The Interactive Pasts Conference: Xavier Rubio-Campillo
0Presentation at the Interactive Pasts Conference, April 5th 2016, Leiden University.
Xavier Rubio-Campillo (Barcelona Supercomputing Centre)
Evolving Planet: Explaining archaeology with science-fiction
"Archaeology has experienced a large number of innovations during recent decades. Geographical Information Systems, archaeometry, or laser scanning are only some of the methodological advances of the discipline. However, the public image on how archaeology works is roughly the same as it was several years ago. SimulPast faced this challenge while planning dissemination activities. The project explores the integration of computer simulation within archaeological research using concepts such as complexity, resilience or cooperation, often associated with other disciplines.
The dissemination team aims to explain how these new methods can be used to explore how past societies dealt with problems linked to the present-day. We have developed a videogame to achieve this goal. The story is set within a science fiction context where the player takes the role of a scientist studying the extinction of a sentient species. It is developed over 20 missions where the player explores under what conditions the population dynamics match the archaeological evidence. The campaign gradually introduces some of the concepts explored by SimulPast, including sustainability, dispersals and identity.
We will present the experience provided by the game development with special emphasis on the design decisions taken to explain an archaeological project with a videogame."
http://www.evolvingplanetgame.com/