Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games by Andrew Reinhard presents not only an archaeology of the recent past but also an archaeology of our present and future. Through applications of archaeological methods, contemporary theoretical approaches in archaeology, and principles of archaeological ethics, Reinhard analyzes the players of video games and the synthetic worlds they create and inhabit, as well as the “real world” processes, materials, and histories of the video game industry.
One does not need to be an avid gamer to follow the author's arguments and discussions. Reinhard emphasizes that his book is intended to be an introductory discussion of the intersection between archaeology and video games across both real and digital worlds—and a consideration of how the digital worlds of video games create an archaeological record worthy of study. More than a mere application of archaeology to a hobby, this interesting and engaging book is a deep and complex exploration of a human phenomenon embedded in society through the interpretive perspective of an archaeologist and “archaeogamer.”
Reinhard broadly defines his original term “archaeogaming” as the archaeological study both in and of digital games. He expands on the following five “themes” in his conceptualization of archaeogaming as (1) the study of physical aspects of video games, (2) the study of archaeology within videogames, (3) the application of archaeological methods to synthetic space, (4) understanding how players see and interact with a digital world, and (5) the archaeology of game mechanics and the entanglements of code and players.
Reinhard is an archaeologist of the recent past, inhabiting a research realm in contemporary archaeology that is focused on post-industrialism and late-stage capitalism. This perspective is apparent in his discussion of the 2014 Atari Burial Ground project, which focused on intersections of urban legend, archaeology (and “garbology”), and capitalism. The application of archaeological method and theory to the study of relatively recent events and cultural phenomena memorialized in early internet conspiracy and pop culture serves as an effective introduction to the central concepts of archaeogaming. The archaeology of the material remains of a video game—in this case, Atari game cartridges and consoles—opens up conversations about what can be considered to be archaeological artifacts. Things become artifacts through the knowledge generated from studying them, not from age or rarity.
Knowledge runs both ways, as illustrated in the author's discussion of archaeological tropes in video games. Most concerning to Reinhard is that archaeology-related storylines or quests often encourage players to loot artifacts. Acquiring rare items is a major objective in many games, no matter the ethical murkiness surrounding the removal of ancient artifacts from tombs or other contexts. In-game looting ignores the importance of archaeological context and renders artifacts as mere objects of value—concepts that drive the illegal antiquities trade across our very real world. Reinhard challenges the archaeogamer to navigate video game storylines in an ethical manner, such as refusing to complete a quest so as not to loot artifacts—a task that may leave quests (and games) unfinished. Leaving this solution to the player, however, may not impact the development of ethical archaeology in video games.
The primary topic of Archaeogaming is, perhaps, the application of archaeological methods and theory to the study of digital spaces. Much like an archaeological site, a video game is the culmination of several processes that leave behind clues to how the game was created, inhabited, reoccupied, and abandoned. An archaeogamer can study a video game site externally, through its coding history; physically, through its installation media and digital directories; or internally, through playing and inhabiting the game space. Analyses of video games as sites are framed within landscape archaeology and are focused particularly on how humans create and dwell within synthetic landscapes.
How, then, does an archaeogamer conduct fieldwork within a digital space? An archaeogamer needs tools, methods, surveys, excavation techniques, and so on, all of which, Reinhard argues, can be easily adapted from “dirt archaeology.” He illustrates such fieldwork through his own archaeological survey of the procedurally generated world of the game No Man's Sky, presenting a detailed and mostly successful archaeogaming research project.
Humans are becoming entangled with virtual spaces, creating both digital and physical artifacts for archaeogamers to study. Digital media, both the virtual worlds and their physical manifestations, are now another facet of the modern cultural landscape—at least in those parts of the world where digital infrastructure is well developed and widely accessible. This point answers a question I had while reading Archaeogaming: why should we be interested in the archaeology of video games? Reinhard's book has widened the view of what archaeology can do in an era where humans are expanding both their existence and modes of communication and interaction through digital means. While archaeologists are, of course, interested in the past, Archaeogaming reminds us of an important dimension of the present and pushes us toward our future.
