The world's first academic conference celebrating all things Warhammer
Abstract The concept of death, as expressed in games and other fictions, is not necessarily negative. It does not play the same role, or pose the same threat, as death for us, in the physical world. But few intellectual properties revel in the exploration of death in the way that the Warhammer 40k setting does. …
Abstract The Adepta Sororitas ranks among the most extreme representations of nuns in popular culture. Their habit-like armour and religious accessories make them easily recognizable as women of the cloth. But if they are nuns, what kind exactly? This paper argues that the most important inspiration for the Sororitas is the female branch of the …
Abstract As neurodiverse person and anthropologist I observe that Warhammer became more and more common place for neurodiverse people to gather. Using both questionnaires and interviews with neurodiverse people we can see why grimdark became place for them to freely share ideas and thrive. What is so compelling that people, what usually have problems with …
Abstract Within the grimdark future of 41st millennium technology is a relatively occult force, often operating in ways that both pervert physics and subvert expectations. While the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus may have a relatively nuanced understanding of technology when compared to the Imperial laity, the praxis of the red-robed priests goes beyond the …
Abstract The Imperium of Warhammer 40,000 is constantly at war, waging an endless series of military campaigns, the largest of which are known as crusades. From the Great Crusade ten thousand years earlier, to the Indomitus Crusade of the setting’s ‘present day’, these crusades can be directed against any and all foes across the galaxy. …
Abstract The Warhammer 40k universe presents a unique and fascinating depiction of faster-than-light travel through the concept of the Warp, a parallel dimension of chaotic energy and psychic phenomena. This abstract explores the theoretical underpinnings of Warp space from the standpoint of modern physics, aiming to bridge the gap between fictional constructs and real scientific …
Abstract In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Warhammer. Games Workshop has waged a constant battle to protect humanity from other miniature games. On the fringes of the Imperium, other games lurk and putter on, unseen by YouTube algorithms and academics. In our present age, the tabletop hobby is dominated by …
Abstract This paper investigates the complex assemblage that is the rule system of Warhammer 40k matched play with a focus on participation and materiality based on the auto-ethnographic experiences of a competitive players. Before the first dice are rolled in a game of 40k, a lot of work needs to be done. Armies need to …
Abstract This research presentation explores how videogame communities mobilise to save their favourite games from becoming lost to history using the example of The Return of Reckoning (Return of Reckoning, 2014) as a case study. The key aims are to position live-service games in current games preservation theory and then unpack how the ‘fan-developers’ preserved …
Abstract The Warhammer 40k universe, set roughly 38,000 years in the future, presents an intriguing opportunity to explore the potential trajectory of technological advancement. This abstract proposes a comparative analysis of historical technological development with speculative projections for the next 38 millennia, drawing on the rich technological landscape depicted in Warhammer 40k. Technological progress over …
Abstract Viewers usually expect long-lasting transmedia worlds and crossovers between various media to be internally harmonious. In contrast, Warhammer 40,000 provides prospective viewers, players and readers with a universe far less concerned with clarity and consistency. To the audiences of Warhammer 40,000, significant variance in the depictions of characters, places and factions depending on the …
Abstract Warhammer 40,000 (40K) is the most popular miniature wargame. While gameplay is a large part of engaging with Warhammer 40,000, the miniatures are often bought and painted. These painters spend hours painting the models in deep concentration. Drawing on interviews and journal entries of a participant study of 14 painters over a six-month period, …
Abstract Julia Kristeva’s poststructuralist concept of intertextuality applies to the creation of all genres and formats of texts, but when it comes to working within an existing universe such as Warhammer, the relationship with what has come before and, challengingly from wider narrative and character arc perspectives, what may come in the future, takes on …
Abstract As the setting of Warhammer 40, 000 has matured it has presented the threat from within as its most insidious threat. Cross-media stories have been told about the Inquisitions work against such threats. Given the quasi-religious setting the insurgencies that are featured in the game and lore are primarily based around cults, either ‘chaos’ …
Abstract Beset on all sides and within, even with a million worlds, humanity fights a long-drawn battle of attrition. If the Imperium of Man wants to stand a chance, technology is its only hope. And even if it lacks behind, compared to the Necron or Eldar, human ingenuity once rules the stars. Technology is so …