Game History: Innovazione didattica tra gioco e realtà

Once considered responsible for violent and offensive behaviors of young people, the game world, considered in its wider sense, is today celebrated for its power to transform didactic techniques and learning practices. History is inside this "gamification" process that focuses on the idea of inoculating deep learning within a pleasant experience: digital gaming, in fact, offers the chance to experience the execution of development goals of historical knowledge without being aware of the objective itself (knowledge by stealth, or "in hidden mode"). But the world of game history, as articulation of public history, is no longer addressed only to young people and students but to a more adult audience, who demands an high level of historical authenticity. Gaming products employ more and more academics to search for content, advise developers, and provide the player with support material to improve his in-game experiences. If we accept games as facilitators of historical knowledge, it's easy to think how these can offer the player experiences of identifying actions and decision-making processes of past actors. The game history's ability to play can in fact provide an in-depth understanding of facts, dates, people and events, but also the complex network of conditions, contingencies, errors and circumstances that contribute to a true understanding of history.