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Christian Vikings Storming Templar Castles: Anachronism as a Teaching Tool
Malmö University, Faculty of Education and Society (LS), Department of Society, Culture and Identity (SKI).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2001-2282
University of Winchester, UK.
2023 (English)In: ›Assassin’s Creed‹ in the Classroom: History’s Playground or a Stab in the Dark? / [ed] Erik Champion; Juan Francisco Hiriart Vera, Walter de Gruyter, 2023, p. 65-90Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

This chapter outlines the ways in which the 2020 instalment of the Assassin’s Creed (AC) series - Valhalla (AC: Valhalla) - negotiates historical representation within the framework of open-world adventure gaming, specifically within the genre conventions used by the Assassin’s Creed franchise itself. The chapter goes on to discuss how some of this anachronistic tension can be utilized in a classroom setting. The depiction of 9th century Norway and England in AC: Valhalla makes use of Medievalist tropes ranging from ubiquitous castles, through exaggerated and anachronistic weapons and armor, to the iconic Norwegian stave churches. In so doing, the designers lean on popular perceptions of Vikings, who increasingly appear to be seamlessly integrated with perceptions of the Medieval. The mix of tropes manifests itself as a chronological scramble that creates a sense of cohesion around the thousand years associated with the Middle Ages but eliminates much of the nuance of the period. This chapter discusses how Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla connects to historical culture and the rest of the Assassin’s Creed series through this longitudinal discourse. At a game design level, the way this happens is twofold: firstly, by aligning with the overarching theme and story of the game series - that is, the genealogical connection between then and now, including the sci-fi elements of the game; and secondly, by adhering to the mechanical requirements and franchise characteristics of Assassin’s Creed, such as the nature of the main conflict, player agency (and lack thereof), and world-building (narrative and literal level design), to name just a few. We discuss how the anachronisms within the game and the conflation of periods it represents can be used as a learning tool. We argue that rather than limiting the educational potential of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, these issues form an important introduction to popular medievalism and their impact within games.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Walter de Gruyter, 2023. p. 65-90
Series
Video Games and the Humanities, ISSN 2700-0400, E-ISSN 2700-0419 ; 15
National Category
Cultural Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-64342DOI: 10.1515/9783111253275-004Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85182345198ISBN: 9783111253275 (electronic)ISBN: 9783111250724 (print)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-64342DiVA, id: diva2:1819051
Available from: 2023-12-13 Created: 2023-12-13 Last updated: 2024-02-05Bibliographically approved

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Grufstedt, Ylva

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CiteExportLink to record
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Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf