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One enterprising gamer has created a timeline that allows gamers to go through the entire history of mankind, offering a consistent experience of the evolution of society.
Sure, he could just list Spore or Civilization, but that wouldn’t be a very interesting post. On reddit timeline appeared thanks to user ucankabak with a list of over 20 games that span the history of mankind from prehistoric times to the distant future.
This table has caused discussion and controversy, as commentators arguewhat was left out and what should have been included. The timeline draws heavily on the Assassin’s Creed series of games, which is known for featuring different time periods, from revolutionary Paris to Ptolemaic Egypt to Ancient Greece.
Ancient history is also featured in games like Far Cry Primal and Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, when humans used more primitive tools and technology, hunted as well as hunted, and spread across the world from their African origins.
The medieval period can be found in titles like Plague Tale Innocence, while non-Western society is represented by games like Ghost of Tsushima. In fact, there could be more games on the list that show the breadth of humanity through the ages, and the list unwittingly shows the over-representation of America and Western countries in the game setting, while Japan is one of the few Asian societies on the list that also features Yakuza. There’s a cult reference to The Saboteur from 2009, an action-adventure game developed by Pandemic Studios for EA set in Nazi-occupied France.
Moving on to more modern times, we see Red Dead Redemption 2, Mafia 3 and GTA 5 showing us that crime is part of human society, although punishment and regret are often part of the theme of these games.
Moving beyond the present, we find ourselves in science fiction, although it will obviously be some time before we know how accurate the predictions made by these games are. There is Detroit Become Human and Cyberpunk 2077 with their images of people equipped with technology. Next, Outer Wilds dreams of a space race. Finally, Horizon Zero Dawn offers a sinister glimpse into a future in which humanity will have to reboot after humans have wiped out much of modern civilization through arrogance and unseen technological consequences.
Let’s hope that crime, dystopia and murderers are not only the fate of mankind, but again, it’s fun to play in the safe fictional worlds of video games.