How a video game helped the British Library bring lost history to life

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2022

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From a Disney comic book starring Scrooge McDuck to a never-ending reel of scenes from India’s most expensive TV series, the British Library’s latest exhibition is eclectic to say the least.

Billed as a tribute to Alexander the Great’s legacy, this is as much an exhibition about storytelling as it is one man, culminating in a display of how technology can bring such legends to life.

Born in Macedon in 356BC, in reality Alexander travelled so far as northwest India, his vast empire from Greece to Egypt recorded here across paintings, tablets, and scriptures that would look right at home in any of the world’s greatest museums.

His legend, though, knew no such geographical limits. Whether the son of a serpent magician (Nectanebo, not Voldemort), or a brave warrior who stared down a mighty dragon, George-style, mythical stories starring Alexander began during his lifetime and have survived throughout the years since.

Bringing such adventures together is the Ebstorf map. First made in Germany around 1300, it was the largest world map in existence from the Middle Ages until it was destroyed during the Second World War.

It boasted more than 2,000 entries across more than 30 parchment sheets, hundreds of which were illustrated, including more than a dozen explicitly related to Alexander – including some of his fictional escapades.

A new interactive version has been created for the library by students from visual effects school Escape Studios, the producer of young talent which has worked on films including Star Wars and games like Assassin’s Creed.

Displayed akin to an opening credits sequence from Game Of Thrones, it presents landmarks and milestones from Alexander’s real and imagined lives, just as the original map did, but now in 3D.

“A mix of real places, physical locations, and sheer fantasy,” is how Yrja Thorsdottir, the library’s digital content exhibition curator, describes it.

She tells Sky News that the new map is a case of how technology is allowing curators to “bring lost things to life”.

‘Technology allows us to bring lost history back’

Perhaps the most striking example of that is saved for last.

Upon his death aged 32, the likely cause of which continues to divide historians, Alexander’s body was transported from Babylon to Egypt and placed inside a long-lost mausoleum at Alexandria.

The exhibition – unafraid to jump from ancient manuscripts to films and even anime – culminates with a detailed reconstruction of the tomb from the video game Assassin’s Creed Origins, scaled up and projected on to the walls.

“We’ve lost the tomb, we’ve lost the map, technology allows us to sort of bring them back,” says Ms Thorsdottir.

Assassin’s Creed has made its recreations of history’s great cities something of a calling card since it debuted, way back in what now feels positively ancient 2007.

From Constantinople to Athens, each choice has required a world larger in scope – yet still greater in detail – than any that came before.

“Our colleagues who made the first Assassin’s Creed (set in the Holy Land during the Crusades) did an excellent job and paved the way for what it has become,” Thierry Noel, in-house historian at developer Ubisoft, tells Sky News.

“But as it became such a well known franchise, it became obvious there would be more and more need to recreate bigger worlds, to be more accurate, to find more information, and that’s why the team I lead was born.”

‘It’s about creating an experience’

Origins, released in 2017 and set in Egypt from 49 to 43BC, was the first entry to benefit from Mr Noel’s team, who scour museums, libraries and historical locations around the world to bring them to life digitally.

“We used everything we had to imagine how the tomb could have been,” he says.

Such research is what led to the collaboration with the library, as his team took inspiration from a prior exhibition of Anglo-Saxon art during development of 2020’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, set in England during the time of Vikings.

For some players, such locales may only ever act as a sandbox within which to carry out brutal murder. The idea of such a game being leveraged at an institution like the British Library may sound to some – like many of the stories passed on about Alexander – like fantasy.

But to those behind this exhibition, they present opportunities for storytelling that are here to stay.

“It’s about engaging people in different ways,” says Adrian Edwards, head of printed collections.

“An element of an exhibition like this is theatre, it’s about creating an experience.

“The level of detail they invest in now to visualise these places from history, it gives you a real sense of what it might have been like.”

Alexander the Great: The Making Of A Myth is open at the British Library until 19 February 2023.

Entertainment

Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX BRIT Awards appearances spark hundreds of Ofcom complaints

Published

11 hours ago

March 5, 2025

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Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX BRIT Awards appearances spark hundreds of Ofcom complaints

Ofcom received 825 complaints over the Brit Awards, with the majority relating to Sabrina Carpenter’s raunchy performance and Charli XCX’s outfit, the media watchdog says.

US pop star Carpenter, 25, sported a red sparkly military-style blazer dress for her performance at the awards show on Saturday night, paired with stockings and suspenders for a rendition of Espresso.

The song was mixed with a Rule Britannia mash-up, as dancers in military parade dress followed her.

She then switched to a red sparkly bra and shorts for her next song, Bad Chem, which she performed alongside dancers in bras and shorts while sitting suggestively on a large bed.

Carpenter later received the global success award at the ceremony, and was also nominated in the international artist and international song of the year categories.

But much of the buzz on social media surrounded her performance, which took place before the 9pm watershed.

Ofcom said some of the complaints were also aimed at British pop sensation Charli XCX, who dominated the night by winning five awards, including album of the year.

Some viewers took issue with her outfit – a black see-through dress.

The singer addressed the concerns during her acceptance speech for artist of the year, saying: “I heard that ITV were complaining about my nipples. I feel like we’re in the era of ‘free the nipple’ though, right?”

Carpenter paid tribute to the UK in her acceptance speech, saying: “The Brits have given me this award, and this feels like such an insane honour in a very primarily tea-drinking country… you really understood my dry sense of humour because your sense of humour is so, so dry. So I love y’all more than you even understand.”

Entertainment

Why is Noel Clarke suing The Guardian?

Published

15 hours ago

March 5, 2025

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Actor Noel Clarke begins his High Court libel case against The Guardian’s publisher today.

Clarke, 49, is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles it published about him in April 2021.

They were based on the claims of 20 women Clarke knew “in a professional capacity” who allege his behaviour towards them amounted to sexual misconduct.

Clarke, known for his roles in the Kidulthood trilogy and Dr Who, “vehemently” denies “any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing”.

What will the trial cover?

Clarke is suing GNM for libel, sometimes also referred to as defamation.

It’s a civil tort – not a criminal offence – defined as false written statements that have damaged the person’s reputation. This means Clarke can seek redress or damages but no one will face charges or prison.

Clarke claims the articles The Guardian published in 2021 altered public opinion of him, damaged his reputation, and lost him work.

He said after the allegations emerged: “In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me.

“If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations.”

The Guardian is defending the claim on the basis of truth and public interest.

It said in its statement: “Our reporting on Noel Clarke in 2021 was based on the accounts of 20 brave women. After we published our first article, more women came forward.

“At trial, 32 witnesses are set to testify against Mr Clarke under oath. We look forward to a judge hearing the evidence.”

The trial will only focus on liability – not the amount of damages to be paid if Clarke is successful.

The actor tried and failed to get the case struck out in January, with his legal team saying it had “overwhelming evidence” of “perversion of the course of justice”.

His lawyers told the High Court three of the journalists involved in the articles had “deliberately and permanently” deleted messages, which meant he could not get a fair trial.

Lawyers for GNM told the court there was “no adequate evidential basis” for Clarke’s application for a strike out and said it sought “to smear Guardian journalists and editors without any proper justification”.

The trial, which will be presided over by judge Mrs Justice Steyn, is expected to last between four and six weeks.

What has happened since the articles were published?

A month before the articles about him were published in April 2021, Clarke received BAFTA’s outstanding contribution to British cinema award.

However, once the allegations against him emerged, he was suspended by the organisation and the prize rescinded.

His management and production company 42M&P told Sky News they were no longer representing him and Sky cancelled its TV show Bulletproof, starring Clarke and Top Boy actor Ashley Walters as the lead roles.

ITV also decided to pull the finale of another of his dramas, Viewpoint, following the Guardian articles.

The Met Police looked into the allegations against Clarke for any potential criminal wrongdoing, but in March 2022 announced they “did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation”.

Clarke filed the libel claim the following month and has attended several of the preliminary hearings in person.

He says he has faced a “trial by media” – and that the ordeal has left him suicidal and in need of professional help.

‘Rising star’

Clarke made his TV debut in a revived version of Auf Wiedersehen Pet in 2002.

Soon after he played Mickey Smith in Dr Who and Kwame in the six-part Channel 4 series Metrosexuality.

He wrote and starred in the film trilogy Kidulthood, Adulthood, and Brotherhood, which were based in west London, where he grew up, and explored the lives of a group of teenagers given time off school after a bullied classmate takes their own life.

It was a box office success and eventually saw Clarke given BAFTA’s rising star prize in 2009.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

Entertainment

Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy says she is ‘still working on accepting’ his death

Published

17 hours ago

March 5, 2025

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Liam Payne's girlfriend Kate Cassidy says she is 'still working on accepting' his death

Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has opened up about the singer’s death, saying she is “still working on accepting the fact that he’s not here anymore”.

The singer, 31, died in October last year after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Cassidy was with Payne in Buenos Aires but flew to the US days before the British pop star star died.

In an emotional interview with ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly, she said: “It’s hard for me to refer to him in the past tense, and when I do refer to him in the past tense it almost stings that little bit more because… it just … it’s more official.”

Cassidy, 25, said she has her “harder days” and has sometimes struggled “to get out of bed in the morning”, but added: “I’m surrounded by such a great support system that I cannot thank enough.”

She praised Kelly and ITV for launching a new mental health initiative, which she is helping to promote, and said: “I genuinely believe Liam, in a way, guided me to this campaign and wanted me to be involved in this, and to help other people.”

Cassidy, an American social media influencer, said that he “was so open about his mental health” and she is supporting the push as “he no longer can help people”.

She added: “I’m going through this healing journey, sometimes it’s hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and something I don’t want to do.

“But I have this responsibility and this obligation that I am almost in a way… I have no choice. I have to get out of bed [for my dog] Nala and whether it’s a five-minute walk or 20-minute walk first thing in the morning.

“Either way, it just wakes me up and refreshes my mind instead of laying in bed all day just scrolling through social media or old photos, it gets me out of bed and really, really helps my mindset and my mental health.”

Cassidy, who began dating Payne in 2022, previously said he was “the most humble, charming, normal person you could ever hope to come across, and genuinely one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life”.

Court documents state that former One Direction star Payne fell from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires at about 5.10pm on 16 October.

Toxicology tests revealed that before his death, he had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.

His cause of death was “polytrauma” from multiple injuries and internal and external bleeding, a postmortem found.

Last month, manslaughter charges against Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores, hotel operator Gilda Martin, and head of reception Esteban Grassi were dropped following an appeal.

Hotel employee Ezequiel Pereyra and waiter Braian Paiz are still facing prosecution for allegedly supplying Payne with drugs, having been charged in December. Supplying drugs in Argentina carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.