Learning from games Learning from games At the DH campsiteAt the DH campsite
Erik Champion, [email protected]
http://erikchampion.wordpress.com
CeRch Seminar 30-04-2013: 18.15Anatomy Theatre and Museum, Strand Campus, King's College London
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/cultural/spaces/anatomy-museum.aspx
CeRch Seminar 30-04-2013: 18.15Anatomy Theatre and Museum, Strand Campus, King's College London
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/cultural/spaces/anatomy-museum.aspx
Games and Digital Humanities3 questions•game studies lack theoretical rigor?•games don’t afford meaningful experiences?•are games relevant to Digital Humanities?A few answers•definitions: games, digital humanities, new media, new heritage, culture, place•my approach (so far)•Projects•ideas
Service or paradigm• Digital Humanities should be the application of
computing, or an inquiry as to how digital media has irrevocably changed the Humanities David Parry. (n.d.). The Digital Humanities or a Digital Humanism. Debates in the Digital Humanities - Matthew K. Gold - Google Bøger.
• Or, the application of computing to new and modified approaches in DH..
research infrastructure
• “Research infrastructure is not research just as roads are not economic activity. We tend to forget when confronted by large infrastructure projects that they are not an end in themselves.” -philosopher Geoffrey Rockwell
DH in a nutshell
• Digital humanities involves values, meanings, encounters
• it must involve examining what it means to be digital OR it fails as infrastructure*
• I did not say that, the EU-ERIC* said it.
*Legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium - ERIC Practical Guidelines Research*Legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium - ERIC Practical Guidelines Research
Questions for DIGHUMLAB
• Can you develop an infrastructure X years ahead, based on technology not yet in use?
• Can a distributed network allow for unified identity and individual planning?
• Which resources are best managed centrally, and which are best distributed?
Patrik Svensson @ DIGHUMLAB Launch, Sept 2012Patrik Svensson @ DIGHUMLAB Launch, Sept 2012
virtual heritage
• My main area of research has been designing and evaluating how contextually appropriate interaction can aid the understanding of cultures distant in time, space, and in understanding to our own.
• ..I agree, it is an oxymoron, how can you have VIRTUAL heritage? It either is heritage, and worth conserving or..
Cultural heritage• Monuments or groups of buildings “of
outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;”
• Sites:“works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view”
NOTE UNESCO’s (1972) definition of cultural heritage seems very architectural, and one wonders what “outstanding universal value” means, when culture is so contextual and so often contested.
intangible heritage
• The practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills, that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as part of their cultural heritage.
• It is sometimes called living cultural heritage, and is manifested inter alia in the following domains: oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional craftsmanship. UNESCO (2003).
so culture is interactive
• Interaction is crucial in the creation of culture, and, by extension, in the understanding of culture.
• A feeling of strong cultural presence requires being physically embodied (we have a body that affects and is affected by other objects and forces), socially embedded (there exists the presence of others to whom we feel socially bound) and culturally inscribed in the world (our actions leave a lasting and meaningful impression on the world).
what is culture?
• If Culture is the sum of its missing parts, how do we layer interpretations so communities can understand each other’s cultural (material) background?
• Does Second Life create a sense of community or a sense of cultural presence (the feeling of being in the presence of a similar or distinctly different cultural belief system)?
2nd Life =AIRPORT TERMINAL
Virtual Meetings like real meetings, only worse!
but you can add a drawing interface to jibebut you can add a drawing interface to jibe
BrusselsBrussels
To be surrounded by heritage objects does not mean cultural learning is taking place
cultural ≠ social?
type social community cultural
activity is directed: talk, chat, gossip circular ritualized behaviour
the space is location a hang out specific place-making
otherness is anyone like-minded role-based
duration fleeting short term long-term
artefacts irrelevent shared valued, “owned”
culture place and trace
• Culture is a feedback loop. A visitor perceives space as place, and inhabits (modifies a place), place 'perpetuates culture’, frames, centres it, or rejects it, and influences the inhabitants in turn.
• Cultural behavior is not exactly social behavior, but governed by or understood in terms of a cultural setting (place).
• Culture is also bartered, not static- must have objects of shared transactional value to understand it as a valuing process.
• Even language isn’t only social, it has some form of related material embodiment and relation to place and physical context.
only humans have external cognitive artefacts e.g. maps
To recognize shared cultural values we must ‘see’ cultural tools
Humans only primates with 3D tool recognition
VIRTUAL HERITAGE IS
…the use of computer-based interactive technologies to record, preserve, or recreate artefacts, sites and actors of historic, artistic, religious, of cultural significance and to deliver the results openly to a global audience in such a way as to provide formative educational experiences through electronic manipulations of time and space.
Stone, Robert, and Takeo Ojika. 2000. Virtual heritage: what next? Multimedia, IEEE no. 7 (2):73-74.
Glen Gunnhouse U. of Georgia Art history classGlen Gunnhouse U. of Georgia Art history class
Virtual Heritage (2)• “the attempt to convey
not just the appearance but also the meaning and significance of cultural artefacts and the associated social agency that designed and used them, through the use of interactive and immersive digital media.”Erik Champion, conference paper & chapter 12, “EXPLORATIVE SHADOW REALMS OF UNCERTAIN HISTORIES” in Kalay, Kvan and Affleck, (eds.), New Heritage, pp 186-205 2007, Hong Kong.
Roman Church, basement, and
perplexed Facebook employee
New Media-new heritage
• New Media comprises the act of reshaping the user experience of exploring realms or worlds through the innovative use of digital media.
• New Heritage should re-examine the user experience that digital media can provide for the understanding and experiencing of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Erik Champion, conference paper & chapter 12, “EXPLORATIVE SHADOW REALMS OF UNCERTAIN HISTORIES” in Kalay, Kvan and Affleck, (eds.), New Heritage, pp 186-205, 2007, Hong Kong.
Bernadette Flynn: Spaces Mnajdra Malta
Paladin Studios: Monastry
Eric Fassbender: Lighthouse
Bernadette Flynn: Spaces Mnajdra Malta
Paladin Studios: Monastry
Eric Fassbender: Lighthouse
Artistry or Realism?Artistry or Realism?
New Heritage could beFeature New Media Trends works as “New Heritage” if..
INTERACTION:1-Explorative space2-Shadow embodiment
Persistent sharable and customizable online “Worlds”, tangible computing, augmented or mixed reality (AR or MR)
Novice and experienced users can explore, change, and augment according to attitude, experience, or learning style? Can real artefacts or tangible devices be used?
CONTENT:3-Social realms 4-Uncertainty
Social computing, online communities, dynamic data, Wikis, tagging, new graphical metaphors
Users are aware of local social constraints? Are different levels of certainty experienced and correctly understood by users? Is user participation meaningfully incorporated?
OUTPUT:5-Meaningful historical and heritage-based learning
Innate evaluation, status feedback, commercial success, recruiting, logging of popularity
Changes in the user experience, transferable skills, cultural awareness, and factual knowledge, can be verified? The relevant data can be easily ported independently of the mediating technology?
PhD 2001-4:Palenque
• Research into games by Malone (1982: 67–68), and by Johnson (2005a), suggests uncertainty can actually increase user engagement, since people seem to be drawn to solving puzzles and filling in gaps in their “knowledge structures”.
2001-4 Virtual Palenque (PhD project)
Give them tasks to do in “real” world to reach mythical world
2001-4 Virtual Palenque (PhD project)
Give them tasks to do in “real” world to reach mythical world
Andrew Dekker and Mark Hurst, 2005Andrew Dekker and Mark Hurst, 2005
Hurst et al, 2005
BIOFEEDBACK
ZOMBIE PHOBIC MUSIC, NPC AI, FILTERS
Andrew Dekker 2006Andrew Dekker 2006
Andrew Dekker 2006, DiGRA 2007 paper
Shaders, field of view, music, NPC AI changes with biofeedback
spatially augmented Greek myth
University of Queensland Student Project, 2006: HMD and Minotaur myth
As you approach the minotaur with head mounted display that lags, you hear the scared heartbeat of previous players
Weeks, Barrett, 2006Weeks, Barrett, 2006Massage chair conveys the landscapeMassage chair conveys the landscape
Charles Henden’s warping interface (left), Paul Bourke’s iDome, Jeffrey Jacobson (http://publicvr.org)Charles Henden’s warping interface (left), Paul Bourke’s iDome, Jeffrey Jacobson (http://publicvr.org)
Weeks, Claire and Pu, 2006Weeks, Claire and Pu, 2006Journey to the West-Monkey literature as RPGJourney to the West-Monkey literature as RPG
Alex Peters, Ryan Fairhurst, William Gordon and Benn Chisholm, 2005
tacit-tactile learning
to be a scholar or a master is to be an artist, measured by one’s grasp of the “Four Arts”: Music (“Qin”), the board game (“Qi”), calligraphy (“Shu”), and brush painting (“Hua”).
Helped “perceive the ultimate doctrine of the heavens”, “make themselves [be] enlightened”, “express their emotions/their understanding of the doctrine”, and “inspire others” so that their lives achieve peace and harmony.
• Z. Dainian, Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2002.
AI Team Studios (Isaac Gibson and Amy Ng) 2005AI Team Studios (Isaac Gibson and Amy Ng) 2005
touch screen Taoism
the four great arts of chinaLi Wang, 2011Li Wang, 2011
youtube links
Opening http://youtu.be/gFYG4zTn4Js
Game Hua http://youtu.be/DiGDezTM8hY
Game Qi1 http://youtu.be/jP9nfdUFDTU
Game Qi2 http://youtu.be/orCga2CQBjs
Game Qin http://youtu.be/iC2BGT5IbDE
Game Shu http://youtu.be/dv_TOnl_sbc
game definitions• A game is a rule-based formal system with a variable and quantifiable
outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable. (Juul, 2001).
• A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome (Salen and Zimmerman, 2003, p. 572).
• A game is a challenge that offers up the possibility of temporary or permanent tactical resolution without harmful outcomes to the real world situation of the participant (Champion, 2011, p.88).
VR or Games
• One could model and code with Virtual Reality• scale is..huge• cost is..huge• finding talent and maintaining it seems difficult• So projects are often prototypes or experimental
designs.
Image courtesy of Chris Blundell,the Parthenon, in Unreal TournamentImage courtesy of Chris Blundell,the Parthenon, in Unreal Tournament
game mods as prototypesFig 1 Loading Screen, Journey to the West, Weeks, Claire, Pu, University of Queensland (Erik as superviser) 2006Fig 2 Will Cartwright &Tim Germanchis - Queenscliff multimedia cartography project RMIT 2004
cons/pros of prototypes
Examples
Introduction: Mod Mod Glorious Mod Erik Champion1: Between a Mod and a Hard Place Peter Christiansen2: Between Fact and Fiction in Cultural HeritageNatalie M. Underberg3: Use of “The Elder Scrolls Construction Set” to create a Virtual History LessonEric Fassbender4: Game Mods, Engines, and ArchitectureKevin R. Conway5: Teaching Mods with Class Erik Champion6: Games to Movies: Machinima and ModificationsFriedrich Kirschner7: CryVE: Modding the CryEngine2 to create a CAVE SystemMarija Nakevska, Jun Hu, Alex Juarez
Introduction: Mod Mod Glorious Mod Erik Champion1: Between a Mod and a Hard Place Peter Christiansen2: Between Fact and Fiction in Cultural HeritageNatalie M. Underberg3: Use of “The Elder Scrolls Construction Set” to create a Virtual History LessonEric Fassbender4: Game Mods, Engines, and ArchitectureKevin R. Conway5: Teaching Mods with Class Erik Champion6: Games to Movies: Machinima and ModificationsFriedrich Kirschner7: CryVE: Modding the CryEngine2 to create a CAVE SystemMarija Nakevska, Jun Hu, Alex Juarez
who is the audience?
“Heritage always has been about people, but the challenge today is to make it relevant to a much wider section of people, and that emphasis will not necessarily be on the conservation of concrete objects” (Howard 2003, Heritage Management, Interpretation, Identity, p. 50).
http://publicvr.orghttp://publicvr.orgBluescreen actors into virtual puppet theatre using Unreal tournament on large displaysBluescreen actors into virtual puppet theatre using Unreal tournament on large displays
QuizzMob A.R. gamethe social does not define place
Hack4Lt, Vilnius, CodeUnited teamHack4Lt, Vilnius, CodeUnited team
some ideascultural Turing test: humans impersonate NPCs
traveler-tourist, Tinker-spy
Cultural constraints, thematic challenges, reversed perspectives
augmented tourism
overlays, filters
Augmented Views in Second Life by P Kerremans to left, Mawson Hut Antarctica 3D+panorama to right (Bourke and Morse)
Bike or mini-helicopter tourism
Augmented Reality GPS and historic overlays
Layar-AR?Layar-AR?Hight, Augmented Sound
Narratives
Hight, Augmented Sound
Narratives
Georgia Tech Mixed
Reality Second Life
Georgia Tech Mixed
Reality Second Life
ludic mappinghow to use maps as external cognitive artefacts
LugaruLugaru
Rituals are more than habits and more than pointsRituals are more than habits and more than points
Virtual Sambor, BerkeleyVirtual Sambor, Berkeley Jedi Starwars Academy, Elder Scrolls III: OblivionJedi Starwars Academy, Elder Scrolls III: Oblivion
Role playing festival, Kalø, Denmark 16.09.2012Role playing festival, Kalø, Denmark 16.09.2012 Bio-fed character immersionBio-fed character immersion
Dekker, 2009Dekker, 2009
tourism and biofeedback biofeedback produces thematic perspectives
Dekker, Hurst, 2005; middle: Fassbender: 2010; Dekker, 2006Dekker, Hurst, 2005; middle: Fassbender: 2010; Dekker, 2006
resouce managementtribal trouble, RTS, socio-political scenarios
tribal troubletribal trouble
new interfaces:how do we build our own tools?
A book of artwork, interviews, and articles about the two most important parts of the video-game Minecraft: the fans and the culture.
McCartney and Short, http://allc.org/node/188 map at http://www.allc.org/node/189
discussion at http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/368/1925/3779.full
I believe methodology is the study and debate of methods, not methods
CFP: cultural heritage creative tools & archives26-27 June 2013, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagenhow can we share across institutional heritage silos?
CARARE Final Conference, 2012 Copenhagen
Marseille Museum of Culture
Fall 2013 will witness the largest international scientific event on digital heritage in history, bringing together hundreds of researchers, educators, scientists, industry professionals and policy makers to debate, discuss and present digital technology applied to the protection, documentation, and understanding of humanity’s shared heritage. For the first time ever, under the patronage of UNESCO, the leading scientific and industry events from across the digital and heritage spheres will join together under one roof to explore the state-of-the-art and address future emerging research scenarios.
www.digitalheritage2013.orgwww.digitalheritage2013.org
final notes & questions• Games are composite and open-ended, “rigour” is debateable, they help
us understand audience and interactivity of culture, designing game-based heritage is a great learning experience, BUT artistry can mislead.
• These visualization issues & techniques are of value to Digital Humanities
• Models do not replace books but accuracy can be individually filtered
• Imaginative & immersive environments can creatively connect to archives
• Disturbances (griefing) is part of cultural debate-how to incorporate it?
• How do we thematically include conjecture and interpretation?
• How do we account for preconceived notions people bring to a visualization?
• How to link papers, tools, methods, models and debate space (forums)?
Contact [email protected] OR [email protected] OR www://erikchampion.wordpress.com