Hack the Map 3D Video Game – Escaping your destiny through Rigas’ Charta

Authors

  • Kostas Diamantis 3D Graphics and Game Developer, Software & Media Administrator, Onassis Stegi, Onassis Foundation, Athens, Greece
  • Vasiliki Gerontopoulou Onassis Library Coordinator https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0099-6093
  • Maria Pazarli Dr. SRSE, Dipl. Archaeologist, General State Archives of Greece-Cartographic Heritage Archives, Thessaloniki, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.16.1.573

Keywords:

3D Video Game, Historical Cartography, Rigas' Charta, Digital CartoHeritage, Escape Rooms, Game Based Learning (GBL)

Abstract

Celebrating the two hundred years from the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the War of Independence, Onassis Library, in collaboration with the Cartographic Heritage Archives of General State Archives of Greece and the Department of Geography of Harokopio University, implemented a series of digital workshops on 3D video game design in order to motivate teenagers to interact with one of the most emblematic maps of the eighteenth century and a major artefact of the Greek cartographic heritage: Rigas Velestinlis’ Charta (map) of Greece (1796–1797).

In 2020, four (4) school teams consisting of sixty-five (65) students 13-17 years old, brought to life the map that inspired the Greek Revolution of 1821, transforming it into a 3D video game for PC or Android devices. By using innovative mixtures of history, geography, cartography, visual arts, and information technology, they managed to build a third-person puzzle game with one hero (Rigas) who had to run through the Charta region to escape imprisonment by solving twelve (12) riddles, collecting all the scattered sheets of the revolutionary map and unifying its parts.

This educational activity broke out of the traditional classroom routine, and enhanced the engagement, collaboration, and communication of the youngsters, fostering their creativity and their connection with the cartographic cultural heritage. Learning through game-making stimulated literacy development and improved the digital skills of the participants. The success of this innovative educational experience led to the development of an Augmented Reality (AR) application entitled “Rigas’ Charta,” available at Google Play for Android devices, and to the implementation of the game-developing course to an online National Student Competition entitled “Hack the Map: Rigas’ Charta” for the school year of 2020–2021.

Author Biographies

Kostas Diamantis, 3D Graphics and Game Developer, Software & Media Administrator, Onassis Stegi, Onassis Foundation, Athens, Greece

Kostas Diamantis works at the Onassis Foundation as a Software & Media Administrator, with responsibilities ranging from the production of the live streaming broadcasts of Onassis Foundation's Stegi events, to the administration and supervision of its digital multimedia systems as well as the management of the cultural media archive. 

Vasiliki Gerontopoulou, Onassis Library Coordinator

Vasiliki Gerontopoulou has been working at the Onassis Foundation since 2009 as a project manager and digital programs coordinator. In 2014 she was appointed Head of the Onassis Library. She has an extensive experience in planning and coordinating cultural events as well as in the implementation of European research programs and digital projects. 

Maria Pazarli, Dr. SRSE, Dipl. Archaeologist, General State Archives of Greece-Cartographic Heritage Archives, Thessaloniki, Greece

Maria Pazarli works at he the General State Archives of Greece - Cartographic Heritage Archives, since 2000. She participates in the development and management of the Archive’s digital map library, organizing educational programs for students, as well as lectures and seminars addressed to in-service teachers and adults. 

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Published

2022-09-29