Designing the past: video games as a tool to communicate scientific knowledge
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-09-21

Video games are one of the most appealing media at our disposal to communicate knowledge about the past. The unique combination of interaction and storytelling they offer allows the player not only to see the recreated world, but also to experiment it in ways that cannot simply be achieved by any other media. This potential is explained by the fact that the player needs to take an active role inside the recreated world. This world should always be crafted to strengthen game mechanics and this requirement presents a challenge to anyone that wants to use games for scientific outreach; the most scientifically accurate version of the past will be meaningless if the story, characters and dynamics of the game cannot capture the interest of the player. As a consequence, the creation of an educational video game should be guided by the basic requirement that the game needs to be fun. What are the best approaches to combine knowledge transmission with fun? Does the goal of scientific dissemination affect the process of game design? Can an educational game even compete with high budget projects while seeking for players’ interests? We present here the creation of a video game based on the discoveries made at the UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site of Atapuerca, Spain. Our main aim is to promote discussion on the unique decisions taken during the design of a video games purposely created for scientific communication on human evolution. 

Author(s): Rubio-Campillo, Xavier (The University of Edinburgh; Murphy‘s Toast Games) - Boj, Isabel - Hernandez Cardona, Francesc Xavier (Universitat de Barcelona) - Mayans, Jaume (Murphy‘s Toast Games) - Sospedra Roca, Rafel - Yubero-Gomez, Maria (Universitat de Barcelona)