For the last week of the Fearsome Craftsmen exhibition, Preston Park Museum had special permission from Ubisoft to run sessions of Discovery Tour: Viking Age, an immersive educational gaming experience adapted from the blockbuster game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. For two days members of the public came to play and learn in the world of the Vikings. We trained many new Viking sailors and had quite a few people who enjoyed playing as King Alfred the Great!
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Highlights of the event saw many people use the in-game environment to sail their Viking ship, either to the next port or to their new navigator. They used the setting sun to sail west and natural way marks to get from A to B. Everyone was successful in their voyages and no one was lost at sea.
Another pair “going a Viking”
One lady was actually revising for her A-Levels in history on the Anglo-Saxons and was very knowledgeable on the fortified burghs Kind Alfred developed. She was also able to convince her mum that revision definitely included playing the Discovery Tour.
“Revision”
One last pair, called Olga and Chris, came over to play. They took a little persuading as videogames were not around in their childhood but it was not long until they were navigating boats through the fjords and riding horses through the Viking wintery environments. They also had a really interesting chat about their family history originating from Viking lands and on our local history, including George Washington’s family coming from Hartburn Village in medieval times!
New Gamers
The event was a resounding success. The Vikings will always be an important part of the area’s story especially with the museum having the Yarm Helmet on display, the most intact Viking Helmet in the world!
