Archaeogaming

I am happy to announce the publication of my new book, Practical Archaeogaming, which was published by Berghahn Books in May 2024. Copies are now in stock and are being shipped to readers. It’s the sequel to my 2018 book, Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games, also published by Berghahn. Practical Archaeogaming takes the theory and methodology I proposed in 2018 and applies it to several archaeological projects conducted within digital space. Here’s the Table of Contents:

Introduction
Chapter 1. Archaeogaming: The State of the Field in 2023
Chapter 2. Rapid Archaeology of Human Constructions within Interactive Digital Built Environments
Chapter 3. Adapting the Harris Matrix for Software Stratigraphy
Chapter 4. Archaeology of Abandoned Human Settlements in No Man’s Sky: A New Approach to Recording and Preserving User-Generated Content in Digital Games
Chapter 5. Photogrammetry and GIS in Human-Occupied Digital Landscapes (with Sara Zaia)
Chapter 6. Photogrammetry and 3D Printing of 2D Digital Artifacts
Chapter 7. Report on the Recovered “Atari Burial Ground” Material, Condition, and Post-Excavation Dispersal
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Note that the hardcover edition is priced for libraries, so if you’re on a budget and can wait a couple of months, there will be a paperback edition published at a more reasonable price. A digital edition is also available. Here are some very kind words about the book from my friend and colleague Shawn Graham:

“…it really fleshes out what ‘archaeogaming’ looks like in its multiple and varied incarnations. In that respect, it dovetails well with the author’s previous book Archaeogaming which was more prescriptive about what archaeogaming could or should be. In that respect, it’s rare and interesting (and valuable!) to see a field get defined and then realized, and (with certain caveats) I could see the two volumes packing a one-two punch employed in classrooms or in graduate programs, providing focus and direction for aspiring archaeologists interested in this open field somewhere between digital archaeology and media archaeology.”

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the collected case studies as you prepare your own archaeological investigations into digital landscapes, sites, and artifacts.

—Andrew Reinhard, Archaeogaming