History recognition software

In the video game Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the heroes Kassandra and Alexios fight in elaborately generated ancient landscapes, climb the columns of the Parthenon and meet personalities such as King Leonidas and Pericles. Players are immersed deep into the world of ancient Greece. Fun is the main focus, but the player can also learn a lot about life in those times.

The computer game publisher Ubisoft works closely with historians to make the games in the Assassin's Creed series as historically accurate as possible. But the developers take some artistic license. This was also recognized by the students in the seminar "Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Classical Greece" last winter semester. They analyzed the computer game and the accompanying Discovery Tour (the discovery mode) historically and summarized the results in "Let's Analyse" videos.

Did the Spartans get that kick out of it?

Our reception is shaped by viewing habits from pop culture. Movies like 300 or Gladiator create historical images. They're revisited and reworked over and over again. "Students bring these experiences with them. But this reference to their life world also opens the door to the academic world," says Dr. Kai Ruffing, professor of ancient history. The students' motivation was correspondingly high. Discussions often went on beyond the seminar time.

A good example is the kick of the Spartans. In the movie 300, Leonidas, King of Sparta, kicks the messenger of King Xerxes into a well. Whether the Spartans really fought like that? Questionable. Still, Assassin's Creed players can equip their hero with this ability. "This kick has become iconic. It is a transmedia example of how powerful scenes from a film pass into media culture," explains Dr. Kai Matuszkiewicz of the Service Center for Teaching (SCL), who provided media studies support for the seminar.

"The focus on agriculture and the colorful depiction of statues is particularly successful," says Ruffing. For example, the Parthenon in the game is richly painted and decorated. "On the other hand, the depiction and handling of the ferryboats, oar-powered warships, don't match common reconstructions, the students found."

Visual habit beats historical accuracy

For all their enthusiasm for the game and fascination with its depiction, the students ultimately concluded that the game mechanisms are more important than the real history that has been handed down. What is represented virtually can only be symbolic, the students sum up in their video essay about the silver mines in Laureion. Some of the objects depicted, such as the trier or the looms, would not have worked in reality. However, they serve visual habits and sometimes they simply benefit the format of the action-adventure game.

The production of the analysis videos presented the students with a challenge. The conflict of "showing vs. telling" was an important experience for them. They had to filter out: What do I need to explain? What can I show? "I was struck by how complex historical awareness and culture are, and how much I have to reduce these things to get them across," says student teacher Lion Arendt. After creating the script and editing the scenes, the students moved on to voiceover. Dr. Christiane Borchard, director of the SCL, who initiated and always supported the project, made sure that the students did not lack hardware and software. The result was eight videos on topics ranging from historical figures to shipbuilding.

A game as teaching material?

Ruffing, Matuszkiewicz and the students conclude that the Discovery Tour and the video game can be integrated into school or university teaching - but always with a critical eye. "For the production of future antique works, however, Ubisoft has already set the bar very high," Ruffing is certain.

Text: Christine Graß