Exploring the archaeology in (and of) video games.
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Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games (Berghahn Books, New York/Oxford), has been published, and all orders will begin to ship mid-June to North American readers, and […]
Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games (Berghahn Books, New York/Oxford), has been published, and all orders will begin to ship mid-June to North American readers, and in July to the rest of the world. 240 pages, 22 illustrations in a 6″ x 9″ trim size. You can order a paperback for yourself, and can request your library to order a hardcover edition (right from the website). Ebooks are also available, specifically for the Amazon Kindle.
Click to Order from the Publisher
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-78533-872-4 $150.00/£107.00
Paperback ISBN 978-1-78533-873-1 $27.95/£19.00
Ebook (Kindle Edition) eISBN 978-1-78533-874-8 $25.30/£19.00 (depending on the exchange rate)
So what’s in it? Here’s an expanded Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Introduction
What is Archaeogaming?
How is Archaeogaming Archaeology?
Archaeogaming, Media Studies, and Media Archaeology
Archaeogaming and Game Studies
Archaeologists as Game-Makers
Chapter Summaries
Chapter 2. Real-World Archaeogaming
Exhuming Atari
The Artifacts of Digital Fiction
Gaming Spaces
When Video Games Change
Chronologies and Typologies
A Blended Historical Reality: Pokémon Go
Chapter 3. Playing as Archaeologists
You Play an Archaeologist
Archaeologist Non-Player Characters
Public Reception of Archaeology
Archaeological Reception in Hearthstone
Looting
Looting and Ethics: Elder Scrolls Online
Chapter 4. Video Games as Archaeological Sites
How is a Video Game an Archaeological Site?
Landscape Archaeology in Video Games
Dwelling in Synthetic Worlds and Landscapes
Archaeogaming Tools and Method
Video Game Ethnoarchaeology
Archaeogaming Case Study: The No Man’s Sky Archaeological Survey
Glitches as Artifacts
Garbology in Video Games
Other In-Game Archaeologies
Chapter 5. Material Culture of the Immaterial
Introduction
Material Memory in Video Games
Video Game Museums and Museums in Video Games
Virtual Artifacts and their Real-World Manifestation
Experimental Archaeology
Lore and Lore Communities
Lore Realized: Video Game Cosplay
Archaeological Re-Creations
Chapter 6. Conclusion
Appendix. No Man’s Sky Archaeological Survey (NMSAS) Code of Ethics
(co-authored with Catherine Flick and L. Meghan Dennis)
Works Cited
Games Cited
Glossary
Index
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I think it provides a good foundation for the various threads of video game archaeology, and hope that it becomes a launching pad for readers who want to take things further, grounding their work in critical theory and serious (and seriously fun) play.
—Andrew Reinhard, Archaeogaming
Archaeogaming is a collective of gamers who are interested in applying archaeological methods while exploring game-worlds. We are interested in the evolution of gaming worlds and in the use of archaeology while in-game. Archaeogaming was founded by Andrew Reinhard on June 9, 2013.
Archaeogaming 
Is this available as an ebook?
It will be. I’ll ask the publisher when the digital edition will be available; but they are planning on doing one.
I’m so sad this isn’t out yet. I’m doing my senior seminar project on archaeogaming, and this seems like it would be an amazing source. 😦
We’re still looking at an end-of-May publication, but if you want the text for your project I can email you. Drop me a line at archaeogaming at g mail.
Very excited to read this! A comprehensive book on the topic was long due. Congrats on the publication.
Rob
Thank you! I’m already thinking about the second edition — there’s so much happening.
Why’s the hardcover so much more expensive than the paperback edition?
I think the publisher’s intention is that the hardcover is intended for libraries and have priced the book for multiple users.