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#ClassicsTober prompts for October ‘25 #ClassicsTober25

(Co-)Taught my first class today! It's a game studies course, focusing on the interplay between video games, literary texts, and history. We had some introductions to video game narratives and game studies, and we finished by playing Return of the Obra Dinn!

CRSN is looking for Early Career Researchers who are interested in convening or co-convening the Classical Reception seminar series at the Institute of Classical Studies this summer! For more information, see the link below: classicalreception.org/call-for-ecr...

The Mandalorian, Grogu, and a touch of Hannibal?

Becoming increasingly convinced that The Last of Us, Norse God of War, and A Plague Tale are all basically the same game

One day I wish to be as persistent as the typos you apparently can't get rid of no matter how many times you and others read your manuscripts

One side effect of sequel culture is that it suddenly feels strange to refer to what used to be individual games as part of a larger series. "The Titan Quest series", "the Hades franchise", "the Okami games"; it all feels very weird to say...

This one is ranked high on the wishlist!

Historians (rightly) get annoyed when other academics weigh in on their subject & claim to have “solved” or “completed” history, ignoring existing research & nuance. Yet historians keep weighing in on games as if no one has ever paid attention to them before (& it’s not great)

🚨 New publication alert (OA!) 🚨 I argue that unruly Apollo—far from ⚡ Zeus' ⚡ loyal son—was a potential challenger to his father’s throne. In Prometheus Bound (907–12), the curse of Kronos looms… and Apollo could've avenged Granddad and deposed Zeus! #Classics #GreekMyth doi.org/10.14746/spp...

This is amazing - Hades II releases Sep 25! 🌙⚡ Really looking forward to starting from scratch again and experiencing the full story! Really not looking forward to re-reading and updating every reference list of manuscripts under review from "Hades II (2024)" to "Hades II (2025)"

BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...

The Discovery Tour is back, but as a free mobile app that is more text-based than the earlier ones:

Getting more and more tired of people with an interest in classical history discrediting games because they are 'too violent'. The Iliad literally has hundreds of verses featuring the gruesome deaths of many, many characters - oftentimes more graphic than what you'd find in most games.

Had a blast at #gamescom2025 yesterday, and a lot of fun tracking down historical / ancient / mythological references! Highlights: the Hades II update on Switch 2, a presentation on Anno 117, beating a mission in the Japanese Age of Mythology DLC, Onimusha, and, completely unrelated, LEGO Batman

Marvel's Ironheart on Disney+ is basically the story of how getting one's university funding pulled is the first step in a long process of getting entangled with demonic forces

In May last year my academic career ended. In June last year I (secretly) began working as the historical consultant at @blackmillgames.bsky.social. Today we announced 'WW1: Gallipoli': youtu.be/Yp0WfD85DzU?... I can't wait for everyone to find out more: store.steampowered.com/app/3065940/... 🗃️

Co-writing this article on virtual epigraphy in games has me looking at player tombstones, writing cultures in Elden Ring, extraterrestrial Rosetta Stones, and crafted objects with digital makers' inscriptions like the epoiesen on Greek objects. Currently enjoying the winding paths of research.

Also worth pointing out that avoiding (but then having to find descriptive alternatives for) highly game specific terms like 'bullet heaven roguelike' in non-video-game-oriented publishing outlets is one of the most frustrating parts of being a game scholar

if you love mythological games but you've always felt that the one thing they really needed was cars, then oh do I have good news for you Just discovered the 2024 bullet heaven roguelike Champion Shift where you play as Arthur, Athena, Sun Wukong, Gilgamesh & more and transform into cars at will

It was a real pleasure to write this, and has long been something I've wanted to give thought to. If you're interested in Total War, historical games or especially Carthage, feel free to have a read!

New blog post on Paizomen! Edward Hammond (@baalhammond.bsky.social) explores how the "Divide et Impera" and "Legendary Empires HD" mods for Total War: Rome II reconfigure ancient Carthage. ⬇️ paizomen.com/2025/08/11/c...

Video games are so unrealistic

After some technical hiccups (including a broken laptop), I'm happy to annouce the first prototype of my new game, 'Galar', is available for download! 🧵1/5 #historygames #gamingthepast #gamestudies #gamedev #archaeogaming

"‘As you write your Odyssey…’: An empirical study of Classics students’ play interests and ergodic characterization in historical video games" - this joint publication with @alexvandewalle.bsky.social for the journal Convergence was an absolute pleasure to work on. doi.org/10.1177/1354...

Looking for translators for Pompeii: The Legacy! If you're passionate about languages, Roman history & indie games, I’d love your help. (Languages & details below 👇) #GameDev #IndieDev #Localization #WishlistWednesday

2020-2024, doing PhD: "I don't know what I'm doing, I'll figure it out when I finish the full diss" 2024, writing the diss: "I don't know what I'm doing, I'll figure it out when I finish the monograph" 2025, revising the monograph: "I don't know what I'm doing, I'll figure it out... whenever...?"

In a return of short form reviews of indies, Mike leads with an Indie Spotlight of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island by @polygontreehouse.bsky.social. Like other games published by @whitethorngames.bsky.social, Mythwrecked features great accessibility and disability representation!

Our open beta is live! 😱 For our most dedicated exorcists, you can now check out new content, bugfixes, & changes ahead of public updates. Welcome to the festering underground that is game development. 🔥 Get access to the beta now (& read more) here! store.steampowered.com/news/app/344...

If you missed our Gender panel event on Tuesday, you can now watch the recording of this fantastic discussion here via our Youtube Channel! Featuring @verysrsgames.com @katexe.bsky.social @tesswatty.bsky.social & @ide4fix.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtP3...

New issue of Classical Receptions Journal Vol. 17, No. 3 (2025) academic.oup.com/crj/issue/17/3 @oxfordacademic.bsky.social @alexvandewalle.bsky.social @crsn-uk.bsky.social

I was never really a fan of Achilles: Legends Untold, and so far the new sequel, Achilles: Survivor, has done little to convince me either - but if you like being endlessly chased by monstrous creatures as a character from (apparently not only Greek) myth, then it might be one to check out!

Incredibly excited to share this collaborative article with @richardcole.bsky.social, out now in Convergence! We hosted an active play experiment to explore how players make choices in historical games, and which role history plays (or doesn't) in this process: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

(Some of) DiGRA Belgium et al. at #DiGRA2025! 😀 Been having a great time in beautiful, sunny Valletta.

Thanks I hate it

I think it's important that we realize that the people who make the film are frequently not the people who make the poster, so the 'defy the gods' tagline might not end up meaning all that much...

First official poster for Christopher Nolan's Odyssey: "Defy the Gods". Below, a toppled statue amid smoke and embers... echoing the subtitle? 🏺 So perhaps we're going with the idea of deicide, which has been very fashionable in pop culture in recent years @alexvandewalle.bsky.social #AncientBlueSky

I have no idea if Japan is always naturally this windy, but I can't deny that it looks gorgeous #AssassinsCreedShadows

Getting ready for #DiGRA2025 in less than two weeks with a presentation on ancient history in asset stores (co-authored with Brent Van Mol), and another on coziness in historical video games. Really looking forward to this year's conference!

A snapshot of Belgian game studies (loosely defined) at #DiGRA2025 - and a nice showcase of the variety of games research being done in our little country! Really looking forward to the conference. Thanks to @evagrosemans.bsky.social for the infographic! 👏

Why are Eurostar waiting areas never big enough to seat all the people who have bought a Eurostar ticket and who will thus be waiting in said area

after four years of incubation, Toroa: Skycall will be fledging this spring! 🐣 🌊 glide as an albatross! 🐧 befriend many little and big guys 🐋 give kelp to a whale 🌪 reunite with your family ⏰ ...official date coming soon... ⏰ wishlist on steam! bit.ly/46fIcXP

Not all treasures are lost… some are just waiting to be reclaimed. Announcing Relooted: An Africanfuturist heist game where you reclaim real African artifacts from Western museums. Please share, & wishlist! youtu.be/KgPxPfXb734 (Wishlist links in next tweet!) @dayofthedevs.org #SummerGameFest

I was honoured to be interviewed for this excellent and thought-provoking piece: a must-read for all game studies/reception scholars interested in mythology! ⚡⚡⚡📜

New paper alert! 📢 In this article, I explore how different game design motivations impact mythological characters in video games, based on interviews with the people behind Apotheon, Hades, and Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island: academic.oup.com/crj/advance-...

That's the highest praise one can get 😀 Thank you so much for your thoughts and presence, and to all of our wonderful participants! #mythgames2025 @alexvandewalle.bsky.social

That's a wrap on #MythGames2025! Sincerely, thanks to everyone who attended and participated - this could not have been a better experience. Everyone was so supportive, active, and inspiring throughout three full days of conferencing. It might've been online, but it didn't feel like it! Thanks!

Aaand we're now moving to @maciejpaprocki.bsky.social's closing remarks! #MythGames2025

Starting in 10 minutes, our final panel of the conference #MythGames2025: Games and Mythography! We've got several papers that explore the mythographical qualities of video games, as well as the people who play them!