I have always played video games and even majored in game design in college. I also enjoy creating 3D and 2D art, so when my professor was looking for volunteers to help launch his game lab I was more than happy to help.
It started as an independent study over the summer where we worked with local residents near a cultural site in Nepal, which had been destroyed by the 2015 earthquake, to recreate buildings that had stood for hundreds of years. My professor then put our work into a virtual reality system called C.A.V.E, computer assisted virtual environment. This allowed users to move through the recreation of this cultural site and interact with different structures to learn about the history of the area. The goal of the project was to try and preserve the history and importance of these structures that are now lost.
After completing this project, our attention switched to preserving historic sites closer to home. We started with the Inner Harbor and the historic buildings surrounding it, such as the Domino Sugar Factory. As the project progressed we began to include Maryland’s rich history of ships and ship building, with the intention of providing this application for K-12 student education. As a game lab assistant I worked hard to promote the importance of digital preservation and education; I even presented our work at key events such as the Experimental Learning Showcase at the University of Baltimore.
Abi Ostrander, Patient Services Representative
NOTE: Abi's group efforts were featured in an article this summer in The Baltimore Sun. You can click here to read it.