Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who invested so much into learning, would surely be impressed by a high-tech game being rolled out across Scottish schools.
The educational computer game, blending century-old sound clips with new graphics to chart Carnegie’s life, has been created by Abertay University graduates.
Included in The Legacy is a digital version his birthplace in Dunfermline and the chance to catch rats aboard the ship which took his family to America.
Aimed at high school pupils from first to third year, the unique learning tool features genuine sound clips recorded in factories in the early 1900s.
It will be piloted across six schools and could be released internationally. It has been created by Orthrus Studios, a team of university graduates.
Starting life as a third year project, it is now hoped the finished article could become part of the national curriculum.
Orthrus’s Oliver Smith said financial backing from the Carnegie Birthplace Museum Trust, the Carnegie UK Trust and the Hunter Foundation had allowed the ambitious project to become a reality.
“The game is going to be used in conjunction with a module of learning that’s being rolled out in high schools across Scotland, and they are aiming to go international with it.
“It is to help teach people about the life and legacy of Andrew Carnegie,” he said.
The finished game begins in Carnegie’s birthplace cottage, which is now a museum, and takes in the world’s first Carnegie Library – now part of the award winning Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries – and trading ship the SV Wiscasset.
In the project, supported by Abertay Computer Arts lecturer Lynn Parker, players can solve puzzles in factories, learn about looms, decipher telegrams and morse code and steel production.
Oliver said it allowed players to explore areas relevant to Carnegie.
They play as a character called Sam from the year 3000 – somehow information about the steel magnate has been lost and Sam travels back in time to find it.
A prototype has been trialled at Dunfermline High School and at Castlebrae Community High in Edinburgh.
Teachers have asked that the game, working on almost every platform, be included as an integral part of the module.
It has an editor tool where teachers and pupils can created their own levels based on pieces of Carnegie’s history.
“It’s all about making the player feel involved and like you can actually be there,” Oliver said.
The Legacy is available through the Carnegie Birthplace Museum website.
