Many historians of a certain age admit that the game reinforced their passion for the past and got them into the field. Four of them explain what drew them in
y dad is the kind of man who will find a game he enjoys and stick to it. While I have always flitted about, hopping between different genres, he remains the only person I know who does absolutelyit has to offer. When people ask, “who actually finishes these enormous games?”, I can respond with confidence that it is a geordie man in his 60s with a love of Lego and creative swearing. Age of Empires II had a grip on him for well over a decade.
When I got old enough, I picked up my dad’s interest in the game, and it was one of my earliest exposures to historical media. I do think it helped develop my own engagement with history, which eventually led to me becoming a historian. I’m not alone in this. When I speak at conferences about history and video games, I have on many occasions had historians of a certain age sheepishly approach me to say that Age of Empires II got them into this field.
While I am sure there are many military historians whose passionate interest in trebuchets started with this strategy game, my own historical expertise is in the social and cultural. Playing through Age of Empires II’s scenarios and watching my dad endlessly battle against the computer really highlighted to me that it wasn’t the knights or castles that interested me – it was the villagers.
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