Stories from the Frontier: Linking Past and Present at Vindolanda through Digital Gameplay

Abstract

‘Stories from the Frontier’ is an Arts Council England (ACE) and Roman Research Trust funded-project which will change how visitors engage with the ancient world at the Roman site of Vindolanda, Hadrian’s Wall. Using the latest research and advances in gamification combined with original artwork and 2D animation, the project will create a game for smart phones that will integrate the normal segregation of material culture from site display by transferring knowledge through gameplay. Aimed at 7-11 year olds and their families, the game tells the stories of real people and objects from the past in a fun and innovative way. While on site, users will play ‘detective’ to solve what happened to the child skeleton (c. AD 230) discovered in the army Barracks at Vindolanda. This case study describes the results of the development of the prototype for the game including test workshops.

Keywords

• Game
• Vindolanda
• Roman
• History
• Archaeology