SAA

VIDEO GAMES AND ARCHAEOLOGY
ARCHAEOLOGICAL WALKING SIMULATORS
Edward González-Tennant
Edward González-Tennant is the lead digital archaeologist at Digital Heritage Interactive LLC.
This article discusses how the ongoing experimentation
with 3D technologies for archaeology can benefit from
a deeper engagement with developing trends within
video games. I am particularly interested in the recent
growth of a specific genre of video games referred to as walking
simulators. While initially used in a pejorative sense to
describe boring games, this term now refers to a rapidly
expanding category of video games that diverge from traditional
ones through a reliance on evocative treatments of
mature themes. Whereas traditional games rely on linear
narratives of the human experience, walking simulators
encourage meaningful exploration of rich worlds. They allow
users to experience the lives and worlds of others in new and
critically informed ways.
My discussion of this intersection begins with an overview of
the core aspects of walking simulators. I then discuss how
the use of this technology supports the public’s awareness
and appreciation of the African American experience in
Florida. This interest in exploring walking simulators
focuses on their potential for social justice, and I briefly
describe ongoing work at the sites of Rosewood and Prospect
Bluff. The article concludes with my thoughts on how this
approach supports the goals of applied archaeology, by which
I mean the process of drawing on archaeological data and
perspectives to engage with modern social issues.
A Primer on Walking Simulators
Walking simulators represent a rapidly growing genre of
video games, one that differs from traditional games in
important ways. Whereas traditional video games have budgets
and labor requirements rivaling those of major motion
pictures, walking simulators are typically produced by independent
game studios. Like independent film, indie games
benefit from the increased availability of inexpensive computer
hardware and high-speed Internet access. This is a part
of the broader growth of new media, or the translation of traditional
media into digital formats, which provides
moviemakers and game developers alike an alternative to the
industrial logic of traditional media (Manovich 2001).
Although traditional games make use of new media, they
also reproduce the earlier industrial logic of cinema by relying
on large-scale studios, expensive equipment, and wellestablished
narrative tropes. Walking simulators, like
independent films and games alike, take advantage of new
media’s postindustrial possibilities.
One of the primary advantages of this new approach to video
games is the ability to concentrate on narrative in new ways.
A common complaint leveled against walking simulators is
their lack of a linear narrative structure. However, for many
this is precisely what draws them to these sorts of games. It
is this type of experience that made Myst so popular in the
1990s. Since walking simulators eschew common video
game conventions such as combat, scorekeeping, and a clear
win/lose system, they are able to produce a more lifelike
experience wherein the player explores a new world without
a scripted series of events. This is illustrated by the Fulbright
Company’s game Gone Home, where players take on the role
of Katie, a recent high school graduate returning home after
a year of backpacking through Europe. Katie’s family has
moved during her absence and she returns to an empty
house. The goal of the game is to discover the whereabouts
of Katie’s family. As players explore the home (Figure 1),
clues are revealed explaining where Katie’s sister and parents
have gone. The game refuses to use worn-out supernatural
tropes to explain the family’s absence. Instead, its sensitive
treatment of sexuality has been hailed by critics for its ability
to “plumb the depths of experience outside of gaming’s typically
targeted white, male, youthful core” (Braga 2013). This
focus on new forms of storytelling within games means that
walking simulators are capable of reaching new audiences by
providing new experiences via a familiar technology.
The experience of this new narrative style is deeply affecting
November 2016 • The SAA Archaeological Record
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