Open Sourcing History: Using Historians in Games Development
Channel: LinuxConfAu 2018 - Sydney, Australia
Date: 23/01/2018

Claire Manning

http://lca2018.linux.org.au/schedule/presentation/123/

When you’re working in a game that is open source, you’re likely to be working with people of various ethnicities, races and genders, and it’s important to keep their backgrounds in mind. This is particularly important for historical games, where avoiding stereotypes and aiming for authenticity is crucial. Aiming for accuracy not only makes the game more authentic, but also helps develop and expand the player’s understanding of history. 

We all know that history can complement video games by creating an interesting setting that the audience is usually at least vaguely familiar with. When you set a game within a historical setting, you get a pre-built rich environment, and you also save time on explaining the player’s surroundings. 

This talk will be looking at the Assassins Creed franchise and Horizon: Zero Dawn, which both reached out to historians and anthropologists. Both games have extremely different settings, and worked in very different ways to effectively create a feel of authenticity. I will further be discussing how historical and anthropological experts are more than happy to share their knowledge for the sake of historical accuracy, with many believing it to be the future of historical education.

This talk was given at Linux.conf.au 2018 (LCA2018) which was held on 22-26 January 2018 in Sydney Australia.

linux.conf.au is a conference about the Linux operating system, and all aspects of the thriving ecosystem of Free and Open Source Software that has grown up around it. Run since 1999, in a different Australian or New Zealand city each year, by a team of local volunteers, LCA invites more than 500 people to learn from the people who shape the future of Open Source. For more information on the conference see https://linux.conf.au/

#linux.conf.au #linux #foss #opensource