We. The revolution: liberty, fraternity, equality, authenticity.

Andrew James Reid; Iain Donald

doi:10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642

We. The revolution: liberty, fraternity, equality, authenticity.

Andrew James Reid^*, Iain Donald

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Games and Arts

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper analyses the game, We. The Revolution (2019) and considers how the depiction of oppression and upheaval in the early French Revolutionary period is represented. We specifically consider how the game blends, adapts and utilizes history within its gameplay elements to convey modern-day perceptions of the French Revolution but also the complex, nuanced and shifting interpretations of the historical account. The analysis uses a framework developed by the authors (2020) to consider how decisions made during production shape the historical perspective of the player and therefore how the game negotiates historical representation, prioritizing authenticity and account over accuracy to evoke the atmosphere and moral complexities of the French Revolution.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Abstract proceedings of DiGRA 2025
Subtitle of host publication	games at the crossroads
Publisher	DiGRA
Pages	1-4
Number of pages	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642
Publication status	Published - 16 Jun 2025
Event	DiGRA 2025: Games at the Crossroads - University of Malta’s Valletta Campus, Valletta, Malta Duration: 30 Jun 2025 → 4 Jul 2025 Conference number: 16th https://digraconference2025.org/

Publication series

Name	DiGRA conference proceedings
Publisher	DIGRA
ISSN (Electronic)	2342-9666

Conference

Conference	DiGRA 2025
Country/Territory	Malta
City	Valletta
Period	30/06/25 → 4/07/25
Internet address	https://digraconference2025.org/

Keywords

We. the revolution
Historical games
Game design
Audience perception

Access to Document

10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642Licence: CC BY-NC

Reid_We.TheRevolution_Published_2025Final published version, 242 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

@inproceedings{f90ff802186e4c5e9d8bad148a59d5e6,

title = "We. The revolution: liberty, fraternity, equality, authenticity.",

abstract = "This paper analyses the game, We. The Revolution (2019) and considers how the depiction of oppression and upheaval in the early French Revolutionary period is represented. We specifically consider how the game blends, adapts and utilizes history within its gameplay elements to convey modern-day perceptions of the French Revolution but also the complex, nuanced and shifting interpretations of the historical account. The analysis uses a framework developed by the authors (2020) to consider how decisions made during production shape the historical perspective of the player and therefore how the game negotiates historical representation, prioritizing authenticity and account over accuracy to evoke the atmosphere and moral complexities of the French Revolution.",

author = "Reid, \{Andrew James\} and Iain Donald",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2025 Authors \& Digital Games Research Association DiGRA. Personal and educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, commercial use requires specific permission from the author. Data Availability statement: Not present.; DiGRA 2025 : Games at the Crossroads ; Conference date: 30-06-2025 Through 04-07-2025",

year = "2025",

month = jun,

day = "16",

doi = "10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642",

language = "English",

series = "DiGRA conference proceedings",

publisher = "DiGRA",

pages = "1--4",

booktitle = "Abstract proceedings of DiGRA 2025",

url = "https://digraconference2025.org/",

}

TY - GEN

T1 - We. The revolution

T2 - DiGRA 2025

AU - Reid, Andrew James

AU - Donald, Iain

N1 - Conference code: 16th

PY - 2025/6/16

Y1 - 2025/6/16

N2 - This paper analyses the game, We. The Revolution (2019) and considers how the depiction of oppression and upheaval in the early French Revolutionary period is represented. We specifically consider how the game blends, adapts and utilizes history within its gameplay elements to convey modern-day perceptions of the French Revolution but also the complex, nuanced and shifting interpretations of the historical account. The analysis uses a framework developed by the authors (2020) to consider how decisions made during production shape the historical perspective of the player and therefore how the game negotiates historical representation, prioritizing authenticity and account over accuracy to evoke the atmosphere and moral complexities of the French Revolution.

AB - This paper analyses the game, We. The Revolution (2019) and considers how the depiction of oppression and upheaval in the early French Revolutionary period is represented. We specifically consider how the game blends, adapts and utilizes history within its gameplay elements to convey modern-day perceptions of the French Revolution but also the complex, nuanced and shifting interpretations of the historical account. The analysis uses a framework developed by the authors (2020) to consider how decisions made during production shape the historical perspective of the player and therefore how the game negotiates historical representation, prioritizing authenticity and account over accuracy to evoke the atmosphere and moral complexities of the French Revolution.

U2 - 10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642

DO - 10.26503/dl.v2025i3.2642

M3 - Conference contribution

T3 - DiGRA conference proceedings

SP - 1

EP - 4

BT - Abstract proceedings of DiGRA 2025

PB - DiGRA

Y2 - 30 June 2025 through 4 July 2025

ER -

We. The revolution: liberty, fraternity, equality, authenticity.

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this