As part of the ‘Picture House’ contemporary arts exhibition at Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Northumberland, students from Ashington Community High School have designed a computer game.
The students formed their own production company ‘Mean Machine' to create ‘The Middleton Mystery – An Adventure at Belsay Hall’. They used the inspiration of the medieval castle, 19th-century hall and quarry garden to create a fictional quest-based adventure game. Players meet characters based on real people who lived and worked at Belsay and find imaginary treasures brought back from Charles Monck’s Grand Tour. Through workshops at school and at Belsay Hall, the students explored the history of the property, created a game design and filmed themselves as historical characters.
The full version of the game can be played at Belsay in a newly designed area for young people, alongside marketing material and information about the project.
Led by English Heritage Education in the North of England, the project involved a range of partners including ISIS Arts and games artist Steve Manthorp. The students' game design and specifications were built by Lateral Visions, a software development company based in Liverpool specialising in applying computer games technology to education and business applications.
The project aimed to inspire young people about their local heritage and how it can be interpreted using modern media techniques. It has engaged young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream education at Belsay Hall by increasing their knowledge and understanding of the site and its history and by developing their creative, social and technological skills.
Heritage Lottery Funding has enabled this project to take place.
The completed game can be bought on site at Belsay Hall including all four levels of the Hall, Quarry Gardens, Castle and Cellars.