Alistair Hardaker
Image: A screenshot of the VR cathedral
Nottingham Cathedral and Nottingham Trent University create videogame to educate young people about conservation challenges facing historic buildings.
A videogame designed to teach young people about the conservation challenges facing historic buildings has been created by Nottingham Cathedral and Nottingham Trent University.
‘Pugin’s Revival’ uses a high-resolution 3D virtual model of the Grade II* listed Nottingham Cathedral to educate players about structural problems and their solutions.
The game forms part of Nottingham Cathedral’s ‘Restoring Pugin’ project, which aims to restore the original early Victorian decorations to the Cathedral’s east end whilst engaging the public with its heritage story. Led by Professor Benachir Medjdoub, an expert in digital architecture at Nottingham Trent University, the game was co-designed with pupils at Loughborough Schools Foundation, Stanton Vale School in Long Eaton and Bennerley Fields School in Ilkeston.
Players encounter crack, humidity and mould ‘monsters’ that damage the building’s fabric. To progress, they must acquire knowledge about conservation problems before being able to repair the damage. The game includes riddles hidden in secret chests, a map system and a quiz to test learning. Augustus Pugin, the architect who built the Cathedral between 1841 and 1844, narrates the experience.
“The children we’ve worked with were instrumental in designing this game to make it engaging for the next generation,” explained Professor Medjdoub, of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.
“For example, it was the children’s idea to place Pugin as the narrator. They learned how he was a prominent architectural figure in the early Victorian period and that he was the mastermind behind the design of Nottingham Cathedral.
“They also wanted to include the monsters as metaphors for the different ways that damage occurs to heritage buildings, making it a more engaging way to learn.
“It’s important that we not only raise awareness but also give children the knowledge from a technical point of point of view of how these buildings need to be maintained.”
The game is being rolled out to schools and community spaces across Nottinghamshire. A 20-minute version has been created for schools and community centres, whilst a one-hour version is available for more experienced gamers. A smartphone version will be developed in future. The game is available to download on Windows platform.
The project received £120,000 in funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The research team included game technology research fellow Annamalai Selvarajan and game environment artist Dora Holloway, both of Nottingham Trent University. Dr Ana Souto, Dr Moulay Chalal and Dr Nacer Bezai of NTU were co-investigators.
Canon Malachy Brett, Cathedral Dean, added: “As the Restoring Pugin project moves forward, with paint restoration now well underway, we look forward to this next phase of working with NTU and their school partners in deploying the videogame.
The game is viable to download and play on Windows here.
