Esther Wright

This.

Call for Contributions - Fictions | Historical Games Network Our theme of Fictions started with a HGN | IWM panel at the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Curious Festival. You can read more about the event on the Historical Games Network blog and you can watch the ...

We're happy to announce the call for contributions for our new HGN theme: Fictions! Following a successful event last month, this theme explores the relationship between history and fiction in games, and how they shape each other.
www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...

#gamestudies #gamingthepast

I’m over here trying to enjoy PSLF and this comes across my screen. Sigh. IGN claims his classes are “a world first.” FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD, EVERYONE!!!! NEVER BEEN DONE BY ANYONE EVER!!!!

Meanwhile, I and many others have been doing this for a decade or more.

I am so, so tired, friend.

You’ve done awesome work!

Send me an email! :)

Reviewer 2's Review of Red Dead's History — History Respawned I promised myself I would never write a negative book review. I promised my PhD advisor I would never write a negative book review. I promised I would always find a silver lining in any piece of aca...

www.historyrespawned.com/home/2025/7/...

& I wasn’t paying £3k+ myself to make this open access (sorry), but you should just go and read @whitakeralmanac.bsky.social ‘s review, if you haven’t already

Games deserve to be treated seriously in their own right, not just as a fun hook for a book.

The irony of this being categorised in the AHR’s ‘methods and theory’ section of their book reviews wasn’t lost on me.

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)

Thanks for sharing Alyssa! It’s annoying that it’s paywalled for anyone who doesn’t have an institutional subscription, but then, everyone should just go read @whitakeralmanac.bsky.social ‘s review anyway

Recording: Unreal Pasts, Playful Presents (RSE Curious Festival 2025) | Historical Games Network On 10th September 2025, in collaboration with the Imperial War Museums Institute, the HGN hosted a panel discussion event at the Royal Society of Edinburgh‘s Curious Festival 2025, in Edinburgh, UK. ‘...

Last week we hosted a discussion panel at the @royalsoced.bsky.social Curious Festival. Our brilliant speakers (incl. @chriskempshall.bsky.social @drtimpeacock.bsky.social) explored history & fantasy in games & media. Find the recording here if you missed it!
www.historicalgames.net/recording-un...

For those who missed this wonderful event and discussion, it's now available in YouTube form! www.youtube.com/live/blXnnwc...

🗃️

This event is happening on Wednesday! I think there's still time to book a place for either in person or to attend online and watch some very smart people (and me) talk about history and fantasy in games and media! 🗃️

This sort of thing came up again in conversation today.

I do not believe that UK universities (as institutions) are fully preparing their PhD students and staff for non-academic life & options.

I will happily come and talk to students & staff about my experiences & tips etc if universites pay me 🗃️

Please somebody do this

I made this today to (less eloquently) express the same feeling (of rage):

a group of cartoon characters standing under a sign that says thank you ALT: a group of cartoon characters standing under a sign that says thank you

Last week we hosted the fantastic Otherworldly Entertainment conference on horror, gothic & occult themed videogames @ucph.bsky.social. It was such an inspiring event with so many great talks incl. keynotes by @enwright.bsky.social & @kirstinmills.bsky.social. Thanks to everyone who participated!

🧵 Next month, Dr @enwright.bsky.social is co-running and chairing a panel with the @historygamesnet.bsky.social and the Imperial War Museums Institute as part of the @royalsoced.bsky.social's Curious Festival.

Sooo I guess I now get to say that I am one of the writers working on this incredibly cool game 🎉

They Don’t Want Folk Like Us No More: Butcher’s Crossing and RDR2 The Western novel by John Williams that helped inspire RDR2. Plus, the game's secret monument to the Civil War.

History hidden in plain sight in RDR2! And how John Williams's excellent novel Butcher's Crossing influenced the game, especially Dutch Van der Linde.

readdead.com/2025/08/06/t...

Sharing this again because the deadline is coming up on the 8th.

Can confirm that it is always a good idea to get a historian to work on your game.

Yes even if your game does not have a historical setting.

(I am maybe biased but I stand by it)

YouTube video by Historical Games Network Historical Games Network Discussion Panel: Gender (29th July 2025)

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...

A short piece by me on early modern ships’ surgeons and emotions!

An image showing 4 graphs. The top two are based on demographic data for the population of Louisiana in 1900, by race and gender. The bottom two are based on the same demographic analysis of major characters in Red Dead Redemption 2, published on readdead.com

Oops, gotta add another post. As @readdead.com demonstrates in this post, this analysis shatters any claims towards “historical reality” R* might be purporting to show, in favour of, effectively, a white male fantasy space. Again, not a shocker, is it.

readdead.com/2025/07/02/w...

@katexe.bsky.social may be of interest to you, too, given the research you’re working on and yesterday’s panel discussion…

…The least surprising bit being that there are than >4x more men than women characters in the game, and significantly more white characters than any other racial or ethnic background. (2/2)

RDR2 Demographic Data An overview of race, gender, and disability in RDR2.

Apropos the recent RDR2-adjacent *discourse*, @readdead.com’s work is a phenomenally in depth consideration of RDR2’s literary, cultural & historical contexts. You should check it out, incl. this hugely valuable demographic assessment of all significant characters (1/2)
readdead.com/2025/07/02/r...

Sir Charlotte, la bonne chevalière: Playing with Gender in The Knight & the Maiden | Historical Games Network A long time ago, in a world almost, but not quite, like our own… The city-state of Castamont, a centre of scholarship and commerce on the shores of the scenic Ousarine Bay, is buzzing with excitement!...

New post! Ahead of tomorrow’s panel Andreas Kjeldsen (@verysrsgames.com) discusses forthcoming comedic narrative adventure The Knight & the Maiden, where players solve puzzles to unfold the story of a noblewoman’s quest (& her many gendered disguises):

www.historicalgames.net/playing-with...