University of the Arts London

Modernities of Authenticity in Recreated Online Digital Games: A Comparative Case Study

This paper examines how nostalgic game recreations construct authenticity, using a comparative case study of two projects that attempt to restore earlier versions of online games: World of Warcraft Classic, a recreation of the 2006 "Vanilla" version of World of Warcraft, and Team Fortress 2 Classified, a community-developed mod…

• The paper compares two nostalgic game recreations: World of Warcraft Classic, a recreation of the 2006 'Vanilla' version of World of Warcraft, and Team Fortress 2 Classified, a community-developed mod re-imagining Team Fortress 2's 2008–2009 era.
• It reframes the question from whether restorations are accurate to how different philosophies of authenticity, drawn from postmodern and post-postmodern perspectives, shape nostalgic design and play.
• World of Warcraft Classic is described as a 'genuine fake' operating through postmodern hyperreality, built on players' subjective memories and sentimental myth rather than strict fidelity, including quality-of-life updates and reimplemented historical bugs.