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

Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is ‘absolutely, wildly overwhelming’

Published

10 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is 'absolutely, wildly overwhelming'

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.

The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.

When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”

“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”

A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.

With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.

“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.

“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”

Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.

While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.

“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”

Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.

Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.

Gladiator II is in cinemas on 15 November.

Entertainment

Actor Timothy West has died, aged 90

Published

20 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.

He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Husband to 92-year-old Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West, said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.

“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.

“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”

He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.

In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).

West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.

Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.

After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.

He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.

In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.

In comedy-drama Brass, he was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.

In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.

He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.

Entertainment

Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 40th anniversary track revealed

Published

24 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? - 40th anniversary track revealed

An “ultimate” version of Band Aid’s famous festive hit Do They Know It’s Christmas? is set to be released to mark the song’s 40th anniversary, featuring the voices of original singers as well as younger artists.

The track will feature voices from Band Aid 1984 including George Michael, Sting and Boy George, alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin, the Sugababes, and Ed Sheeran, who appeared on the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions in 2004 and 2014.

It will also feature the vocals of a young Bono, who recorded the song’s famous line – “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you” – singing with his older self.

The singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

Other voices to feature on the 40th anniversary remix include Sam Smith, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Rita Ora, Bananarama, Seal, Sinead O’Connor, Robbie Williams, Kool And The Gang and Underworld, with proceeds going to the Band Aid Trust.

And in a new video, the late David Bowie will introduce the song’s stars, with newsreader Michael Buerk’s BBC report on the song also featuring.

The history of Band Aid

Led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Ure, the original Band Aid single saw artists join forces in 1984 to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia.

The song went straight to the top of the charts that year and at the time held the record as the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone.

It remained at number one for five weeks and went on to sell more than three million copies.

The movement led to the famous Live Aid concerts around the world the following year, with artists including Queen, Bowie and Sir Elton John performing at Wembley in the UK.

Do They Know It’s Christmas? was released again with different generations of stars over the decades, to raise money for other causes.

In 1989, Stock Aitken and Waterman produced Band Aid II, featuring just two of the artists from the song’s first iteration – Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama.

Band Aid 20 raised funds for Sudan’s Darfur region, while the 30th anniversary supported those helping throughout the 2014 Ebola crisis.

In celebration of this monumental “instrument of change”, producer Trevor Horn has taken the recordings and blended all the voices “into one seamless whole”, organisers said.

The Do They Know It’s Christmas – 2024 Ultimate Mix will premiere on UK breakfast radio and streaming on 25 November, the 40th anniversary of the day artists went into the recording studio to create the original song. It will also be released physically on CD and vinyl on 29 November.

It will feature on a compilation also including the other recordings, plus the Live Aid Wembley 1985 version.

Artist Sir Peter Blake, 93, who designed the original sleeve – featuring a collage of Christmas card images alongside a hungry child – has returned to create the new cover.