Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent pedagogical research has shown that “flipping the classroom,” or shifting education from an emphasis on traditional lectures and exams to more active, student-led projects, improves morale and information retention. Beyond the classroom, interactive projects are useful tools for engaging with the public and specific stakeholders about cultural heritage. While some lecture content is necessary and valuable, these higher-impact practices can help archaeological professionals bridge educational gaps and reach wider audiences than ever before. This symposium explores several applications of gaming and game design (broadly conceived) for archaeological education and outreach. Discussing topics such as analog role-playing games, tabletop games, video games, virtual reality, and even “gamified” syllabi and course structures, these presentations consider a few ways we might employ gaming to foster fun, engaging interactions with students and the public.

Other Keywords
Education/Pedagogy • digital archaeology • Media and Social Media • Education • Experimental Archaeology • Black History • Teaching • Trade and exchange • Pedagogy • Historic

Geographic Keywords
United States of America (Country) • North America (Continent) • North America • United Mexican States (Country) • Department of Martinique (Country) • Republic of El Salvador (Country) • Department of Guadeloupe (Country) • Cayman Islands (Country) • Antigua and Barbuda (Country) • Turks and Caicos Islands (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)

  • Documents (10)
Documents
  • Archaeological Games Don’t Have to Be Fair, and Breaking the Rules Is Okay (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Justin Williams.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Many game players work under the assumption that all games need to be fair and balanced. Additionally, many assume that rules-based actions are at the center of gaming. This, however, is not the case when using games in the classroom. Having used games in the classroom for over 10 years, I’ve concluded that the...

  • Bringing the Creed to the Classroom: Assassin's Creed as a Pedagogical Tool (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lisa DeLance.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Starting with the release of the titular game in 2007, creators of the Assassin’s Creed franchise have been showcasing the historical and archaeological record, bringing the past into our living and dorm rooms. Although criticism of the franchise focuses on the pseudoarchaeological connecting storyline, the...

  • Experiencing Trade and Exchange: Teaching Archaeological Concepts through Role-Playing Games (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Danny Sosa Aguilar. Felicia De Peña.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. When teaching about archaeological concepts on trade and exchange, typically, theoretical models dominate the classroom lecture and discussions. Traditional theoretical discussions limit explanations to biological, social, environmental, or religious reasons. Although lectures and discussions are useful, they...

  • Game Save Data Is Missing or Cannot Be Read: A Twenty-First-Century Crisis of Digital Archaeological Site Loss (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Anthony DeLuca.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In 2023, the first study of its kind by the Video Game History Foundation determined that 87% of video games made before 2010 are critically endangered. What was once considered a fun but silly form of entertainment has grown into a multibillion-dollar global industry spawning competitive scholastic and...

  • Learning to Navigate Cultural Resource Managment through a Simulated Tabletop Game (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Matthew Des Lauriers.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. While the use of simulations in educational contexts for archaeology is not new, the ways in which this approach have been employed have not fully explored the higher-level educational benefits possible. Many simulations focus on the general concepts of archaeology, rather than viewing them as genuine...

  • Producing a Digital Interpretive Environment: The Role of Digital Documentation and Game Engines in Reaching New Audiences with Critical Stories of the Past (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Stefan Woehlke. Evan Dame. Amir King. Olivia Meoni. Justin Mohammadi.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Two goals of the North Brentwood Digital Heritage and Archaeology Project are educational outreach and restorative justice. Digital documentation and gaming are an increasingly important part of those efforts. Multiple classes of students have taken an active role in engaging with the community to provide...

  • The Status of Roman Archaeogaming: Serious Games for Archaeological Education and Outreach of Ancient Rome (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kaitlyn Kingsland.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The digital turn in archaeology sees an increased interest in combining gaming and archaeology. Integrating serious games with archaeology demonstrates benefits for the public of all ages and background to learn about the past in the classroom, at cultural heritage institutions, and at home. This paper seeks to...

  • Striking a Balance: Ethical and Methodological Challenges in Virtual Reality Experience Design for Cultural Heritage Applications (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Eric Heller. Benjamin Bellorado.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Virtual reality is a valuable tool for public engagement and education, offering an immersive platform for the exploration of archaeological and cultural heritage landscapes. While not a gaming endeavor, cultural heritage VR draws from 3D gaming technologies and techniques to create the platform at the heart of...

  • Teaching Archaeological Epistemology through Tabletop Gaming (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only David S. Anderson.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. More often than not, the general public learns about archaeology through flashy headlines proclaiming glamorous finds and grand interpretations with little to no explanation of how those conclusions are drawn. As a result, students in their first archaeology class struggle to understand the reasons behind...

  • The Uprising: A Role-Playing Game as an Educational Aid in an Archaeology Seminar Course (2024)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Guy Hepp.

    This is an abstract from the "Leveling Up: Gaming and Game Design in Archaeological Education and Outreach" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In this paper, I discuss an analog role-playing game (RPG) entitled “The Uprising,” which I designed for an undergraduate university course on the archaeology of the senses. I reflect on how gaming in the classroom builds on recent pedagogical research and promotes participation not possible with traditional...