Colonial gamification: Maya representation in Civilization VI

Abstract

This paper analyses the inclusion of Maya culture in historical strategy games, specifically Civilization VI. We investigate the game through the perspective of the Maya, marking this nation as important as other non-Western and

Western civilizations in the game, to understand what is lacking in its representation. We find that the game depicts a limiting view of the Maya by ignoring important archaeological evidence. This is done by emphasizing Eurocentric

notions of how a civilization should develop over time and by disregarding works of anthropologists on historical particularism. This paper emphasizes the representation of the ‘Other’ and how misunderstood this Other is in the media,

such as video games; an industry that had been valued at more than 173 billion dollars in 2021. This shows lack of inclusivity of the Maya influences their cultural heritage and the Pan-Maya movement of the modern Maya peoples.