The world's first academic conference celebrating all things Warhammer
Abstract The name Warhammer 40,000, with its aesthetics and, above all, the incredibly detailed background, is now a fixture in pop culture. This epic, supposedly monolithic narrative is actually a piece of work by different artists, designers and authors. The unifying element of these different media and narrative styles is the depiction of war and …
Abstract Warhammer 40k shows humanity in a complex, yet simple situation. Surrounded by multiple hostile species, war changed from a project to unite all humanity under the guide of the emperor to a eternal necessity, no matter what the cost of ‘xenos’ or even human lives. This raises questions about legitimate self-defense, imperial conquest, genocide …
Abstract My presentation is a comparative study of the representation of religion in two digital games: Baldur’s Gate III and Warhammer: Rogue Trader. Both are successful titles representing their respective franchises, both were created under at least some level of creative control from the franchise owners (Randall 2023; Templar9999 2024), so their approach to representation …
Abstract The paper explores the complex existential situation of an Astartes Space Marine between humanity and artificiality and the implications of the peculiar type of purpose they follow from an existentialist and technical-philosophical perspective. Astartes are superhuman soldiers, trialed, enhanced, and trained to defend the Imperium of Man from the xenos, the heretic, the daemon. …
Abstract Warhammer 40,000 is by the admission of its creators, a satire of Britain in the 1980s. It is a representation of a squalid, sprawling failed empire, where human life has ceased to matter as anything other than oil for the machinery of a broken state. In this talk I will characterise this satire using …
Abstract One well-known piece of lore about Space Marines in Warhammer fiction is that they “know no fear.” Fans of the Horus Heresy series, in particular, will have read that Space Marines are not “built to feel fear,” that they are “immune to fear,” and that they are without “the capacity for fear.” However, fans …
Abstract The Imperium of Man is often portrayed as the last bastion against the corrupting influenceof Chaos. Yet, the methods employed by the Imperium are as ruthless as the enemies theyseek to destroy. Governed by the decrees of the God-Emperor, the Imperium enforces abrutal order through fear, repression, and unyielding orthodoxy. It is a society …
Abstract Within the broader digital humanities field lies the application of mathematical techniques to understand and quantify literature. The use of these approaches can provide a different perspective on a work, can enhance our ability to visualize complex and evolving narratives, and can potentially quantify aspects of the narrative. This last feature is especially relevant …
Abstract The Warhammer 40´000 setting is characterised by its proverbial “grim darkness”. Its take on the far future is a highly dystopian one. The most important polity in the setting, the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man, is described as the worst possible regime. It is a militaristic, xenophobic, highly repressive dictatorship. By contrast, the T’au Empire …
Abstract The world of 40k has forever been at war with the concept of Artificial Intelligence. The Imperium of Man ever wrestles with its fear of Men of Iron whilst simultaneously protecting and pacifying its myriad machine spirits. They preach against the return of ‘Abominable Intelligences’ while they battle the supernatural might of Daemon Engines. …
Abstract Prominent in the annals of grimdark transhumanism is the notion of digital metempsychosis; the virtual reincarnation of the soul into a novel, engineered host body. Nowhere in Warhammer 40K lore is this more prominent than the continued efforts of Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl to fully resurrect his friend and companion, Tech-Priest Friedisch Adum Silip …
Abstract The experience of imprisonment is an experience of powerlessness. Prisoners get to control almost nothing about their lives. Many turn to creative pastimes as a way to escape, to pass the time and to reassert control over a part of their lives. Prisoners may build with matchsticks, write or draw. When I was a …
The Imperial Records, an extensive compendium documenting over 40,000 years of human history across the galaxy, embody a complex narrative of knowledge preservation amidst censorship and loss. This study delves into the multifaceted nature of these records, which oscillate between being apocryphal, incomplete, censored, or heretical, yet stand as the primary source of historical knowledge …
Abstract This case study reflects advising a Warhammer Alliance club at a private Northern California Middle School and the observations of American middle schoolers. From collaborative storytelling, low risk/high rewards probability models, and the exploration of 41st Millennium “Grimdark” themes of Theocracy, Imperialism, and Xenophobia while promoting 21st century SEL skills of Inclusivity and Peer …
Abstract A major theme in the bestselling book series The Horus Heresy is fatherhood. The inciting incident of the series is the abandonment of Horus Lupercal by his father The Emperor, and many of the primarchs struggle with their positions as gene-fathers to the adeptus astartes, as well as to the various father figures in …