Exploration (68 percent),
November 2016 • The SAA Archaeological Record
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