Robert Houghton
@robehoughton.bsky.social
Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Winchester. Author of The Middle Ages in Computer Games. Co-organiser of the Middle Ages in Modern Games conference. Italy; Investiture Contest; Games.
Pinned
The Middle Ages in Computer Games - Boydell and Brewer
Offers the most comprehensive analysis and discussion of medievalist computer games to date.Games with a medieval setting are commercially lucrative and reac...
boydellandbrewer.com
My book, The Middle Ages in Computer Games, is out on 5 November. It's almost certainly the most extensive consideration of the theme to date touching on games from Age of Conan to Zork. The digital version is £20 and you can get a 35% discount with code BB35 on boydellandbrewer.com/978184384729...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
📣 DEMO OUT NOW 🎮
FOLK EMERGING is a
🔥 stone Age
🦣 nomadic
⏳ turn-based
⬢ 4X strategy
Play the demo here 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/4352180?...
FOLK EMERGING is a
🔥 stone Age
🦣 nomadic
⏳ turn-based
⬢ 4X strategy
Play the demo here 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/4352180?...
January 30, 2026 at 3:05 PM
📣 DEMO OUT NOW 🎮
FOLK EMERGING is a
🔥 stone Age
🦣 nomadic
⏳ turn-based
⬢ 4X strategy
Play the demo here 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/4352180?...
FOLK EMERGING is a
🔥 stone Age
🦣 nomadic
⏳ turn-based
⬢ 4X strategy
Play the demo here 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/4352180?...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Publication Day! Very pleased to see 'Audio-visual Roman Women: Gender, History and Screen Media' come out today, complete with my chapter on the agency of the female protagonist in Expeditions Rome.
Open access here: www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-de...
Open access here: www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-de...
January 8, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Publication Day! Very pleased to see 'Audio-visual Roman Women: Gender, History and Screen Media' come out today, complete with my chapter on the agency of the female protagonist in Expeditions Rome.
Open access here: www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-de...
Open access here: www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph-de...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
My paper "'Was Barbarossa Not German?!' Nation, History, and Identity in Civilization Players’ Online Discussions" has just been published in the new issue of Eludamos! Very happy to see this out in the world
eludamos.org/index.php/el...
eludamos.org/index.php/el...
“Was Barbarossa not German?!” : Nation, history, and identity in Civilization players’ online discussions
| Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture
eludamos.org
December 19, 2025 at 9:43 AM
My paper "'Was Barbarossa Not German?!' Nation, History, and Identity in Civilization Players’ Online Discussions" has just been published in the new issue of Eludamos! Very happy to see this out in the world
eludamos.org/index.php/el...
eludamos.org/index.php/el...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
CounterPlay - another play conference:
www.counterplay.org
www.counterplay.org
CounterPlay – Making Playful Society Prototypes since 2014
www.counterplay.org
December 17, 2025 at 7:14 PM
CounterPlay - another play conference:
www.counterplay.org
www.counterplay.org
Reposted by Robert Houghton
If you love play, this should be of interest:
The Playful Learning Conference (1st-3rd July, 2026) is open for submissions. Get those ideas submitted by the 2nd Feb!
Theme this year is "into the woods."
playfullearningassoc.co.uk/submit-a-ses...
The Playful Learning Conference (1st-3rd July, 2026) is open for submissions. Get those ideas submitted by the 2nd Feb!
Theme this year is "into the woods."
playfullearningassoc.co.uk/submit-a-ses...
Submit a Session for PL26 – Playful Learning Association
playfullearningassoc.co.uk
December 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
If you love play, this should be of interest:
The Playful Learning Conference (1st-3rd July, 2026) is open for submissions. Get those ideas submitted by the 2nd Feb!
Theme this year is "into the woods."
playfullearningassoc.co.uk/submit-a-ses...
The Playful Learning Conference (1st-3rd July, 2026) is open for submissions. Get those ideas submitted by the 2nd Feb!
Theme this year is "into the woods."
playfullearningassoc.co.uk/submit-a-ses...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Excited to be doing two talks this week in Istanbul on the Ottoman game projects I have worked on! Thanks to Tommaso Stefini for helping to organize the talk at Sabancı Uni. (Tuesday) and Emir Alışık for helping to organize the conversation and Q and A at ANAMED (Thursday) #gamedev #ottoman
December 13, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Reposted by Robert Houghton
And now, Writing Game Histories (2026) with cover art (courtesy of @murthynikhil.bsky.social’s Syphilisation)
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
December 13, 2025 at 9:19 AM
And now, Writing Game Histories (2026) with cover art (courtesy of @murthynikhil.bsky.social’s Syphilisation)
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Interested in game-writing?
In early 2026 we'll be publishing a kaleidoscope: short articles by 100+ game writers - experts, freelancers, and juniors - about the craft.
~1/3 of them are in: multiple bangers, from some very famous names and games.
Sign up to be notified when it's ready here:
In early 2026 we'll be publishing a kaleidoscope: short articles by 100+ game writers - experts, freelancers, and juniors - about the craft.
~1/3 of them are in: multiple bangers, from some very famous names and games.
Sign up to be notified when it's ready here:
Sign up for news about the Game Writing Kaleidoscope
In early 2026 we’ll be publishing The Game Narrative Kaleidoscope, a collection of over 100 short essays by game writers about writing.
Featuring some very famous names, some highly experienced free...
forms.gle
December 11, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Interested in game-writing?
In early 2026 we'll be publishing a kaleidoscope: short articles by 100+ game writers - experts, freelancers, and juniors - about the craft.
~1/3 of them are in: multiple bangers, from some very famous names and games.
Sign up to be notified when it's ready here:
In early 2026 we'll be publishing a kaleidoscope: short articles by 100+ game writers - experts, freelancers, and juniors - about the craft.
~1/3 of them are in: multiple bangers, from some very famous names and games.
Sign up to be notified when it's ready here:
Reposted by Robert Houghton
I wrote a new article: it’s on the Fallout franchise, & it’s just been published in Games&Culture
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
December 8, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I wrote a new article: it’s on the Fallout franchise, & it’s just been published in Games&Culture
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
I’m currently trying to wrap my head around a bigger project on historical video game promotion and branding & this article is a slice (in progress) of that
+ it’s open access!
doi.org/10.1177/1555...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
A short message in English and then Spanish. Looking forward to presenting in Uruguay next week 😊 I'll be talking about the #EAD methods (Enhanced Audio Description) - our work on sound design for accessibility. For more information on our work, please visit our website enhancingaudiodescription.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
A short message in English and then Spanish. Looking forward to presenting in Uruguay next week 😊 I'll be talking about the #EAD methods (Enhanced Audio Description) - our work on sound design for accessibility. For more information on our work, please visit our website enhancingaudiodescription.com
Reposted by Robert Houghton
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
November 26, 2025 at 3:29 PM
For those who enjoy ebooks on Kindle, it seems that 'Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire' is *massively* discounted today down to $1.99 in the US and £7.99 in the UK. Which feels like a pretty good deal really.
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
US: www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Ri...
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ri...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Some Sunday ready over on the HGN blog! Today’s new post from @xurvermilion.bsky.social explores the potential of videogames as a way of engaging students with historical research, and key skills in critical analysis:
www.historicalgames.net/students-his...
www.historicalgames.net/students-his...
Why should students care about historymaking in videogames? | Historical Games Network
We might spend time exploring zora monoliths in Breath of the Wild’s (2017) Hyrule and the tales they speak around kings of old, or snooping through an item’s description (such as a holy great sword, ...
www.historicalgames.net
November 23, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Some Sunday ready over on the HGN blog! Today’s new post from @xurvermilion.bsky.social explores the potential of videogames as a way of engaging students with historical research, and key skills in critical analysis:
www.historicalgames.net/students-his...
www.historicalgames.net/students-his...
I'm delighted to be part of this volume with a plethora of awesome people. The immediate paperback edition is an additional nice touch.
A project that started with a DiGRA23 workshop is finally, nearly out in the world! Coming May 2026 from Bloomsbury’s Writing History series, Writing Games Histories is a collection of essays on historical game studies methods&approaches. Find the ToC here:
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
Writing Game Histories
This book offers an accessible introduction to the dynamic intersection between history and games, and the flourishing discipline of Historical Game Studies. Fr…
www.bloomsbury.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I'm delighted to be part of this volume with a plethora of awesome people. The immediate paperback edition is an additional nice touch.
Reposted by Robert Houghton
A project that started with a DiGRA23 workshop is finally, nearly out in the world! Coming May 2026 from Bloomsbury’s Writing History series, Writing Games Histories is a collection of essays on historical game studies methods&approaches. Find the ToC here:
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
Writing Game Histories
This book offers an accessible introduction to the dynamic intersection between history and games, and the flourishing discipline of Historical Game Studies. Fr…
www.bloomsbury.com
November 8, 2025 at 9:39 AM
A project that started with a DiGRA23 workshop is finally, nearly out in the world! Coming May 2026 from Bloomsbury’s Writing History series, Writing Games Histories is a collection of essays on historical game studies methods&approaches. Find the ToC here:
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-g...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Hurrah! My new book, Europe in the Eleventh Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform is officially published today by Oxford University Press. 1/5 global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Hurrah! My new book, Europe in the Eleventh Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform is officially published today by Oxford University Press. 1/5 global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Temos o prazer de anunciar nossa sessão temática no I Congresso Brasileiro de Arqueologia Digital, organizado pelo @archarise.bsky.social
Se você trabalha com jogos medievalistas ou #archaoegaming sob qualquer ótima, esperamos sua inscrição!
#historygames #medievalsky
Se você trabalha com jogos medievalistas ou #archaoegaming sob qualquer ótima, esperamos sua inscrição!
#historygames #medievalsky
October 7, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Temos o prazer de anunciar nossa sessão temática no I Congresso Brasileiro de Arqueologia Digital, organizado pelo @archarise.bsky.social
Se você trabalha com jogos medievalistas ou #archaoegaming sob qualquer ótima, esperamos sua inscrição!
#historygames #medievalsky
Se você trabalha com jogos medievalistas ou #archaoegaming sob qualquer ótima, esperamos sua inscrição!
#historygames #medievalsky
Reposted by Robert Houghton
We're pleased to announce we're putting together a thematic strand at the 1st Brazilian Conference on Digital Archaeology, organized by @archarise.bsky.social.
If you work with medievalist #historygames and/or #archaeogaming in any capacity, we'd love to hear from you!
#medievalsky
If you work with medievalist #historygames and/or #archaeogaming in any capacity, we'd love to hear from you!
#medievalsky
October 7, 2025 at 5:11 PM
We're pleased to announce we're putting together a thematic strand at the 1st Brazilian Conference on Digital Archaeology, organized by @archarise.bsky.social.
If you work with medievalist #historygames and/or #archaeogaming in any capacity, we'd love to hear from you!
#medievalsky
If you work with medievalist #historygames and/or #archaeogaming in any capacity, we'd love to hear from you!
#medievalsky
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Anyone interested in forming a virtual co-working/writing group of humanists without current institutional affiliation/independent scholars?
I can't be the only one desperately missing both community and time on my calendar for my "side projects"!
#medievalsky #dh #bookhistory #humanities
I can't be the only one desperately missing both community and time on my calendar for my "side projects"!
#medievalsky #dh #bookhistory #humanities
September 20, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Anyone interested in forming a virtual co-working/writing group of humanists without current institutional affiliation/independent scholars?
I can't be the only one desperately missing both community and time on my calendar for my "side projects"!
#medievalsky #dh #bookhistory #humanities
I can't be the only one desperately missing both community and time on my calendar for my "side projects"!
#medievalsky #dh #bookhistory #humanities
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Reposted by Robert Houghton
Apply to be on season 5! Details available on our website. 🩷
August 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Apply to be on season 5! Details available on our website. 🩷
Reposted by Robert Houghton
There's still a couple of weeks left to get your abstracts in for our @imc-leeds.bsky.social strand next year! We how to see a lot of you there. Deadline 17 September.
The Call for Papers for our strand on the Middle Ages in Modern Games for next year's @imc-leeds.bsky.social is now open with the conference theme of 'Temporalities'. Please circulate to any interested parties. Deadline 17 September. Text here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...
September 2, 2025 at 8:30 AM
There's still a couple of weeks left to get your abstracts in for our @imc-leeds.bsky.social strand next year! We how to see a lot of you there. Deadline 17 September.
Reposted by Robert Houghton
"This book is a must-read for both medievalists and gamers." - @medievalists.bsky.social The Middle Ages in Computer Games by @robehoughton.bsky.social offers the most comprehensive analysis and discussion of medievalist computer games to date. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/XnzZx0z #medievalsky
August 29, 2025 at 6:30 AM
"This book is a must-read for both medievalists and gamers." - @medievalists.bsky.social The Middle Ages in Computer Games by @robehoughton.bsky.social offers the most comprehensive analysis and discussion of medievalist computer games to date. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/XnzZx0z #medievalsky
Reposted by Robert Houghton
🚨 PUBLIC BETA NOW OPEN 🚨
You can play it right now on Steam
👉 store.steampowered.com/app/2275300/...
If you're into 4X games and/or prehistory, this is for you 🔥🏺
Super excited to hear your feedback!
#gamedev #indiegame 🎮
You can play it right now on Steam
👉 store.steampowered.com/app/2275300/...
If you're into 4X games and/or prehistory, this is for you 🔥🏺
Super excited to hear your feedback!
#gamedev #indiegame 🎮
Folk Emerging on Steam
Lead nomadic families through the Stone Age in this turn-based 4X strategy game with deeply simulated characters, cultures, and ecosystems. Explore the wilderness, gather & trade resources, and ou...
store.steampowered.com
August 7, 2025 at 10:16 AM
🚨 PUBLIC BETA NOW OPEN 🚨
You can play it right now on Steam
👉 store.steampowered.com/app/2275300/...
If you're into 4X games and/or prehistory, this is for you 🔥🏺
Super excited to hear your feedback!
#gamedev #indiegame 🎮
You can play it right now on Steam
👉 store.steampowered.com/app/2275300/...
If you're into 4X games and/or prehistory, this is for you 🔥🏺
Super excited to hear your feedback!
#gamedev #indiegame 🎮
There's another very kind review of The Middle Ages in Computer Games out on @gamevironments.bsky.social from @markusmindrebo.bsky.social. There's also a bunch of important articles on peripheral religions in games in this issue which are well worth a look. doi.org/10.48783/gam...
Review of Robert Houghton's The Middle Ages in Computer Games: Ludic Approaches to the Medieval and Medievalism (2024)
| gamevironments
doi.org
August 7, 2025 at 9:42 AM
There's another very kind review of The Middle Ages in Computer Games out on @gamevironments.bsky.social from @markusmindrebo.bsky.social. There's also a bunch of important articles on peripheral religions in games in this issue which are well worth a look. doi.org/10.48783/gam...
Reposted by Robert Houghton
The Call for Papers for our strand on the Middle Ages in Modern Games for next year's @imc-leeds.bsky.social is now open with the conference theme of 'Temporalities'. Please circulate to any interested parties. Deadline 17 September. Text here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...
August 4, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The Call for Papers for our strand on the Middle Ages in Modern Games for next year's @imc-leeds.bsky.social is now open with the conference theme of 'Temporalities'. Please circulate to any interested parties. Deadline 17 September. Text here: middleagesinmoderngames.net/announcement...