Archaeogaming

Archaeogaming is an archaeological framework which, broadly speaking, includes the study of archaeology in and of video games as well as the use of video games for archaeological purposes.^[1] To this end, the study can include, but is in no means limited to, the physical excavation of video game hardware, the use of archaeological methods within game worlds, the creation of video games for or about archaeological practices and outcomes, or the critical study of how archaeology is represented in video games. Virtual and augmented reality applications in archaeology might also be subsumed within its rubric.^[2]

M. Dennis states that archaeogaming is “the utilization and treatment of immaterial space to study created culture, specifically through videogames” which “requires treating a game world, a world bounded and defined by the limitations of its hardware, software and coding choices, as both a closed universe and as an extension of the external culture that created it. Everything that goes into the immaterial space comes from its external cultural source, in one way or another.”^[3] Taking this into consideration the archaeogaming framework indicates that there is no functional difference between studying archaeology in the physical, material world, and implementing it with regards to the study, critique and creation of video games for and about archaeology. As such it is said that archaeogaming “requires the same standards of practice as the physical collection of excavated data, only with a different toolset. It also provides the opportunity to use game worlds to reflect on practice, theory and the perceptions of [archaeology].”^[4]