‘They Will Not Be Able To Make Us Play It Again Another Day’ — The End in First World War Games

Abstract

The fourth and final chapter deals with how computer games portray the end of the First World War, both in regards to the actual ending and how and when the games themselves draw to a close. It is through understanding how both the war and games about it end that we can gain a greater understanding of how we are expected to remember it and the lessons that we are supposed to learn. It is the norm in computer games to allow the player a sense of triumph or a moment of success at the point of completion. How First World War games navigate this situation when portraying a war that is usually stripped of triumphalism is of particular interest. Whilst many of these games highlight the tragic nature of the war many of them also provide the player with a chance of triumphant victory.