If you’re interested in history-themed video games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Battlefield 1 , have they sparked your curiosity about history? Did they inspire you to learn more about historic firearms or consider visiting a museum that showcases such collections? Perhaps you even started collecting historic firearms as a result?
Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.
Great Topic.
That said, for me, the answer is no. That being said, I am a middle school teacher and I do know that it has interested several of my middle school students.
Because of the rural location, it has not sparked any museum visits, but it has led to enthusiastic descriptions of museums they have visited on their vacations.
It has also led to research into individual firearms. Even though “gun” sites are generally blocked in our district, I have been able to guide students on where to find information, once they get home. We have also looked up some information on Wikipedia.
So, for me, No. However, I have definitely seen it in my students.
I would say my interest in history as well as video games is what interests me in playing such video games. Though I don’t play them for educational value as any that exists is minimal, at best. I also don’t play them for realism because too much realism – especially in a FPS – can make for a less than stellar gaming experience for most players. If I want to get a feel for the artifacts of the time, I’ll seek out the real thing. Or at least a decent repro for the more rare varieties.
I will say back in the day playing video games did get me to research and learn about certain weapons.
Battlefield 3 was a big one for me.
I enjoyed Red Dead Redemption II for it’s ambience and did also look more into the weapons there as well.
There weren’t a lot of historical video/computer games around when I was a kid. For me it was my interest in history that got me into “historical” video games as a young adult.
I would have to say no, I’ve always had an interest in history. I started researching my genealogy about 10 years ago and found that some of my ancestors fought in major battles during the American revolution. My great great grandfather was a member of the over the mountain militia and fought in the battle for Kings Mountain.