Losing yourself in a video game used to be a surefire way to flunk out of college.
Now it can earn you credit at the University of Arizona.
Two U of A history professors have partnered with the makers of the popular Age of Empires strategy game franchise to create exclusive educational content for the latest title in the series.
The University of Arizona Online Illuminated Histories Experience made its debut on the Age of Empires IV website last week. It was developed by Alison Futrell, history department head and associate professor of Roman history, and Paul Milliman, associate professor of medieval history, in collaboration with game designers from Relic Entertainment and Microsoft’s World’s Edge game studio.
Players can earn one hour of UA credit by conquering the game’s single-play campaigns and mastering the additional out-of-game content, including a test of their knowledge of the historical time periods.
Futrell said people can learn about history in a wide variety of ways, “and this is a way to open a different door to them.”
“Some of my best students are gamers who got interested in history through gaming,” added Milliman, who teaches at the U of A remotely from Columbus, Ohio. “It was important for us to meet them where they are.”
Released in October, Age of Empires IV features four story-based campaigns that allow gamers to play their way through key moments of the medieval period: the Norman conquest of England, the Hundred Years War between England and France, the expansion of the Mongol Empire and Moscow’s emergence in the Middle Ages as a world power.
History professors Alison Futrell and Paul Milliman introduce the University of Arizona Online Illuminated Histories Experience, a new supplementary option for the popular Age of Empires IV video game that can be played for one hour of college credit. Video courtesy of University of Arizona.
There are 35 missions in all spanning 500 years of history — from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance — so gamers will have to invest some time to complete the game and earn their credit.
Milliman said one credit hour is supposed to equate to about 45 hours of actual study, so they tried to make their Age of Empires material equivalent to that.
Some gamers will be able to complete the required work more quickly than others, he said.
“It depends on how you are at games. For someone like me, it will probably take longer.”
The title screen from the video game Age of Empires IV, which now offers special educational content developed by two UA history professors.
Making history
Milliman said he has not found the time to play his own way through the campaigns in Age of Empires IV, but he has watched other people do it.
The experience has given him a whole new appreciation for competitive, multiplayer video gaming, better known as esports.
“I like soccer. I’m not very good at it, but I like to watch other people play it,” he said with a laugh. “It’s the same for esports.”
Futrell said she gave the Norman conquest campaign a try, but it did not go well.
“I almost had William the Conqueror die at the Battle of Hastings,” she said.
The idea for the collaboration first came up several years ago in conversations between Kara Aquilano Forney, executive director of corporate initiatives and business development for Arizona Online, and Will McCahill, business lead at World’s Edge.
“I approached the history department, and call it serendipity or fate, but when I discovered we had two professors who are gamers and one of them was a medievalist, it sealed the deal,” said Forney in a written statement.
McCahill said a university partnership wasn’t their first goal, but it pairs nicely with the game’s trademark “humanized history,” which allows players to live out real historical events on their display screens.
“I’m excited, and I think students will be pleasantly surprised by this unique approach to learning history,” he said.
COVID delayed things for about a year, but Furtell and Milliman started writing and producing their supplemental material last summer, after the game developers supplied them with outlines for the campaigns.
The whole process was shrouded in secrecy, with nondisclosure agreements, scripts printed on water-marked pages and strict rules that prevented Futrell and Milliman from revealing the name of the game or even the developer they were working with.
Alison Futrell, head of the University of Arizona Department of History and associate professor of Roman history, and Paul Milliman, UA associate professor of medieval history. They developed new special educational content for the Age of Empires IV video game that can be played for one hour of college credit.
Learning is fun
The two professors — Futrell in person and Milliman by videolink from Ohio — marked the launch of the finished product Friday with an introductory event at the UA’s Esports Arena on the first floor of the Student Union.
“Fun and academic rigor don’t need to be mutually exclusive,” Milliman said. “It’s good to have fun while you learn.”
To earn the college credit, players must complete an online assessment to demonstrate what they learned from the four enhanced campaigns.
Milliman designed the assessment as a scavenger hunt of sorts, based on information sprinkled throughout the game and in the accompanying, out-of-game “Illuminated Histories,” written by the two professors. “So it’s not your typical, boring test thing,” he said.
The only required materials for the “course” are an Xbox Live account and access to Age of Empires IV on the video game streaming platform Steam, the Microsoft Store or through Xbox Game Pass.
The credit hour is available to current or future UA students, but anyone with access to the game can enjoy the supplementary material for free.
Futrell and Milliman hope at least a few gamers will use the credit as the first step toward earning a degree in history from the university.
Milliman said he is already designing a course specifically for students drawn to the UA by the game. The class, which could be available as soon as this summer, will give online students a taste of what it’s like to do historical research at a major university.
“There won’t be any textbooks or tests,” he said. “It will be project-focused and based on the experiences they had playing the game with our additional content.”
