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I certainly believe that EB is an example of how computer game mods can be educational, and if you're interested in that I refer you, yet again, to the work of Ghita and Andrikopoulos. The two are former developers of another Rome: Total War mod, Rome: Total Realism, which has similar goals to Europa Barbarorum and is similarly successful. They make several interesting and compelling points about the educational potential of computer games. But I think there's another lesson we can take from EB, one which might surprise you, but one that I hope will excite you. In the first six months after the release of EB 1.0, the mod was downloaded over 94,000 times. The most current full version, released two years and two days ago, has been downloaded 286,000 times. That number is difficult to interpret, since we don't know how many were repeat visits, or how many tried the mod and didn't like it. But what we can tell is that, despite competition from dozens of other mods, many, many people are interested in playing a game that is advertised first and foremost as being historically accurate.
There is a lot of dreariness in classics and ancient history. During the current economic crisis, departments have had their funding slashed or been cut outright. Hollywood obviously thinks that the ancient world can't stand on its own merits, and adds ogres and hand grenades to Thermopylae, and rewrites the Iliad. And the History Channel spends more time addressing fantasy than reality. So it comes as a bit of a shock and certainly as a breath of fresh air to see evidence that people, ordinary people and lots of them, are actually interested in the ancient world as it really was. And that paying rigorous attention to historical detail isn't being obnoxiously pedantic, but is actually rewarding to people who aren't doing it a living. And a quick glance at EB's online message board shows that the mods players are discussing serious historical topics outside of the game as well. There are conversations about Corinthian helmets, the design of Gallic swords, the realistic composition of armies, how infantry would throw javelins while in formation, and the ever-popular Europa Barbarorum Bibliography, which is still being updated.
The bottom line is this: people are interested in what we study and want to learn more. So while you're working on your next project, remember that you just might be creating popular culture.
Incidentally, I'm fascinated with the Seleucid monarchy, which is obscure even by our standards. While there are various things that led up to that in undergrad, I have to admit that EB was one of them. The Hellenistic period is criminally under-taught, and when it does show up on course schedules, undergrads focus on Cleopatra and grads on Callimachus/Theocritus/Apollonius. EB does Ancient Historians a tremendous service by igniting a passion for Hellenistic history in people who might otherwise never be exposed to it.
