I remember back in 2006 when I saw the
trailer for the first of many Assassin’s Creed video games. A man dressed all
in white, riding on horseback, enters Jerusalem and mercilessly kills a number
of people before escaping from the guards by blending in with a crowd of praying
monks. It was pretty awesome. It reminded me and my brother of the Thief video game
we used to play except more intense and exciting. Who would have guessed that
eight years later this game would develop into a diverse and still expanding franchise
including over a dozen video games, numerous books, comics, clothing, and a
movie in the works that this would be the way numerous youngsters would learn
about history…wait, what?
Video games are moving quickly from the realm
of pure entertainment into a complex realms of art, music, philosophy, storytelling
and even teaching. For some people video games are still a waste of time and
should be avoided like the plague. While others embrace video games like a
lover and scream like someone has been murdered when their World of Warcraft
account gets deleted. Most people are, or have, come around to the idea that
video games are more than just shoot em’ up, brain dead lights on a screen, but
a tool that can be used to entertain, train, and learn. But can video games
actually help people learn? Isn’t that something you do in a classroom with a
teacher and books? Although there are dozens of video games I could use as
examples, Assassin’s Creed is by far the most notable and will, therefore, be
the focus of this essay.
The Assassin’s Creed games can be
described as a historical fiction game. The game draws from actual events,
peoples, deaths, and assassinations throughout the Crusades, the Renaissance,
the American and French Revolutions, to develop its story and game play. Assassin’s
Creed III, for example, takes place during the American Revolutionary War.
Players take the place of an Native American, Conner, as he battles his way
through the British Red Coats and Templar's to bring freedom to the Americans
and his people, all while satisfying his need for revenge. Players find
themselves dodging cannon fire at the Battle of Lexington and Concord, helping
Paul Reveres warn the minute men, participate in the Boston Tea Party, among other
historical events. But these are games of historical fiction. Do they really
keep true to historical fact?
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| Is this educational? |
As it turns out, yes, for the most part.
While the characters do receive some fictionalization, a great deal of events,
including the death of historical figures, take place at the time and location
that they would have in real life. Players are even given a bonus if they
achieve goals in the way they were historically performed. Ubisoft, the
developer of Assassin’s Creed, have teams of people researching history, religion,
culture, period clothing and technology to make the games true to fact. Not
only that but included in the game is a vast database filled with detailed
accounts, information, and commentary on the historical figures, events, architecture,
innovations, and more that the player can access at any point in the game. So
do the Assassin Creed games accurately display historical fact? Yes, when you
look past the fictional events you play through. Does that mean that the games
should be used as a tool for learning?
Imagine for a moment that you are in a
classroom. The professor there is lecturing about biology. It is one of those
lecture with slides and little, or no, active participation from the class.
Some people find this to be very helpful. Others are having headaches and
ulcers just trying to imagine it. People learn and remember things in different
ways. Some people learn things by seeing, some by listening and others by
writing. Most people learn from a mixture of these methods and tools to help
them retain and apply information. Video games can be one of those tools. Video
games can never replace traditional forms of learning but traditional forms of
learning can benefit from use of video games. A good friend of mine said that
it was because of Roller Coaster Tycoon, a game where one manages every aspect
of running an amusement park, to his ability to manage money effectively today and
an inspiration to going into Information Technologies.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still
concerns when it comes to video games. There are people, developers and
consumers, who abuse video games. Video games are a neutral medium. They are
only as entertaining, destructive, instructive, or abusive as the developer or
consumer makes them. Games can be sickening, violent, and unproductive but they
can also be instructive, enlightening, and productive and still be entertaining.
Both developers and consumers need to be responsible with their use of this
medium. How they can and should be used in the field of education needs to be
considered seriously as the medium continues to grow and expand.
Can Assassin’s Creed help student
learns? As tool it can help teachers educate and students learn. A tool can
never replace the one handling it. But like every other tools they need to be
handled with care and skill to be efficient.
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