Over the Top – Digital History Game Review

“Over the Top is an interactive adventure that allows you to experience the life in the trenches during the First World War.”

Created by the Canadian War Museum, ‘Over the Top’ attempts to re-create the experiences of Canadian soldiers during the Great War while offering users a chance to think like a soldier and make do-or-die decisions. Given the nature of this game, adventure is inevitable as the user will experience the roller-coaster of emotions that come with the horrors of war. Interestingly, the creators set out just one objective for their players: STAY ALIVE. Furthermore, the creators note that attention to detail, common sense and luck will be needed to successfully complete the game.

Gameplay is characterized by minimal animations, background banter, text and an audio recording of the text. The user is then left to choose his or her own path as each section concludes with a scenario and a series of options in which the user must make a decision.

Before the game begins, users are required to fill out an enlistment form which asks for their full name, their friend’s name and their hometown. The player then starts the game as a young Canadian soldier who is posted along the Western Front in November of 1916. Quickly, the user gets introduced to life in the trenches as it is described as cold, muddy and desolate.

Now, I’m not going to walk through the entire game as it would defeat the whole purpose of experiencing this digital historical adventure. But…*SPOILER ALERT* I will discuss some of the main events in the section below. If you hate spoilers, then I strongly suggest you play the game right now!

How does learning take place?

Throughout the adventure, the game-script uses a variety of terms and expressions that were common during the First World War. These words have been typed in bold, underlined and linked to a pop-up definition. This handy dictionary tool will help players become familiarized with the vernacular of early twentieth-century Canadian soldiers.

While the dictionary is an important part of the game, I believe most of the learning takes place through the user being put in the soldier’s boots. In my opinion, this game does an excellent job of presenting an interactive account of the ordinary soldier in World War I as the scenarios offer a unique perspective. In any scholarly paper you can read about trench-life, but in ‘Over the Top’ you are given an audio-visual experience of trench-life that is combined with your own input. The exercise of thinking like a WWI soldier is something that the player is thrusted into and it cannot be avoided. One could argue that users are far less likely to engage in this type of historical-thinking after reading a written work. For me, this is precisely where the strength of this game lies.

Over the course of the game, the user is exposed to many prominent realities and events that occurred to Canadian soldiers during the Great War. Here, the player witnesses first-hand accounts of shell-shock, poison gas, poor nutrition, bitter living conditions and of course, death. Some of the tough scenarios that a player might face are: Venturing off into No Man’s Land to save a comrade, volunteering for dangerous missions such as going to fetch communication wire, whether or not to wear a cracked gas mask, whether or not to shoot a non-visible soldier crying out for help…As you can see, the game offers many life and death situations which replicate the real experiences of WWI soldiers. Thus, furthering the user to engage in playful historical-thinking.

Reminder: One poor decision could result in your own death or the death of your comrades.

Be sure to check out ‘Over the Top‘ and let me know what you think. And while you’re at it, do you know of any other digital history games? If so, please share below!