Millions of gaming fans are being introduced to the historic Dumfriesshire home of national bard Robert Burns.
Ellisland Farm has been brought back to “virtual life” in the hugely-popular online game Minecraft.
The site was the location and inspiration for some of the poet’s most famous works including Auld Lang Syne.
And now, thanks to a collaboration between the Ellisland Trust, the University of Glasgow and the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA), it will feature in the game enjoyed by 140 million fans worldwide.
Students and academics have helped to faithfully recreate the 18th-century farm as Burns and his family knew it.
Players will get to hear Burns’ poetry and song while in the Minecraft world and they will be able to interact in Scots with the Bard and his wife Jean Armour.
Joan McAlpine, business development manager of the Ellisland trust, is hoping that the link will raise the profile of the site and attract new visitors.
She said: “Heritage attractions are always striving to attract diverse new audiences and this Minecraft game opens Ellisland to potentially large numbers of children and young people all round the world.
“They will know Auld Lang Syne but may not have known where it was written or by whom.
“The game includes a brand-new version of the song by one of our trustees, singer Emily Smith, and original audio of Tam o’ Shanter.
“We are so excited about it and loved working with Bailey Hodgson and the Glasgow University team.”
Bailey, president of the university’s Minecraft Society, has been playing the game for a decade.
She told the Standard it was important to the design team that they created “an authentic experience that captures the farm as Burns would have known it”.
Bailey said: “I live on a farm near Ellisland so this was a project I really enjoyed taking on.
“Our society is new with just under 100 members, around 15 of us were actively involved in different parts of this from building to testing. We found that our play testers said the game encouraged them to want to visit Ellisland in real
life.”
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.
Ross McAuley, chief executive of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance, said: “I’m sure players will be inspired to come from far and wide to visit the farm and see for themselves the beautiful area where Burns lived and wrote.
“It’s such an innovative way to use new technology to reach a wider, younger audience.
“What better way to introduce young people to the story of Burns in the south of Scotland, an area which is absolutely brimming with literary connections to discover – perfect for the growing trend in literary tourism.”
The project 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.
Dr Peacock said: “Robert Burns’ life and works have a significant global impact in inspiring people while games have, in different forms, inspired and transported players to new worlds or even provided new ways of understanding our own.
Minecraft Ellisland is for the game’s Java Edition which is compatible with both laptop and desktops and is available to download from trust’s website at https://www.ellislandfarm.co.uk/explore-ellisland/ with a Microsoft account. A mobile version is in development.
