The use of digital applications has been an essential tool to help archaeologists in the study of archaeological sites and records, and in the last decades, it has also provided new methods of use (AR, VR, video games), able to fascinate new audiences and therefore promote the heritage of a territory. In recent years, the academic community, including archaeology professionals, has shown great interest in the relationship between digital games, research, education, and outreach. As pointed out by Erik Champion (2015), these digital products offer a learning potential through tools focused on non-textual visualization, in addition to their ability to convey stories and meanings. The path, especially in Italy where these topics are still in the experimental stage, hasn’t been easy due to a severe amount of compelling issues: first of all the tendency of academics to consider commercial products as a belittling form of knowledge; secondary the common misconception towards video games and interactive entertainment, in general, that has always been viewed as a somewhat childish pastime; thirdly, one of the most obvious problems is that archaeologists are often ignorant of the dynamic of the commercial interactive industry. However, the recent development of institutionalized Public Archaeology programs has had the potential not only to face the interactive entertainment industry’s increasing encroachment into archaeology but also to change the sentiments that many archaeologists hold toward interactive entertainment. In this regard, this paper aims at presenting a video game project, The Living Hill, dedicated to the excavation site located on the Poggio Imperiale hill of Poggibonsi (Siena, Italy) which has been an emblematic case study for digital application to an archaeological project since its initial phases in the 1990s and the case study chosen to experiment with new dissemination methodologies such as VR and gaming applied to archaeological heritage in the last two years (Bertoldi and Mariotti 2022). The Living Hill was developed starting from the scientific results of the Poggibonsi excavation and through the collaboration between academia and industry in the framework of a project whose aim was the digital enhancement of the archaeological heritage on the site. What is extraordinary in this case study is the nature of the archaeological context (spanning from Late Antiquity to the First Renaissance period) and the very clear intentions in terms of public outreach and technological experimentation that characterized the excavation project since the earliest approaches. At the beginning of the project and after many years of research and interpretations a major issue had to be addressed: how can complex archaeological data (often referred to small and negative evidence and poorly preserved structures) be used in a video game to engage a broad range of public and learners in accessible ways? The workflow adopted for the video game project started with a 3D survey of the hill through the use of a drone and the subsequent elaboration of the photographs in Agisoft Metashape to obtain the model of the terrain and the correct position of archaeological evidence. Next, the three-dimensional modelling of the three levels scenarios (dedicated respectively to the Early Medieval village, the Late Medieval castle and the Early Renaissance fortress), characters, buildings, and objects was carried out using the Blender software. At the same time a deep study of the dense and specialized historical and archaeological literature related to the archaeological record, finds, and historical sources allowed the writing of the narrative, the multiple-choice dialogues between the characters, and the additional information that players can access at their discretion. The narrative framework storyline was developed on the basis of a major quest. To solve the quest, players are encouraged to freely explore the space and interact with other characters. Finally, scenes and interactions were programmed using the Unity 3D software. The project wanted to explore the acknowledged benefits of a gaming experience and put them at the service of archaeological heritage enhancement purposes: video games are e a potential for public outreach and education because they can strongly motivate learners and create awareness about a topic; they can also provide immersive environments where a large variety of users can practice knowledge and skills in an engaging way since the thrill of discovery and exploration combined with the opportunity to relive the past is something that appeals both on an instinctive and emotional level; moreover, they can be used as an asset to promote tourism and sustainable cultural heritage development. However, many issues also emerged and needed to be critically addressed during the two years of development. They involved: the need to remodel the project due to the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the activities’ timeline and the planned users’ involvement; the level of accuracy (Copplestone 2017; Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, Galeazzi, and Vassallo 2018) in both 3D reconstructions and narrative design: the initial strategy adopted for the modelling of the scenario in Unity 3D software; the management of the file size that led to the creation of a double version (pc and mobile devices) but affected the processing and the release time of the game. Entering Archaeogaming’s second decade, it is, therefore, necessary to reflect on the possibilities presented by this tool at the convergence between the production of academic and scientific knowledge (specifically, the interpretations and representations of the past and its material culture) and specific practices of development of these games guided by interdisciplinarity.
Transforming the Archaeological Record Into a Digital Playground: A Critical Analysis of The Living Hill Project
Samanta Mariotti
2022-01-01
Abstract
The use of digital applications has been an essential tool to help archaeologists in the study of archaeological sites and records, and in the last decades, it has also provided new methods of use (AR, VR, video games), able to fascinate new audiences and therefore promote the heritage of a territory. In recent years, the academic community, including archaeology professionals, has shown great interest in the relationship between digital games, research, education, and outreach. As pointed out by Erik Champion (2015), these digital products offer a learning potential through tools focused on non-textual visualization, in addition to their ability to convey stories and meanings. The path, especially in Italy where these topics are still in the experimental stage, hasn’t been easy due to a severe amount of compelling issues: first of all the tendency of academics to consider commercial products as a belittling form of knowledge; secondary the common misconception towards video games and interactive entertainment, in general, that has always been viewed as a somewhat childish pastime; thirdly, one of the most obvious problems is that archaeologists are often ignorant of the dynamic of the commercial interactive industry. However, the recent development of institutionalized Public Archaeology programs has had the potential not only to face the interactive entertainment industry’s increasing encroachment into archaeology but also to change the sentiments that many archaeologists hold toward interactive entertainment. In this regard, this paper aims at presenting a video game project, The Living Hill, dedicated to the excavation site located on the Poggio Imperiale hill of Poggibonsi (Siena, Italy) which has been an emblematic case study for digital application to an archaeological project since its initial phases in the 1990s and the case study chosen to experiment with new dissemination methodologies such as VR and gaming applied to archaeological heritage in the last two years (Bertoldi and Mariotti 2022). The Living Hill was developed starting from the scientific results of the Poggibonsi excavation and through the collaboration between academia and industry in the framework of a project whose aim was the digital enhancement of the archaeological heritage on the site. What is extraordinary in this case study is the nature of the archaeological context (spanning from Late Antiquity to the First Renaissance period) and the very clear intentions in terms of public outreach and technological experimentation that characterized the excavation project since the earliest approaches. At the beginning of the project and after many years of research and interpretations a major issue had to be addressed: how can complex archaeological data (often referred to small and negative evidence and poorly preserved structures) be used in a video game to engage a broad range of public and learners in accessible ways? The workflow adopted for the video game project started with a 3D survey of the hill through the use of a drone and the subsequent elaboration of the photographs in Agisoft Metashape to obtain the model of the terrain and the correct position of archaeological evidence. Next, the three-dimensional modelling of the three levels scenarios (dedicated respectively to the Early Medieval village, the Late Medieval castle and the Early Renaissance fortress), characters, buildings, and objects was carried out using the Blender software. At the same time a deep study of the dense and specialized historical and archaeological literature related to the archaeological record, finds, and historical sources allowed the writing of the narrative, the multiple-choice dialogues between the characters, and the additional information that players can access at their discretion. The narrative framework storyline was developed on the basis of a major quest. To solve the quest, players are encouraged to freely explore the space and interact with other characters. Finally, scenes and interactions were programmed using the Unity 3D software. The project wanted to explore the acknowledged benefits of a gaming experience and put them at the service of archaeological heritage enhancement purposes: video games are e a potential for public outreach and education because they can strongly motivate learners and create awareness about a topic; they can also provide immersive environments where a large variety of users can practice knowledge and skills in an engaging way since the thrill of discovery and exploration combined with the opportunity to relive the past is something that appeals both on an instinctive and emotional level; moreover, they can be used as an asset to promote tourism and sustainable cultural heritage development. However, many issues also emerged and needed to be critically addressed during the two years of development. They involved: the need to remodel the project due to the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the activities’ timeline and the planned users’ involvement; the level of accuracy (Copplestone 2017; Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, Galeazzi, and Vassallo 2018) in both 3D reconstructions and narrative design: the initial strategy adopted for the modelling of the scenario in Unity 3D software; the management of the file size that led to the creation of a double version (pc and mobile devices) but affected the processing and the release time of the game. Entering Archaeogaming’s second decade, it is, therefore, necessary to reflect on the possibilities presented by this tool at the convergence between the production of academic and scientific knowledge (specifically, the interpretations and representations of the past and its material culture) and specific practices of development of these games guided by interdisciplinarity.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
