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Education IT

Singapore heritage game replaces fantasy with facts

By Robin Hicks | 11 April 2010

Singapore’s National Heritage Board is launching an online game in the style of the multiplayer epic World of Warcraft to encourage learning in a context popular with young people. Replacing fantasy with facts, World of Temasek, which is set in 14th century Singapore, gets players hunting for ‘real’ historical artifacts that can be found in museums locally.

Players are rewarded with points and move up levels by collecting items and completing quests, just as they are in the fictional gaming world. And for a fee, the game allows teachers to customise their students quests - or ‘assignment templates’ - according to their curriculum.

Players’ avatars can be dressed as monks, warriors or foreign merchants and can select from the races and languages present in Singapore at the time. Right-clicking on an item reveals its history, in pictures and text, and shows where it can be found in the museum where it is displayed.

Chris Jones, Co-founder of the game’s creator, Magma Studios, said the game is part of a new education model where fun environments are underpinned by structured learning. “It’s the Discovery Channel infotainment model, where students are impelled rather than compelled to learn,” he told FutureGov.

The game takes less than 20 seconds to enter online, considerably faster than Second Life, World of Warcraft or other massive multiplayer games. And it can be easily re-skinned to create other virtual history environments, added Jones.

World of Temasek is slated to launch in late 2011, and is one of four digital initiatives unveiled by the National Heritage Board last week. Acting Minister for Information Communications and The Arts, Lui Tuck Yew, said the initiatives sought to explore new ways to interest young Singaporeans in their cultural identity.

Another is Cybermuseum, which allows culture fans to navigate virtual representations of Singapore’s museums and interact with their artworks and artifacts. Developed by local vendor Visual Factory, the software enables museum designers and students to create their own 3D virtual museum spaces. As the platform was developed with web 2.0 features, a curator can test layout ideas with the public before deciding which layout to construct in the physical world.

“For a long time now there have been plans to build a maritime museum in Singapore. Why not create a few versions and let the public decide for themselves which to build for real?” Philip Chua, Director, Heritage Technology Services, National Heritage Board, told FutureGov. “Museums are too often ruled by curators. But the social web is democratising heritage. Singaporeans should be able to decide for themselves which memories we preserve.”

The software is being used by other government agencies including the National Parks Board, the Singapore Sports Council and the Singapore Tourism Board to set up their own virtual spaces. There has been interest from overseas museums to use the technology, too; the Australia Museum, the Taipei National Palace Museum and the Holocaust Museum.

To create a virtual museum costs around SD3000 (US$2200) for the initial set up, and SD500 (US$363)per year for maintenance and storage space. “It costs millions of dollars to display an Egyptian mummy in a real-life exhibition,” said Chua. “A virtual gallery is much cheaper and may resonate just as well, especially with younger audiences.”

The third initiative sees the NHB attempt to digitise and archive its exhibitions to extend their lifespan and expose them to a wider audience, at home and overseas, with virtual tours. The NHB is also introducing free wi-fi in all of its museums as part of a plan to encourage learning outside of the classroom.

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