GAO#3: MEETING WITH JEAN GUESDON TO DISCUSS ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS – DISCOVERY TOUR
For the third edition of Game All Over on 5 June at La Plaine Images, we are honoured to welcome Jean Guesdon, Creative Director at Ubisoft, who will open the professionals’ day by discussing the educational aims of *Assassin’s Creed Origins: Discovery Tour*. Jean has been working on Ubisoft’s blockbuster franchise since its inception, and it was he who spearheaded this initiative: to turn Assassin’s Creed into a tool for teaching history.
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The game is set in the Egyptian world of *Assassin’s Creed Origins*, but with certain plot elements and all depictions of violence removed. In this edition, the aim is purely educational. It is about discovering ancient Egypt, its history and its legends. It offers a truly immersive 3D experience that serves as an educational tool.
“We spent more than two years in discussions with representatives from the education sector to identify the needs and organise everything effectively,” explains Jean Guesdon.
Marc-André Ethier, a lecturer in history pedagogy in Quebec, tested the use of the ‘Education’ mode in Assassin’s Creed Origins at nine different secondary schools, comparing its use with that of ‘traditional’ history teaching in the classroom. “It turns out that the pupils who played the game learnt just as much as they would have from a traditional lesson,” he says.
The Quebec teacher notes that using such a game in the classroom can present practical constraints (purchasing computers, and more simply, the game itself, which costs around twenty euros), but in his view it is an interesting teaching tool that can provide “something that the textbook sometimes cannot”.
It’s a real opportunity to attend a keynote session dedicated to this experience at Game All Over 3, on 5 June 2018 from 8.30 am to 6 pm at Plaine Images, hosted by the creator of this pioneering project!