Tag: video games

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October Update: what’s new

October has been a busy month with teaching and the new term – I’ve had a ton of guest lectures on top of teaching Art in the Age of the Great Caliphs.

In other news, yesterday I was recording an interview for an upcoming History-focused podcast, which I’ll be writing more about soon.

However the main project that I want to update you on and that is occupying my time is the Digital Lab, including new developments in my longstanding Digital Munya research. Maxime Durand, a longtime historian on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, is my collaborator on this project as well. We started working with the student game dev team back in May (having been planning for even longer) and as of our last meeting this month the project is moving forward in an exciting way.

What are we doing?

We’re co-creating the concept for a new video game set in 10th century Córdoba, this time focusing on stories and characters associated with munyas (villas), to bring this art and history to wider audiences.

We’re working on this alongside my Digital Lab team leads Dara, Sarah, and Deniz, who worked with us on Assassin’s Creed Mirage, AND a new group of students that we selected especially for this project.

Check out the Digital Lab’s post about Digital Munya 3 on LinkedIn for more details…

And if you want to hear more from me, including about my work in the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections, I invite you to join my free community list via the form at the bottom of the page.

I don’t send tons of emails – my messages to my lists have been quite infrequent this year because frankly, after these last years of working very hard to get my new book out, while simultaneously working on Assassin’s Creed Mirage and all the other video games, learning experiences, and projects we’ve had going on in the Digital Lab – and keeping up with a full time academic job – friends, I am TIRED – and I’m re-learning how to prioritise my health and rest.

So if you’re feeling like that too – let me say that you’re not alone! Let’s hang in there…

If I’m going to continue to do the work that I’m trying to do in the world I’m realising rest is key, and I’m actively pulling back, slowing down, and taking time off/away as necessary.

So here’s the thought I’d like to leave you with this month. Let’s slow down, take time we need to take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and what’s really important … whatever that may be for you.

Fuel for a busy October day in Edinburgh!

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Announcing a new collaboration – online Arabic calligraphy workshop with Hatem Arafa (15 September – 2 October)

Collaborating with talented people in the creative industries is something I most enjoy about working across Islamic art history and video games. So I’m particularly excited for a new collaboration between talented calligrapher and designer Hatem Arafa, and the Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections, starting September 15th through October 2, 2024.

This collaboration arises in the same spirit as our work on Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage (myself as an historian and art historian, and Arafa as the designer of the iconic crest and the in-game calligraphy used for the game’s skill trees). Although we each worked with Ubisoft independently and only became acquainted after the game was finished, our mutual desire to bring knowledge of Islamic art and history to wider audiences is very much aligned. In fact, I’ll be interviewing Hatem for the Digital Lab later this month, so stay tuned for more on that in due course.

If you’re interested in Arabic calligraphy, don’t miss this opportunity to take the workshop with this gifted artist and designer!

It’s hosted by the Digital Lab on Zoom, which I hope will allow more people to participate than if we’d held the workshop in person in Edinburgh.

Details and registration for the workshop are available here.

If you’d like to hear more from me, including about my work in the Digital Lab, get on my community list below:

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April update: taking my video games work to Madrid and Córdoba!

This month has been so busy with travel, and I’ve had a wonderful time speaking with old and new friends in Spain.

At Casa Árabe in Madrid and Córdoba. I’ve admired their work for many years so it was a real pleasure to be invited to share my Digital Lab ongoing work with colleagues, students, and the public there.

If you follow me on social media you’ll find links to more, including a link to the radio interview featuring me and Dr. Blanco …

Photo with Rafael Blanco of Universidad de Córdoba and Javier Rosón of Casa Árabe