The Museum:Source Project is an ambitious effort to model a complete natural history museum in 3D for Counter-Strike, the most popular online action game in the world. More than just a fun game level, the project is part of a novel approach to science education: infiltrating the $10 billion-a-year video game industry with truly educational content. The idea is to go beyond a simple "museum-like" virtual world and create a real museum complete with informative, lifelike exhibits. While gamers will play for fun, they'll be exposed to educational content in the process.
Of course, edutainment (games that teach) is not a new concept, but Museum:Source is not edutainment. To date, such games have been non-starters in the eyes of young players. While the Halo 2 and Grand Theft Auto games made more money than many blockbuster Hollywood movies, edutainment games rarely get widespread exposure.
Rather than create a purely educational game, or even a hybrid education/entertainment game, the Museum:Source Project is a modification ("mod" for short) of an preexisting blockbuster video game. Counter-Strike is the undisputed number-one online action game and players spend over 123 million hours on the game every month (http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=stats&cc=US). By tapping into this huge audience the Museum:Source Project will immediately reach more people than even the most successful educational games.
The inspiration for this project was simple: people (not just kids) are spending more time playing video games than ever before. Rather than struggle to get them to stop, why not put educational content in the video games they are playing? If gamers are playing video games instead of visiting the museum, why not put the museum in the video game? This project does just that.
The Museum:Source Project took root first in December 2001 with the release of a traditional game level modeled after a natural history museum. This predecessor to the current project had only simplified dinosaur skeletons and other quasi-exhibits that didn't actually convey any information. Still, it was fun to play and the original museum level has been "visited" by over 250,000 a year, on average--that's more visitors than the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh sees in a year. (http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/carnegie/2004_overview/attendance.htm)
With those kind of numbers, a thought came to mind: here you have hundreds of thousands of people visiting a virtual museum, but the exhibits are just eye candy. Why not create a museum with real exhibits? With the 2004 release of a new version of Counter-Strike and a new rendering engine (called "Source") with the technical muscle to represent objects in rich detail, the idea for the present project began in earnest.
HOW TO BUILD A NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM IN SIX MONTHSThe process is simple in concept, and complex in application. Utilizing an arsenal of 3D and graphics tools, the level designer crafts a virtual building with all of the visual details created by real world architects and interior designers. From marble walls to ornate column capitals, every element of the museum building is modeled in three dimensions, textured, and placed in position. Specialized software tools allow for adding shiny metallic trim details to floor tiles and creating atmospheric beams of light complete with dust motes floating about. The process takes weeks or months depending on the complexity of the level. The Museum:Source level is expected to take 6 months start to finish.
Usually, mods get bad press because they do bad things. Recently a mod for the already controversial game Grand Theft Auto allowed players to view and participate in virtual sex acts. The Museum:Source Project is about reversing the tendency of games to be indecent and vacuous. Games can be truly educational—even games that have already been introduced purely for entertainment. By using modding for good, popular games can be made educational and constructive.
RELIABLE SOURCESTo create the various exhibits and displays in the museum, the Museum:Source designer is consulting with professional educators, paleontologists, geologists, and other scientists in related fields. The objective is to create exhibits that captivate and inspire viewers with the fascinating nature of prehistoric life, and teach them something in the process. A particular focus of our exhibits is on teaching facts about earth history that are often misunderstood or misinterpreted by the general public. Look for more specific information about the exhibits as they are developed.
So how much time will players actually spend exploring the virtual museum's educational offerings (this is, after all, a video game)? Counter-Strike rounds typically last for 5 minutes. During that time, the gameplay is fast and furious. Players are as likely to be hiding for cover behind dinosaur skeletons as reading the exhibit plaques. However, after a player's character dies they are free to fly around the level and watch the other players until the next round starts. Often, this downtime between rounds is spent checking out the level. Further, some game sessions take a more casual turn and occasionally players will walk around, chat by keyboard or voice, and admire the level—especially if they are playing the level for the first time.
Though there will be plenty of opportunity for gamers take in the exhibits, the objective is not to replace the gaming experience but to supplement it with educational interaction. Any time spent learning (when players would normally be "just playing") is a positive outcome. Because the delivery medium is a video game—and video games should be fun—the project won't be successful if the educational content is present but no one plays because the game isn't enjoyable. This project is a balancing act that will require building a game level that is educational but also fun to play. The result will hopefully contribute to science education in a unique way: by reaching video gamers where they live (and play).
Follow progress on the Museum:Source Project on the official blog.