ALA Recognizes National Gaming Day
Via Kotaku, a piece on Reuters today reminds me that November 14, this Saturday, is the second annual National Gaming day. That's right, the American Library Association has put up a site with a list of participating libraries and activies.
Goals this year:
- Raise awareness about the use of games as a library program;
- Expose people to new types of board games;
- Establish connections between local board game groups and the library.
The article linked takes a bit of a step back to speculate about videogames, specifically. Apparently libraries will offer a chance to play games, but not just any (after all, ratings will also play a key point). The focus is on games that have historical weight, whether or not that is explicit. Examples are games like the upcoming Assassin's Creed 2, particularly the focus on a younger version of Leonardo Da Vinci than to whom we are more accustomed (though I still lament Commedia Dell'Arte acting troupes into which I can lose myself and improv). Taking historical figures and putting them in games is certainly one method of such a historical overview, but there is also a mention of just creating the general ambiance of a time period, from the fashions to architecture, and even social conventions.
The issue not discussed is how accurate these depictions may be, or if there are problem areas (such as with Velvet Assassin, where a woman who had been raped and executed by Nazis took morphine to run around in a slip with flowers on screen). Then again, how many films and novels are questionable about the history they depict? Are games a good first step into historicism and the skepticism we are should bring to reading anything regarding history, even primary documents?
After all, what is history but a fable agreed upon?
VorpalBunny
Posted to Miscellany on 12 November 2009
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