How we made a video game based on medieval records
How we made a video game based on medieval records
How we made a video game based on medieval records
February 14, 2022
By Jackson Armstrong and William Hepburn
Summary
We are not computer game experts or designers: we are historians who based the game on our collaborative research into Aberdeen's rich historical archive of medieval burgh records.
Setting up this experiment in merging historical records with digital storytelling, we enlisted the help of a video game designer and an artist.
Working with game designer Katharine Neil and artist Alana Bell, our immediate focus had to be on the practicalities of getting the game made.
The early idea to have all text in the game linked back to an explanation of its historical provenance proved unworkable from both a technical and game design standpoint.
To offer transparency on the game's adaptation of historical materials we created a separate game website, linked at the start and end of the game.
Another way to emphasise how history is created is depicted within the game itself, where the town clerk writes down what ultimately become the records which survive today in Aberdeen's city archives.
For us, as long as the game offered a clear link to historical research and sources, emphasising the authored nature of history, we felt free to develop a fictionalised narrative and work to the needs of game design.
Reference
Hepburn, W., & Armstrong, J. (2022, February 14). How we made a video game based on Medieval Records. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/how-we-made-a-video-game-based-on-medieval-records-174984