Virtualizing Gothic History: Off The Map 2014
Registration is now open for the second annual Off the Map 2014, a CG competition for UK-based, higher education students and sponsored by the British Library, GameCity, and Crytek. OTM2014 challenges students to develop unique, imaginative, and virtual gaming worlds based upon original, historical source material. As with last year's competition, students will be using the game engine, CryENGINE to construct their virtual worlds, which this year are based on a gothic theme in anticipation for the British Library's up and coming exhibition: "Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination."
The British Library will supply copies and prints of many original works, documents, illustrations, paintings, maps, and audio to help teams understand the settings, architecture, and literary works that they will be reconstructing and interpreting in three dimensions. GameCity will announce the winners at its GameCity 9 Festival held October 25-Nov 1st and Crytek will be providing the game engine and tech support to all teams.
In addition to the Gothic theme, the competition is broken down into three subcategories teams must choose from:
- Fonthill Abbey, the awe inspiring and enormous Gothic castle built by British novelist William Beckford.
- The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allen Poe's Gothic novel about death, disease, and masquerade parties.
- Whitby, the small, sleepy Yorkshire town that hosted the arrival of Dracula in Bram Stoker's 19th Century novel.
