{"id":3475,"date":"2026-04-10T14:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?p=3475"},"modified":"2026-04-10T14:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T14:33:16","slug":"beyond-museum-walls-games-that-let-you-step-into-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/3475\/beyond-museum-walls-games-that-let-you-step-into-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond museum walls: games that let you step into history"},"content":{"rendered":"

From war zones to coal mines and prison camps, a new generation of video games is helping museums bring history to life and reach audiences far beyond their walls.<\/p>\n

By Hannah Docter-Loeb<\/p>\n

What does war look like through the eyes of a child? For those far removed from conflict, it can be hard to imagine. A new narrative adventure game, We Grew Up in War<\/em>, sets out to answer that question through the stories of Mak, Anna, Valerie and Melisa.<\/p>\n

Co-developed by Prague-based studio Charles Games and the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo, the game draws on real testimonies from children who grew up in conflict.<\/p>\n

The museum, founded in the aftermath of Bosnia\u2019s 1992\u201395 war, is building one of the world\u2019s largest archives on wartime childhood. The institution is part of Sites of Conscience, a global network of organisations that confront difficult pasts to foster dialogue.<\/p>\n

The game reflects that work, offering a record of events, but also a window into how war feels from a child\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

We Grew Up in War<\/em>\u00a0is not a conventional game: there is no scoring, advancing or winning. It draws on the real experiences of children growing up in conflict zones, with a focus on Bosnia and Ukraine, using immersive wartime sketches to bring their stories to life and foster empathy and awareness among players.<\/p>\n

This approach is part of a broader EU-funded research effort known as MEMENTOES, where museums, historians and game developers explore how video games can tell difficult stories from the past and reach audiences beyond traditional exhibitions.<\/p>\n

They use virtual reality and other immersive techniques to make painful histories more tangible for players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game is not only about suffering or portraying survivors as victims,\u201d said Jasminko Halilovi\u0107, founder and director of the Sarajevo museum, which focuses on childhood experiences in wartime. \u201cIt is also about family life, friendships, education, and having dreams and hopes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new way to tell old stories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Museums have long grappled with how to communicate complex and often traumatic histories. Through the MEMENTOES collaboration, researchers from Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands set out to test whether video games could provide a new way of reaching a wider \u2013 and younger \u2013 audience.<\/p>\n

We Grew Up in War<\/em> is one of several titles developed by the MEMENTOES team, which brought together curators, researchers and game designers.<\/p>\n

Project coordinator Nikolaos Dimitriou, a senior researcher at the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH) in Thessaloniki, Greece, was a bit sceptical at first, but intrigued by the idea of interactive storytelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, I played video games just for fun,\u201d he said. \u201cAt some point I thought I was spending too much time on them. But this is different. It\u2019s like taking a history class, but in a more engaging way.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nStepping into the past<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alongside We Grew Up in War,<\/em> the MEMENTOES team produced two other very different game experiences. One of them, Those From Below<\/em>, uses virtual reality to revisit the 1956 mining disaster in Marcinelle, Belgium.<\/p>\n

Developed with Causa Creations, alongside input from the Le Bois du Cazier museum in Marcinelle, another Site of Conscience in the network, and relatives of the victims, it places players inside the coal mine, confronting them with the harsh realities faced by the miners.<\/p>\n

Another game, Gulag Diaries<\/em>, takes players to Soviet-era forced labour camps in Siberia.<\/p>\n

It was developed by researchers at the Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research & Technology \u2013 Hellas (ICS-FORTH), in collaboration with\u00a0Gulag.cz, a Czech-based research and educational initiative that documents the history of the labour camps (gulags)\u00a0through expeditions, survivor testimonies and digital reconstructions.<\/p>\n

Based on a real-life expedition and historical data from Gulag.cz, the game follows a researcher on a trip into the Siberian wilderness to explore the remains of a fictional Gulag, connecting players with the experiences of victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe player finds objects left behind by the prisoners,\u201d said Stavroula Ntoa, who led the scientific work of the project. \u201cEach item reveals a personal story, helping players understand what life was like in these camps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walking a thin line<\/strong><\/p>\n

Using games to explore sensitive historical topics comes with its own challenges. Unlike traditional exhibits, games are interactive, and that raises questions about tone, accuracy and respect. It can be a very fine line to tread.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we try to do in the game is the same as in our exhibitions: show how complex these experiences are,\u201d said Halilovi\u0107. But striking the right balance is not always easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the challenges was not to \u2018gamify\u2019 the experience too much,\u201d Ntoa said. \u201cThe goal wasn\u2019t to make it fun. It was to make it engaging and a valuable learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Achieving that balance required close collaboration between developers, historians and the people whose stories inspired the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you use real testimonies, they are unique and can become identifiable,\u201d Halilovi\u0107 explained. \u201cWe worked closely with contributors to ensure they were comfortable with how their stories were presented.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than just information<\/strong><\/p>\n

The games engage visitors and bring historical injustices into focus. \u201cGames are a great tool to make cultural heritage tangible, accessible and memorable to the public,\u201d said Dimitriou.<\/p>\n

But their real strength may lie in building empathy \u2013 by putting players in someone else\u2019s shoes and letting them experience events from the inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf players can understand the layered consequences of war for children, we also hope that it helps them appreciate the importance of peace,\u201d Halilovi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n

Early findings suggest that this approach can have a real impact. In some cases, researchers found that engaging secondary school students in We Grew Up in War<\/em> could change their attitudes towards refugees.<\/p>\n

And the lessons learned are not confined to the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese issues are not just historical,\u201d Dimitriou said. \u201cChildren are still growing up in war zones today. Helping people relate to those experiences is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the museum visit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the research collaboration behind these games wrapped up in 2025, the work is far from over. We Grew Up in War<\/em> is set for wider release, including an educational edition and a commercial version on the Steam video game platform.<\/p>\n

For Halilovi\u0107, the potential goes well beyond a single project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the game, people anywhere in the world can now engage with our collection,\u201d he said. \u201cThat was not possible before.\u201d<\/p>\n

As museums look for new ways to connect with audiences, digital tools are becoming increasingly important, in line with efforts across Europe to digitise cultural heritage and make it more widely accessible.<\/p>\n

Games are starting to play a key role in that shift, especially when they draw on\u00a0immersive technologies and rich digital archives to carry the museums\u2019 messages into players\u2019 homes and classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey allow us to extend our stories beyond museum walls,\u201d Halilovi\u0107 said. \u201cAnd to reach people who might never otherwise walk through our doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published\u202fin\u00a0<\/em>Horizon<\/em><\/a>\u00a0the EU Research and Innovation Magazine. <\/em><\/p>\n

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