Episode 17 - Simulator Games

Scholars At Play

Derek and Kyle sit down to talk about Derek's recently-completed dissertation "The Work of Nonfiction: Simulator Games in Germany." Derek talks about the history of simulator games, the specific simulators he studies, and what we can learn from games all about machines and work. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 4:11 - Theory, text, and context in research 8:30 - Origins of the project and how it developed, brief history of simulator games 20:12 - Theories and methods of the project 37:33 - Examples of popular simulator games from the mid-2000s 45:05 - How do these "newer" simulator games break from or continue in the tradition of older simulator games? 58:11 - How do simulator games respond to contemporary transformations of work in the 21st century, and why did the simulator game genre become popular in German-speaking contexts? 1:17:50 - The limits of critique/suspicion in research, and a brief discussion about how gender and class under-gird simulator game realism.