MA Public History- Major Research Essay (MRE) Carleton University 2024

Choose Your Adventure: Exploring Irish Crannóga Through Oral History, Memory, Public History and Archaeology

Archaeogaming is a passion of mine so it made sense that my thesis would be focused on video games, archaeology, and history.

The public conception of Irish archaeology stereotypically invokes ideas around the ‘Celtic’ or even the ‘Viking’ Irish past. A different way to view Irish history is through the ‘crannog’ and the idea of ‘dwelling in the landscape’. Crannogs were some of Ireland’s oldest houses and defensive structures in prehistoric times. I discuss the design of a game centered on the archaeology of crannogs, to transport the player to the past. We cannot go back in time and inhabit a crannog, but via a game or playful enchanting experience we can explore and dwell within the ancient landscape. This experience in world building (Morgan, 2023) allows us to explore the intersection of digital public history, historical consciousness, and Irish heritage/landscape, and offers suggestions for how public historians might employ similar approaches. Games can offer a new way to experience history and historical consciousness through gameplay. My MRE explores the creation of a GDD (Game Design Document) towards a game as an ideal medium for public history and player engagement to learn about the past.

Aoife and the Crannog is an immersive and pedagogical game that explores the rich history of Irish crannogs or ancient dwellings built on artificial islands or lakes during the prehistoric and medieval period. This game aims to demonstrate the power of gaming as an effective tool for public history. Players will embark on a captivating journey through time, archaeology, and crannogs themselves to discern what life was like in ancient and medieval Ireland. This game offers a pedagogical approach to history by allowing players to immerse themselves in history and learn through exploring.

Other Digital Projects/ Tools

For my digital humanities class I decided to create my first Twine Game called SS Starfall. The game was inspired by my cat Juniper in his little carrier (pictured above) that reminded me of a spaceship. I wanted to create a visual and textual journey that players could connect with and I thought Juni provided a perfect opportunity to create a game about cats in space! It was also heavily inspired by my love for Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, and all the other sci-fi shows and movies I have loved over the years.

Twine is a tool that allows you to create story-based games or choose your own adventure games. They can be pretty immersive if you can learn more advanced coding. I was able to code sound and images to make it more immersive experience.

SketchUP

Before designing our mini exhibits, we needed to think about how all the elements would fit on the table. SketchUP was a great tool for visually creating our exhibits.

Trifold Sample

For our Hutchison House exhibit, each of us we were tasked with creating a trifold and then we got to vote on which one got printed. Mine did not win, but I am proud of how mine turned out.

Decolonizing Public History Class Project

As a final project for class I chose to design a virtual exhibit on Indigenous Life told through images found within Library and Archives Canada.