History-Themed Games from the Players' Perspective

An Analysis Through a Social Media Platform

Abstract

This study seeks to answer the question: What are the opinions and experiences of young people interested in history regarding learning history through digital games? To address this question, posts by enthusiasts of history-themed games on Reddit, a popular social media platform among gamers, were analysed through qualitative content analysis. Based on these posts, additional questions were formulated and posted on the platform to further explore the topic. The responses, along with the initial posts, were collected and analysed. The study is limited to texts written in Turkish or English by users on the mentioned social media platform. The findings reveal that some students attribute their success in history courses to digital games, while certain teachers incorporate these games as educational tools in their lessons. Additionally, some users stated that digital games can provide fundamental knowledge of historical events and offer complementary benefits for history education. On the other hand, some users expressed concerns about the potential of digital games to distort historical accuracy, highlighting the risk of misrepresentation in game narratives.