(Excerpt) Why Tek Dinos from ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED are (sort of) real - History Through Games

Ark: Survival Evolved contains a chaotic blend of real dinosaurs and prehistoric human technology with robotic dinosaurs and futuristic lasers. You might think that this rules it out as a serious or factual game, but you'd be wrong. When dinosaurs were first discovered in the early 1800s, people had no idea what they were or what they looked and they blended zoological and mythical creatures together as a way of comprehending the massive dinosaur fossils that were being unearthed. The blend of fact and fiction in Ark: Survival Evolved is therefore a perfect metaphor for the history of the discovery of dinosaurs, and in this video, I'm going to show you what I mean by looking at the first sculptures made of dinosaurs in the 1850s.
Welcome! I'm Dr Darren Reid, a historian at McGill University.
My career in history began with my love of fantasy games, movies, and books.
Unfortunately, academics tend to only have conversations with other academics, and I want to share my twin passions of history and video games with everyone!
I don't want to just lecture at you, so let me know what types of games and/or history you are into and we can build this channel together!
www.darrenreid.ca