Q&A ยท 2:32:12-2:32:38

Researching history for video games

Historical research for games calls for expertise beyond copying readily available reference material.

Question

How do video-game developers research infrastructure and other historical details when archival research is difficult?

Short answer

Developers conducting serious historical research hire historians. Others rely on Wikipedia, sometimes reproducing its mistakes.

Notes

Hiring historians gives developers access to research skills they may lack internally. Reliance on Wikipedia can reproduce an existing error. Clarke recalls recognising inaccuracies in games and finding the same claims on Wikipedia.