[tl;dr: from now on, Paizomen will start publishing blog posts spontaneously – i.e., upon submission at any point throughout the year – rather than through annual series. Information and details below!]
Hi everyone,
In 2021 and 2022, Paizomen hosted four series of blog posts on various topics of the reception of the ancient world in video games. Topics covered were ‘The Mechanics of Antiquity’ (2021), ‘Britannia on the Board’ (2021), ‘Entering The Forgotten City’ (2022) and ‘The Hidden Gems of Ludic Antiquity’ (2022). Since the beginning, the goal of these blog series has been to offer a platform for further discussions of antiquity and games, beyond the traditional venues of academia, in hopes of reaching a wider audience and lowering the threshold to engage in such conversations. Seeing the different online venues that these posts were shared and discussed in, ranging from scholarly networks on social media, academic publications, and dedicated game forums, is a real joy. Once again, I’d like to thank everyone who has submitted a blog post in the past, as well as everyone who’s tuned in and followed the discussions posted here!
I’m very happy to announce that, going forward, the database will continue to publish blog posts! That being said, the form in which the site will publish blog posts will change somewhat. From now on (and starting in as little as two days!), Paizomen will start publishing blog posts throughout the year, on a more spontaneous basis, rather than the deadline-focused blog series that we’ve organized in the past. In other words, interested authors (scholars, students, designers, and many more) can now reach out at any time with an idea or text they’d like to publish on the site, rather than being restricted in content or timeframe to do so. In the current absence of a dedicated archaeogaming or historical game studies journal, it is our hope that Paizomen can thus serve as a persistent and accessible platform for engaged discussions on antiquity games.
A more ‘formal’ document detailing the specifics of blog post submission will arrive at a later date, but starting now, interested authors are free to get in touch via alexander.vandewalle[at]uantwerpen.be at any time. Blog posts are generally between 1,000 and 2,500 words (but lengths can vary), can use any academic reference system, and may revolve around any topic related to ‘antiquity’ (very broadly defined, and by no means restricted to the Greco-Roman world) and video games.
In other good news? It’s not a long wait before the first new blog posts come out! This Friday, August 25, Natalie J. Swain kicks off our reorganized blog with the first of a two-part discussion on classical reception in the Dragon Age series (2009-2014). Framing the in-game Tevinter civilization as a reception of ancient Rome, Swain discusses how the series effectively warns against imperialism and engages with popular(ized) ideas of Rome’s decline in uncommon ways.
Looking forward to it!
All the best,
Alex
Paizomen 