Counter narratives of war in video games

Video games have seeped into the educational field. While varied in their form, the essence of video games in education relies on gamification, the process of wrapping the same old curriculum in a shinier new package. Video games in public schools are used to further a curriculum stripped of any criticality. My presentation focuses on the potential for social justice, critical pedagogy, and imagination which has been widely ignored in schooling. I will show some of the critical possibilities video games offer through the case study of “Soldats Inconnus: mémoires de la grande guerre.” This video game places players in the shoes of five different characters during World War 1: a French grandfather, his German son in law, an American soldier, a Belgian veterinarian, and a German military dog. The story and the game play offer intertwining perspectives. The game offers a counter narrative on war that goes against hegemonic views of honor and bravery. I will analyze the choice of the game designers to build their counter narrative around five playable characters and argue that such video games have their place in a critical video gaming pedagogy