[B]Time travel has always been a fun topic in videogames, television and movies that allows for alternaticve storylines and changes to the world as we know it. But how about time travel as an educational experience?[/B]

The Wall Street Journal has [URL=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703939404574568220649184090.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel]a fascinating look[/URL] at how videogames can be used to immerse the player in a seemingly accurate portrayal of the past, including structures, people and historical events. The game used as a case in point was UbiSoft's [I]Assassin's Creed II[/I], which followed the assassin Ezio in his exploits through Renaissance Italy. From the article:

[INDENT]The game's creative director, a Montrealer named Patrice Desilets, lived in Italy for some years, where he acquired a feel for the vivid intrigues of the Renaissance. He grew fascinated, he says, with the notion that "finally people can control time, and relive the past, through games." The producer, Sebastien Puel, was born in the south of France, in the fortified medieval French town of Carcassonne, and grew up surrounded by history. The head writer, a Harvard graduate from Los Angeles and former screenwriter, Corey May, was driven, he says, by the challenge of "telling a story that feels real and is set among real people who existed."[/INDENT]The article also details from the writer's perspective about how the immersion works to the game's advantage:

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/12/have-you-done-your-time-traveling-today]read more[/URL]

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