AGreatDivorce
I mostly create audio recordings of different sorts of texts. Most of my readings are made as Youtube videos, with slides. If you’d like to see them with the visuals included, check out my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/AGreatDivorce
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Episodes
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
We reach the end of Bret’s assessment of Europa Universalis IV. This time, he takes a look at the question of why Europe came to dominate global economies and colonization at the end of the period covered by EU4. To address this question, he takes a look at several answers that have been proposed and how they reflect on EU4’s attempt to simulate this “Great Divergence.”
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/05/28/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5sRmHrSSP0
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Having both the game’s overall view of history as well as much of the positives of its approach, Bret now looks at some of the areas where, as a history simulator, EU4 falls down. Specifically, he examines the game’s simulation of global trade forces and how the historical realities of these forces differ from the game’s representation, with special attention given to its flaws in representing the trade of enslaved persons during this period.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/05/14/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-15rcqAX0I
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
In the second part of his coverage of Europa Universalis IV, Bret takes a look at the historical theory EUIV’s mechanics seem to most closely model: a neorealist theory of international relations. What is the neorealist theory of international relations, through what lens does it see historical state actions and decision making, and how does EUIV model this particular type of geopolitical analysis.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/05/07/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufc7p7IAQZI
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
We're starting a big one this time: the Teaching Paradox superseries. In this (as of now) two-part, combination series, Bret examines two Paradox games, Europa Universalis IV and Victoria II, and draws out what their simulations of history can offer when using them to look at and think about real history.
I will be starting first with the Europa Universalis IV series. Here, in the opening post, Bret examines the framework EU4 uses to simulate history; that is, a focus on history as a story of states. How does the game’s mechanics and rules set the player’s view on the states, rather than the nations, peoples, and other cultural institutions of the world of EU4? And what does such a framework help us examine (or cause us to overlook) when applied to actual historical understanding?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/04/30/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzjBWEOcACs
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
A heads-up on the audio this go-around: something odd was going on with my mic and it kept randomly and without warning adjusting its levels over the course of the recording for this one. I went through and tried to balance all the levels to the same volume, but you may notice the shifts at times. Apologies for that technical snafu!
Closing out this set, Bret gives us one of his most in-depth looks at a single video game (that isn’t in the form of a series) with a look at the tactics RPG Expeditions: Rome. Specifically, he isn’t just examining the game’s accuracy to its historical subjects, but looking at why that accuracy matters, especially when you market your game on the strength of its supposed historicity.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/04/15/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGWEQWSrP1Q
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
In this post, Bret takes a look at Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, paying particular attention to how the game portrays 9th century “viking” and English culture. How accurate to real histories are these portrayals? And what sort of implications do the game’s deviations from history create?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/11/20/miscell...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z29XCH0ZHog
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Moving right from CKIII to its expansion, Bret takes a look at the royal court game mechanics added to Crusader Kings III: Royal Court. He examines how well this mechanic reflects the historical role of kings and emperors as “chief judge” and how it works to simulate the need to maintain legitimacy, a vital job for real world rulers.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/02/18/miscell...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOwPcYigra4
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Bret examines the Paradox title, Crusader Kings III and analyzes how well the game simulates the personal nature of medieval rulership. Especially calling attention to the game’s systems and mechanics that fall short of accurate representation of historical medieval realities and what sort of impressions those inaccuracies can leave on the player.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2020/09/11/miscell...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buwk2P59Ggk
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Jumping to the recent Creative Assembly release, Total War: Warhammer III, Bret uses the Kislev hybrid infantry to discuss real world composite infantry. What were the principles of combining infantry types, what sort of tactics were employed in using them on the battlefield, and, especially regarding Creative Assembly’s output, what are the difficulties in modeling real-world composite infantry in strategy games?
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/04/01/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2A5Zqtjx5c
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
I'm back with a new ACOUP set! For this batch, I decided to assemble a collection of video games related posts. For those of you familiar with Bret’s series, there’s a big set of posts not included this go-around about Paradox games. I intend to come back to those as one group. For now, Bret takes a look at Age of Empires and why there are NO empires in it. To explore why, Bret outlines what empires are, how they work, and the factors they rely on to operate.
The text for this recording is from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, the blog of history professor, Bret Devereaux, whose work you should absolutely support with your eyes, your clicks, and, if you are able, your bucks.
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2019/11/22/collect...
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of UnmitigatedPedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHv_Nd3gTtI
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!