Episode 32 of The Burning Archive is now available at Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Could computer games be the last best hope of culture vultures and history buffs? Should we turn to the dragon-slayers of Skyrim to save the treasures of the past from the dragon fire of the Burning Archive? Can we find solace in literature by reading the magical tomes of the floating city of Dalaran as it is imagined in that great total art work (Gesamtkunstwerk) of our times, World of Warcraft? In this playful episode of The Burning Archive, special guest and recent Monash University graduate, Isaac Rich poses six questions about history drawn from his scholarship of gaming. The question is – will the Burning Archive be prepared?
With thanks to all the game developers, artists and crafts who made these worlds, this Burning Archive is for all the players.
Credits for the material used in the show:
- Skyrim – excerpt from game trailer
- Civilization – small excerpt of sound effects, defeat of civilization music and voice Civ VI
- World of Warcraft – music from Dalaran and original game login screen, in game cut scene audio
- Vikings – brief excerpt from opening music
- Assassin’s Creed II – excerpt from game trailer