A videogame brings back the adventures of our prehistoric ancestors in Atapuerca

The user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca and s/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan.
The user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca and s/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan.
Research
(17/10/2018)

The UB research group on Heritage didactics, comprehensive museography and new technologies (DIDPATRI), in collaboration with the Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution and an economic aid from the BBVA Foudnation, have created a simulation videogame in which the user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca. S/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan, and decide what to hunt and gather, how to craft tools and how to grow culturally. “It is a reflection on the human condition”, says Xavier Rubio, programmer of the game, who wants to combine didactics and fun.

 

 

 

The user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca and s/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan.
The user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca and s/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan.
Research
17/10/2018

The UB research group on Heritage didactics, comprehensive museography and new technologies (DIDPATRI), in collaboration with the Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution and an economic aid from the BBVA Foudnation, have created a simulation videogame in which the user is member of a prehistoric peoples in Atapuerca. S/he has to make decisions to guarantee the survival of his/her clan, and decide what to hunt and gather, how to craft tools and how to grow culturally. “It is a reflection on the human condition”, says Xavier Rubio, programmer of the game, who wants to combine didactics and fun.

 

 

 

The game, named Ancestors. Stories of Atapuerca, is set in the geographical area of Atapuerca and focuses on the daily life of two species: Homo antecessor and Neanderthals. The player has to take decision depending on different variables and contingencies “to guarantee the continuity of the group and the legacy for the other generations, more or less what we do now in some perspectives”, says the director of DIDPATRI and UB professor Xavier Hernández Cardona. “Itʼs a way to get closer to the humans of the past, since the complexity is present in our world, but it was too in other times”, he adds.

The game, designed for smartphones and tablets, is available for iOS and Android.