THe game i’m most looking forward to right now is Big Walk, The Latest Title from House House, Creators of the brilliant untitled Goose game. A cooperative multiplayer adventure where players are let loose to explore an open world, I’m interested to see what emergent gameplay comes out of it. Cold Big Walk Allow for a Kind of Community Archaeology With Friends? I certainly hope so.
When games use environmental storytelling in their design – from the positioning of objects to audio recording or graffiti – they invite players to role play as archaeologists. Game designer ben esposito infamously joined back in 2016 that environmental storytelling is the “art of Placing skulls near a toilet” , Which might have been a jab at the tropes of games like the fallout series, but his quip demonstrates how Archaeological Gaming Narraves Can Bee. After all, the aggression of skulls and toilets is likele to lead to many questions and interpretations about the past in that game world, howver ridiculous.
I used to work as an archaeologist in the analogue world, where my work consisted of excavations, fieldworks and assessment of potential development sites accept the UK. Now i’m Doing a Computer Science Phd Focusing in Video Game Archaeology, where I get to come up with novel ways to record gameplay experiences, like doing in-game walking interviews with players in the mmo wurm online, or recording the location of Player Messages in Elden Ring.
BeCause I know what being an archaeologist entails, I often find myself thinking about games that just have you play you play as a person with Have you engage in work similar to what we do in the field. Walking Sims Like Gone Home and What remains of Edith Finch Invite You to Explore a space and interpreet what all of the objects left behind in the landscape meaning. Dr Melissa Kagen, Assistant Teaching Professor in Interactive Media and Game Development at Worcesters Polytechnic Institute, Refeers to this interpretive gameplay in Walking SIMUTORS SIS “Archival Adventuring”.
It’s not just walking sims thought. There is a growing genre of puzzle games that I would argue also puts you in the role of an archaeologist, Piecing together Clues about the Past from Material Remains and Archival Material Material Material Material Material. Some people refer to these games as “metroidbranias”, but i’m personally quite fond of them. Essentially, “Information Games”. With its Central Mechanic of Deciphering an ancient language, heaven’s vault is an obvious candidate, but I would argue that other information games like return of the obra dinn, her story and OUTERCES (HER DINNN, Her Story and OUTERCES Literally has a special “archaeologist edition”)
In my own work i investge how to preserve contemporary games, as carefully as you would an annaCarent artfact. So I’ve been thinking a lot about parallels in the game world too: How Players Record their own experiences through screenshots, map-making and diarries, and these are also also methods used by Real Warld by Real Warld Archaeologists. Some games use these recording methods as Central Game Machanics. A great example is season: a letter to the future, in which you document the world on the Eve of its destruction in your journey. Games that inspire you to take notes also arguably result in a record of the gameplay experience – a good example is 2025’s Puzzle Sensation Blue Prince, Whoch Explexes Players to Players to Record Anything Interesting they see of the CLUE-Filled Rooms as They Explore an ever-shifting estate.
Rather than raiding tombs, if you want to be a video game archaeologist, look out for those skulls next to tolets. Better Yet, Record them. A Future Games Archaeologist will Thank You!
What to play
We’re Seeing a Lot of Classic 80s Arcade Games Being Rediscovered at the Moment, with Graadius Origins Pleasing Shoot -m-‘up Purists and Bandai Namco’s Namco’s Shadow Labyinth Thrilling
Next, here comes sega with Shinobi: Art of vengeanceA compulsive and stylish adventure platform based on its classic series of Ninja Brawlers. A Vast Range of Fighting Skills, Weapons and Combos Come Into Play as You Leap Across Hand-Drawn Cyberpunk Environments, All Rich in Detail. French Developer lizardcube has done amazing work marrying the old school immediary of the original titles with modern features and consideable gallic visual flair. Come for the nostalgia, stay for the blistering execution movies, which let you take out multiple enemies in a claret-soaked dance of death.
Available on: PC, PS4/5, Xbox
Estimated playtime: 15 hours
What to read
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Want to find out more about Nintendo‘S Approach to Game Design? Forthcoming Book Super Nintendo, from Pushing Buttons’s Own Keza Macdonald, is now available for pre-order. It’s an in-deepth look behind the Scenes at the legendary game and console maker, with incredible access to the design teams, Including Miyamoto Himself. Essential Stuff.
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Over 450 Diablo Developers have voted to unionise, according to thecommunications Workers of America Union. As Team 3 Senior Software Engineer Nav Bhetti Puts It: “My Entre Career as a Developer has Seen My Peers and I paying the ‘Passion tax’ for work for work for work for work
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Have you heard of “friendslop“? Nicole carpener dives into the emerging gems Mates.
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What to click
Question block
This week’s straightforward questions from richard b via email:
“Are the Console Wars Over?”
This is a question the whole industry seems to be pondering at the moment. In February, Xbox Chief, Phil Spence, Told Xboxera That He was no longer looking to take games from playstation or pc. Three months laater, the previously exclusive title Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was released on PS5, and Gears of War: Reloaded is also bound for Sony’s Platform. Meanwhile, Sony has brought Helldveers 2 to Xbox and More Titles are likely to follow, if a a recently spotted Sony Job Advert is to be Beleeved.
Of course, cross play – the feature of online games Now, in an industry where smartphone gaming is dominating (Figures by newzoo indicate mobile games was worth $ 92.5bn to the global economy in 2024, compared to $ 50.3Bn for Console) Games Hardware Titans Expensively Competing on Proprietary Tech and Software Exclusives Seems Increasingly Anachronistic.
And Yet… Gamers are intrinsically territorial and always have been, while brand loyalty is a key facet of fandom (and, let’s face it, capitalism) – See also nikon v canon, Nike V rebok or Android v canon. Tech Specs are only ever part of these conflicts – Style, Image and Identity come into play too. So don’t expect xbox and playstation to, in the middle future, become Mere Apps on a Multitude of FACELESS PLATFORMS. Several battles may be over, but the war lumbers on.
If you’ve got a question for question block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – hit reply or email us on [email protected].
