On 15 April 2019, shortly before 18:50 CEST, fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. [Wikipedia]
When it comes to recover/rebuild the damaged masterpiece, the gaming industry will help.
The 2014 game ‘Assassin’s Creed Unity,’ set in Paris during the French Revolution, features a realistic 3D model of the historic house of worship. Caroline Miousse, an artist for the game, spent about two years perfecting the model of the cathedral that appears on gamers’ screens. [New York Post]
Game developer Ubisoft also employs several staff historians to help dig up any extra details the development team might need. [The Verge]
The level of details not only makes Assassin’s Creed a great game, but also could help to save the history and the real world.
Another very helpful resource is from Vassar art historian Andrew Tallon’s work of exquisite 3D laser maps of every detail of Notre Dame.
I know this doesn’t help, but we have exquisite 3D laser maps of every detail of Notre Dame, thanks to the incredible work of @Vassar art historian Andrew Tallon. Prof Tallon passed away last November, but his work will be absolutely crucial https://t.co/YJl3XXUZTg
— Hannah Groch-Begley (@grouchybagels) April 15, 2019
In the past, we have many artworks digitalized but mainly for a paining or a sculpture I guess. The tragedy happened in Paris will remind us of many other things to be digitalized. In the future, VR games would probably need even more details and virtually serve as a permanent digital copy of our history. Expect much more “digitalization work” to be done in the next few years. We may even digitalize an event or a piece of time in the digital world.
It’s going to be similar to the “genome bank” to preserve what have existed in this world.