Papers Please: The Power at Checkpoint Charlie
Playing With The Past
" One US soldier, who had been ordered to figure this out, actually hopped in a tank…." On today's episode, I am going discuss the game Papers Please and Checkpoint Charlie. Sources Checkpoint Charlie - Gate to Communism - U.S. Army in Cold War Berlin Video, 2012. . MacGregor, Iain. Checkpoint Charlie: The Cold War, The Berlin Wall, and the Most Dangerous Place On Earth. New York: Scribner, 2019. Roos, Dave. “How Germany Was Divided After World War II.” HISTORY. Accessed December 8, 2022. .
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A Few of my Favorite Things
Playing With The Past
In this episode, I do something a little different and talk about my top 5 favorite medievalisms in video games.
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Dracula: Impaler or Vampire
Playing With The Past
"One time he in 1462, he left thousands of impaled victims impaled on a field after retreating from a battle." In this episode, I discuss the actual Dracula who lived and two Dracula games. Sources mentioned in the episode. Florescu, Radu, and Raymond T. McNally. 1994. In Search Of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires. Subsequent edition. Boston: Mariner Books.
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Zelda: The Art of Side Quests
Playing With The Past
"Lacy also uses the example of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, if you haven't watched it, stop listening and go watch." In this episode, I will discuss side quests in two Zelda games and side quests in some of the medieval romances. Sources mentioned in the episode. Howard, Jeff. 2008. Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives. 1st edition. A K Peters/CRC Press. Lacy, Norris J. 2000. “From Medieval to Post-Modern: The Arthurian Quest in France.” South Atlantic Review 65 (2): 114–33. .
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Northgard: A Brief History of Viking Ships
Playing With The Past
These ships and their high speeds were a cornerstone of the Viking hit-and-run raiding technique. In this episode, I will discuss Viking ships and their use in the game Northgard.
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Crusader King III: Becoming King of England
Playing With The Past
"Things were not all sunshine and daisy, though." In this episode, I will discuss the game Crusader Kings III again, along with the formation of England as a nation during the middle ages. Sources mentioned in this episode: Magazine, Smithsonian, and Mary Rambaran-Olm Wade Erik. n.d. “The Many Myths of the Term ‘Anglo-Saxon.’” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed September 1, 2022. . Morris, Marc. 2021. The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066. Pegasus Books
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Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood
Playing With The Past
"There are giant sacks of gold in the castle." In this episode, I will discuss the Sheriff of Nottingham board game and a brief history of the Robin Hood stories. Sources mentioned in the episode. Baldwin, David. 2012. Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked. Amberley Publishing.
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Coup D'etat
Playing With The Past
"After continuing to be an absolutely heinous person he was assassinated." In this episode I discuss the board game Coup and Maximilian Robespierre and Rafael Trujillo along with the coups both men were involved in. Sources mentioned in this episode “Coup.” n.d. BoardGameGeek. Accessed August 3, 2022. . “Definition of COUP D’ÉTAT.” n.d. Accessed August 2, 2022. .
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Hades: The Greek Escape
Playing With The Past
"It is so easy as a child to see your parents and other adults in black and white terms when in reality we are all shades of grey." In this episode, I discuss the video game Hades, Greek Myths, and whether or not the game is a Greek Myth. Sources mentioned in this episode. Buxton, Richard. 2004. The Complete World of Greek Mythology. London: Thames & Hudson.
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Fallout New Vegas: Its The End Of The World As We Know It
Playing With The Past
"The Black Plague was just shit icing on the cake for Europe." In this episode, I discuss several times when the apocalypse was supposed to happen and the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout New Vegas. No sources were mentioned specifically in this episode but for a full list see
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On this episode, I discuss all the different ways to die in the Oregon Trail game and what the reality of those deaths were like.
Sources mentioned in the episode
CDC. “Measles Signs and Symptoms.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 5, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/symptoms/signs-symptoms.html.
The New York Times. “A Trail of 35,000 Lost Lives and a Grave Every 80 Yards,” May 30, 1993, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/30/us/a-trail-of-35000-lost-lives-and-a-grave-every-80-yards.html.
“Dangers - Learn What Dangers Pioneers Faced on Their Oregon Trail Journey.” Accessed March 14, 2022. https://oregontrailcenter.org/dangers.