Do we need gamographs?

Museum people know that every historical exhibition needs to be curated. The curator is responsible for the content of an exhibition, makes the choice of the objects, writes the texts. He coordinates the exhibition project and, together with the exhibition designer he decides about the dramaturgy of the show. Museum experts André Gob and Noémie Drouguet argue that the curator is responsible for the museography* of an exhibition.

The fact is that many of today’s people spend a substantial amount of time playing entertainment games. Beside the commercial games, so called “serious games” have emerged. These are games are created for a primary purpose other than entertainment. As in any commercial game the players pursue a quest, in which there are both protagonists and antagonists. They must overcome obstacles to achieve a reward. The quests of serious historical games will familiarize the players with basic methods of historical and archaeological research.  As they play the game they will analyze data and draw conclusions. They will be investigators examining the information provided in the course of the games.

To some extend we can compare serious historical games to interactive historical exhibitions.

Like commercial games, serious games are created by game designers. But who curates the content? Isn’t there a need for a new type of public historians, that we could call “gamographs”? The gamograph would be responsible for the content of the game, would advise the game designers on the historical settings and many things more?   What are the skills needed to become a gamograph?  And who is going to teach these skills to history students?

 

 

*André Gob, Noémie

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