Abstract
This is the third paper from the Historical Consultancy for Games project run by Games Research Association of Poland with grant funding from Centre for the Development of Creative Industries in Poland. It is based on an online survey among 16 professionals, who worked on video games either as historical consultants, or as developers who collaborated with such consultants. Due to the regional focus on Central and Eastern Europe, the survey includes respondents who worked for game studios in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Serbia. This paper collects expectations and recommendations for competence building in historical game consultancy. This includes recommended tools, methods, and skills, as well as hindsight advice based on professional experience. Finally, the paper discusses curricular suggestions for a formal course in histgameconsultancy for students of history.
Funding
This text stems from Task 1.2 in the research project titled Historical Consultancy for Games: Needs Analysis and Solution-Building for the New Creative Specialisation, carried out by the Games Research Association of Poland. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in the funding scheme Development of Creative Sectors from the Centre for the Development of Creative Industries.
References
Collewijn, M. (2015). Wargames: History in and of (Computer) Wargames. University of Amsterdam: unpublished MA Thesis. Online: <http://historyingames.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Thesis-Maarten-Collewijn-EN.pdf>.
Copplestone, T.J. (2017a). But That’s Not Accurate: The Differing Perceptions of Accuracy in Cultural-heritage Videogames between Creators, Consumers and Critics. Rethinking History, 21(3), 415–438. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13642529.2017.1256615
Copplestone, T. J. (2017b). Designing and Developing a Playful Past in Video Games. In: A.A.A. Mol, C. E. Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke, K.H.J. Boom, A. Politopoulos (eds.), The Interactive Past: Archaeology, Heritage & Video Games (pp. 85–98). Leiden: Sidestone Press.
Copplestone, T., Dunne, D. (2017). Digital Media, Creativity, Narrative Structure and Heritage. Internet Archaeology, 44(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.44.2
Gdaniec, E., Wasiak, P., Janicki, A., Możejko, B., Świętosławski, W., Odorowicz, B. (2024). Historical Game Consulting: A Modular Syllabus. Homo Ludens, 17(1/2024), 181–226.
Mochocki, M. (2022). Editorial: Games with History, Heritage, and Provocation. Games and Culture, 17(6), 839–842. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120221119268
Mochocki, M., Kot, Y. I. (2024). Historical Consultants in the CEE Video Game Industry. Part 1: Good and Bad Practices. Homo Ludens, 17(1), 31–60.
Pigulak, M., Gdaniec, E., Wasiak, P. (2024). Rola i miejsce kształcenia konsultanta historycznego branży gier na studiach wyższych. Perspektywa praktyczna. Homo Ludens, 17(1), 109–132.
Sabin, P. (2016). Wargames as an Academic Instrument. In: P. Harrigan, M. G. Kirschenbaum (eds.), Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming (pp. 421–437). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10329.003.0044
University of Groningen (2024). History and Heritage Consultancy. University of Groningen. Online: <https://www.rug.nl/masters/historyand-heritage-consultancy>.
Contreras, R. (19 January 2023). The History Behind “Pentiment” According to Its Consulting Historians. Vice. Online: <https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7bky/the-history-behind-pentiment-according-to-itsconsulting-historians> (accessed 24 September 2024).
Loroff, R. (2024). Award-winning Video Game from Lawrence Grad, “Fallout” Director, Has Roots in the School. Post Crescent. Online: <https://eu.postcrescent.com/story/news/education/2024/05/28/pentiment-video-game-made-with-help-of-lawrence-faculty-alum/73686659007> (accessed 24 September 2024).
RBARTRA (1 May 2019). What Do You Actually Do?! Episode 11: Nicholas Gliserman, Historical Advice for Video Games. University of York Careers and Placements. Online: <https://uoycareers.blog/2019/05/01/what-do-you-actually-do-episode-11-nicholas-gliserman-historicaladvise-for-video-games> (accessed 24 September 2024).
Roy, G. (10 December 2019). Designing an Undergraduate Course in Historical Game Studies: Interview with Thierry Robert. Play The Past. Online: <http://www.playthepast.org/?p=6604> (accessed 24 September 2024).
Roy, G. (12 December 2019). Designing an Undergraduate Course in Historical Game Studies: Interview with Julien Bazile. Play The Past. Online: <http://www.playthepast.org/?p=6633> (accessed 24 September 2024).
Saga, M. (7 October 2015). What It’s Like to Be an Architectural Consultant for “Assassin’s Creed II” (transl. M. Valletta). ArchDaily. Online: <https://www.archdaily.com/774210/maria-elisa-navarro-the-architectural-consultant-for-assassins-creed-ii> (accessed 24 September 2024).
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Michał Mochocki, Yaraslau Kot

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Szczegółowe informacje dotyczące prawa autorskiego zawarte są w umowie podpisywanej między wydawcą a autorem.