Embodied Pasts, Imagined Presents: The Phenomenology of Archeological Meaning-Making in Digital Role-Playing Games

Abstract

My thesis studies archeogaming as an archeological practice by examining how players interact with the past through role-playing digital games. By deconstructing the idea of accuracy without discarding academic logic or scientific knowledge, it makes the case for the integration of archeogaming within holistic approaches to archeology. Notably, it promotes a balance that emphasizes interpretative experience, embodiment, and archeological imagination. The study explores Rise of the Tomb Raider, Heaven's Vault, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey using phenomenology and theories of embodiment. It treats these games as constructed spaces and archeological artifacts similar to excavated findings and built environments, shaped by developers, players, and recent social contexts. Archeologists have criticized misrepresentations and inaccuracies in these games, reinforcing a divide between scholarship and public engagement. This research bridges that gap by enabling a dialogue between gamers, developers, and academics, while reintroducing movement, play, and participation into archeological interpretation. Thus, my thesis serves to emphasize archeology as a dynamic, shared practice accessible beyond academic spaces.