A Dumfries charity has been shortlisted for a top innovation award after popularising Robert Burns through an online digital game.
The Robert Burns Ellisland Trust, working with the University of Glasgow, introduced millions of gaming fans to the national bard in Minecraft Ellisland.
Burns’ former farm has been brought back to “virtual life” in the hugely-popular online game.
And it has earned the trust a chance of winning the Innovation of the Year category in the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards.
The charity developed the interactive Robert Burns Minecraft gaming experience to highlight the life and works of the bard and to explore new ways of engaging with younger audiences.
The South of Scotland Destination Alliance was also involved in the Ellisland version of the game enjoyed by 140 million fans worldwide after students and academics faithfully recreated the 18th-century farm as Burns and his family knew it.
Players get to hear Burns’ poetry and song while playing and are able to interact in Scots with the bard and his wife Jean Armour.
The game includes a new version of the song by one of the Ellisland trustees, singer Emily Smith, and original audio of Tam o’ Shanter.
One of the student involved, Bailey Hodgson, comes from a farm near Ellisland and is president of the university’s Minecraft Society.
The project was funded through the Scottish Government’s Tourism Leadership and Recovery Fund to support business and community-led tourism enterprises during the sector’s Covid-19 recovery.
It was led by Dr Matthew Barr of the Game and Gaming Lab based in the University’s College of Arts, and Dr Timothy Peacock, a history lecturer and co-director of the lab.
The trust is one of three entries to have been shortlisted for the innovation prize.
The others are The Prebiotic Company and Glasgow Caledonian University for collaborating on a study to prove the health benefits of prebiotic fibre-infused water.
Sustainable Thinking Scotland CIC and the University of the Highlands and Islands are also in the running for their optimisation of biochar, a stable form of carbon obtained from baking waste wood.
The winner will be announced at an event in Dundee on Thursday, March 23.
Minecraft Ellisland is for the game’s Java Edition which is compatible with both laptop and desktops. It is available to download from trust’s website at https://www.ellislandfarm.co.uk/explore-ellisland/ with a Microsoft account.
