Virtual Realities as Time Travel

An online Lecture by Dr Richard Cole, Lecturer in Digital Classics, University of Bristol.

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Thursday 12th June, 5:30

Virtual realities are frequently praised for their ability to cast the player back in time. This is true of both historical video games set in antiquity and, more recently, virtual reality experiences.

Such claims can be producer-led, with examples ranging from marketing materials and modding tools to in-game narratives, as well as directed towards the medium in question in op-eds or player reviews, where players themselves reflect on their experiences of virtual realities as a form of time travel. The potential for time travel in virtual realities appears to be fuelled partly by the way in which different media represent the past, but also by the way in which players explore and make sense of such realities.

This lecture examines the underpinning logic of the ‘time travel’ metaphor – what it means in different contexts, and why it is so effective as a means of conceptualising our relationship to the past in the context of Classically inspired historical video games and VR simulations.