NEWS

Playground games for the Nintendo generation

11 June 2009

 

Press Release from the Institute of Education about Beyond Text project: 'Playground Games in the New Media Age'

"Clapping and skipping games that are popular in the school playground are to be converted into Wii-type computer games as part of a unique collaboration between three universities, the British Library and Nintendo.

The ambitious project, which involves the universities of London, Sheffield and East London, will generate prototype games similar to the Wii sports games played with handsets that take the place of tennis racquets or golf clubs.

The development of Wii playground games, directed by Grethe Mitchell of the University of East London, is only one strand of a £600,000 project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Beyond Text programme.

The centre-piece of the project is the important collection of playground games and songs at the British Library: the sound archives of the renowned collectors Iona and Peter Opie. Researchers will convert these into a digital format under the supervision of Jonathan Robinson of the British Library. They will then create an interactive website for the Library so that children, parents, educators and members of the public can access the digitised archives."

See full press release here.

 

 

 

Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £100 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,000 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. See Arts & Humanities Research Council website.