Fortnite has become much more than just a game, and is almost a platform fully fledged; the incomparable success of this project has recently prompted Epic to use it as a educational tool surprising. In effect, Fortnite has a large audience, mostly young gamers, who could benefit from educational content rewarding.
It is with this in mind that a museum focusing on the Holocaust has been created in fortnite by Luc Bernardgame developer The Light in the Darkness ; very intimate, this project tells the story of a Jewish family living in France, and trying to escape the Holocaust. From now on, it seems that Bernard is aiming for an audience still wider.
Entitled Voices of the Forgotten, this museum was built with the tools made available by Epic Games, and aimed to commemorate a dark period in history. As Bernard points out, 80% of Americans are not never been to a museum ; so it is interesting to use the oh so popular Fortnite to propose a new approach to youth. “I’m extremely proud to be the first to bring something like this to over 400 million players on Fortnite,” Bernard said on Twitter.
The first Holocaust Museum in Fortnite has been approved today by Epic Games.
Super proud that we will be the first to bring something like this to Fortnite’s 400 million + players.
80% of Americans haven’t visited a Museum. So this is game changing. pic.twitter.com/6FINFhi1fY
– Luc Bernard (@LucBernard) August 1, 2023
Museums are a unique way to tell a story, with their own logical steps and illustrations that bring words and numbers to life. Voices of the Forgotten includes elements interactive and exhibits on a wide range of Holocaust-related topics, including some that Bernard feels have been overlooked in the past, such as the fate of Sephardic Jews in North Africa. One of the screenshots shared by Bernard shows an exhibit on Abdol Hossein Sardarian Iranian ambassador who used his position to issue thousands passports to Jews seeking to flee France, deliberately omitting to indicate their religion.
” Making Holocaust education accessible to everyone around the world is one of my goals, Bernard said. ” I’m aware that some organizations might be perplexed by seeing avatars of Spider-Man exploring a Holocaust museum. But it will completely change Holocaust education, allowing classes not lucky enough to be in big cities to visit museums.. »
The Holocaust Museum in Fortnite been approved by Epic, but its release date has not yet been announced. It is also important to note that to avoid trolls and defacements, emotes like the fire arms have been disabled in this place, which seems as wise as it is logical.
The Jewish Chronicle published a video tour of the museum, which you can see below:
This is not the first initiative of this kind, it is worth remembering. Described as a ” interactive experience, ” there March Through Time made it possible to relive the famous speech of Martin Luther King Jr. and learn more about the fight against racism in the United States. With the virtual museum created by Luc Bernard but also events such as the Travis Scott concert, it appears that Fortnite increasingly establishing itself as a phenomenon important to young people.
It is one of the ambitions of Tim Sweeneywho has spoken several times about his desire to create a metaverse – even before Facebook changed its name and focused on this sector. Although not yet realized, this idea has already attracted many investors, like Lego. With initiatives such as Voices of the Forgotten, and the power of Unreal Engine 5, Epic Games’ flagship game seems quite capable of succeeding in shape Sweeney’s ambitions.