UNDER THE TECH TREE – THOUGHTS ON LINEAR EVOLUTION IN SIMULATION GAMES
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 16/10/2020

Technological advancement of mankind is not linear. It is rather a succession of discovery and loss, refinement and degradation. If we really want to plot it we could imagine it as a wavelike curve. But to be honest it is most likely a network of interlaced curves in three dimensional space. To be blunt: It probably cannot be presented without massive simplification. But this is what games have to do. Despite the popularity of non linear gameplay most simulation games have a very linear tech tree that you will advance on. It is further notable that this mirrors in parts Gordon v. Childes influential idea of the urban revolution. Can we therefore state that today’s simulation games reflect the state of the art of theory in 1930s archaeology? Should this concern us as archaeologists because games shape the public perception of history to vital degree? And where if not in synthetic worlds is the space to experience technological advancement as a network of interlaced curves in three dimensional space? The paper will make a case to use synthetic worlds to stimulate “out of the box” thinking and handing users the tools to perceive new and more challenging experiences of history.


Author(s): Linde, Lennart (Goethe University Frankfurt)