MA Student Morgan Pearce Speaks at Game Studies Conference
English M.A. student Morgan Pearce presents her research on "Writing History in Pentiment: Medieval Manuscripts, Historical Accuracy, and the Politics of Representation" at the 2025 International Conference on Games and Narrative (ICGaN), hosted this year by the Games Institute at the University of Waterloo, March 3 through March 6, 2025.
The theme of the conference is "Adapt, Adopt, Adjust: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Adaptation, Storytelling, and Simulation" and Pearce's presentation will be on the final day of the conference, March 6 from 15:30 to 16:30 EST (13:30-24:30 MST). The conference is hybrid and virtual attendance is available.
Abstract
This paper examines how Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, 2023) uses medieval manuscript aesthetics and a complex system of fonts and visual cues to challenge conventional ideas of “historical accuracy” in video games, particularly regarding the Middle Ages. By embedding the game within the pages of a manuscript, it highlights how history is selectively written, omitted, and rewritten to suit specific audiences. More than a stylistic choice, its approach to writing—analyzed through medieval paleographic studies—conveys characters’ social status, education, and emotions, while also reinforcing the game’s broader critique of historical narratives.
Pentiment questions assumptions that portray the Middle Ages as a dystopian era of violence, oppression, and chaos, exposing how these tropes persist in media as politically neutral “facts.” As Esther Wright suggests, the game takes a deconstructionist approach to history, subverting entrenched notions of accuracy that privilege a white, cis-male, heteronormative perspective. By centering manuscript culture as a core mechanic, Pentiment reflects on how history is constructed—what is recorded, erased, and shaped by power. Ultimately, the game prompts players to reconsider the foundations of historical storytelling.