Gamecity Impulse: Democracy, History, and Games in Dialogue
In our last Gamecity Impulse event we talked about how games can shape remembrance culture and influence how we engage with history and democracy.
The panel featured three experts: historian Markus Bassermann, Dr. Tabea Widmann from the Zeppelin Museum, and Jörg Friedrich of Paintbucket Games.
You can rewatch the Panel Discussion on our YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/_kfCS8gNe8o
Some of the Key Takeaways:
- Games are powerful memory media: they don’t just tell stories, they let players experience historical processes and decisions.
- Interactive mechanics create a deeper understanding of systemic dynamics and personal responsibility.
- Respectful and appropriate design is essential—avoid trivialization while keeping engagement.
The panelists called for more collaboration between developers and cultural institutions to ensure authenticity and educational value. And they want to see more experiments and diverse narratives to counter stereotypes and broaden perspectives.
Thank you so much to our panelists, Markus, Tabea, and Jörg, for sharing your insights.
On the panel:
• Markus Bassermann, Historian, Project Manager and Coordinator of the serious game “Erinnern. Die Kinder vom Bullenhuser Damm” (Remembering. The Children of Bullenhuser Damm) about confronting the past in relation to one's own experience of the present
• Jörg Friedrich, Game Director at Paintbucket Games (Through the Darkest of Time, The Darkest Files)
• Dr. Tabea Widmann, Consultant for digital communication and format development at the Zeppelin Museum, Friedrichshafen.
In cooperation with Stiftung Hamburger Gedenkstätten und Lernorte.
Photo by Dr. Widmann: Theresa Ott/ Zeppelin Museum
You can watch the Panel Discussion on our YouTube Channel:
Rewatch the Panel Discussion
What is Gamecity Impulse?
Gamers are diverse: Around 2,2 billion people around the world play video games, coming from a multitude of ethnic and religious backgrounds, nationalities, genders and sexual identities, abilities, age and language groups. The communities that form around games and the teams that make the games aren't always as diverse. This has already sparked a host of discussions throughout the games industry and community. The German games industry has picked up on the topic, by starting the joint declaration “Hier spielt Vielfalt”, as well engaging in projects, discussions and initiatives as individual companies, associations and people.
As Gamecity Hamburg, we want to contribute to the important discourse by hosting talks and panel discussions on diversity-related topics in different fields of the games industry and gaming culture in our digital event series “Gamecity Impulse”. We hope to help raise awareness of, start discussions, provide food for thought as well as offer industry insights on ways to improve equality, diversity and inclusion.
Code of Conduct
Gamecity Hamburg is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion.
We do not tolerate harassment of participants in any form.
Please read our Code of Conduct: https://gamecity-hamburg.de/events/#Code_of_Conduct
