00:00A major problem with portraying history in games is the fact that they're interactive.
00:06You make your own decisions, but historical figures often did not have this freedom of choice.
00:15That means when portraying the perspective of victims, game designers have to be very precise.
00:22Not every soldier had a chance to survive the war thanks to combat skills.
00:26And not every prisoner could escape their tormentors through clever behavior.
00:32Yet war games are almost always about winning, something that historically wasn't always possible.
00:41An exciting development in historical games is that they're moving away from these classic historical military scenarios
00:48and perspectives other than those of a soldier are now appearing in games,
00:52such as lawyers, civilians and resistance fighters.
00:58This expands the diversity of perspectives in computer games as well.
01:05A current example is the game The Darkest Files.
01:08Players take on the role of a prosecutor who investigates Nazi crimes in the aftermath of World War II.
01:13The award-winning indie studio Paint Bucket Games combines 3D environments with comic book elements and powerful dialogue.
01:24Will you ever send any death threats?
01:27Yes, quite a few.
01:29Topics such as Nazism, Racism and Discrimination are conveyed in a playful and atmospheric way.
01:34Gamers learn historical facts and sometimes want to learn more.
01:39Discussions continue in often unmoderated forums for these games.
01:43There aren't historians in there saying, no, that's not what really happened.
01:54That's dangerous, because these discussions can take place without any guidance.
01:59Malicious actors can intervene and debates can be manipulated.
02:03You see this a lot when it comes to diversity or the lack thereof.
02:09For example in medieval scenarios.
02:15The game Assassin's Creed Shadows was heavily criticised for featuring a black samurai.
02:20Critics said this wouldn't have existed in Japan at the time,
02:24even though he was based on a real-life historical figure.
02:27The target of the criticism became Professor Sachi Schmidt-Hori,
02:30who had helped the company Ubisoft to check its game dialogue for accuracy.
02:35Since no one was defending her online, the professor decided to respond herself.
02:41I just started writing back, like, hey, you are writing about me,
02:47talking about me, about you, and I talk.
02:51In response, many of them were just surprised that I replied,
02:56and many of them apologized took down what they had posted.
03:07.
03:11.
03:17.
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