Muristek
By TOM JOYCE
THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
(The Center Square) – University of Arizona and Arizona Online students now have the opportunity to earn credit toward their college degrees by playing video games.
They will have a chance to earn credit by interacting with special educational content when playing Age of Empires IV.
The University of Arizona Illuminated History Experience will soon be available on the Age of Empires website. It will allow players to participate in out-of-game content when playing the single-play campaign; this includes testing their historical knowledge.
It was developed by two Department of History faculty members – associate professor of medieval history Paul Milliman and associate professor of Roman history and department head Alison Futrell – as well as game designers from World’s Edge game studio and Relic Entertainment.
Engaging with the continent could allow students to receive one academic credit from the university.
“It’s a really innovative way to learn,” Dr. Futrell said in a press release from the school. “We don’t know of any partnerships like this between a university and video game designers anywhere else in the world. We hope that both students on the University of Arizona main campus and Age of Empires players will be excited about the course and interested in other classes the history department offers.”
Initially released in 1997, the Age of Empires franchise allows players to pit historically-renowned armies against each other in real-time strategic combat. It alludes to historical figures such as Genghis Khan and Jeanne d’Arc and recreates famous battles. The last iteration of the game was released in 2005.
Students who want to take this opportunity must have access to Age of Empires IV on Steam, the Microsoft Store, or subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass for PC. The players have to be signed into the game using an Xbox account. More information will be made available in 2023.
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