College Station, TX – December 19, 2017 – Triseum’s immersive video game, ARTé: Mecenas™, is revolutionizing the way students explore and retain art history curriculum, and it is winning both domestic and international awards in the process. The game recently earned an Innovation Award at the Serious Games Showcase and Challenge at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), the world’s largest modeling, simulation, and training event. Additionally, ARTé: Mecenas earned a coveted European Serious Games Award in the Business category from the Serious Games Society, a global think tank focused on serious games and gamification at the scientific, technological and professional level.
“Our team is humbled by the recognition from these two esteemed organizations, both of which have been incredible champions for serious games,” said André Thomas, CEO of Triseum and gaming professor at Texas A&M University. “It is extraordinary to think that our game that was initially created with the help of students, faculty and designers in the LIVE Lab in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M is now earning accolades on a worldwide stage. This is testament to the creativity and intellect of the many talented people who had a hand in the development, creating a far more modern and engaging way for students to interact and connect with art history content.”
In a subject where all too often students memorize works of art without understanding their context, ARTé: Mecenas helps students grasp the complexities, the role of art given societal norms, and the relevance to the people and policies of the time. ARTé: Mecenas transports students to the 15th and 16th century Renaissance where they commission works of art as a Medici banker, balancing relationships with powerful city-states, merchant factions and the Catholic Church or risking excommunication, exile and bankruptcy. In addition to its awards and accolades, students and faculty continue to give ARTé: Mecenas rave reviews. To see the game in action, please view the game trailer.
I/ITSEC’s Serious Games Showcase & Challenge celebrates the use of games and game technology as a delivery medium for instructional material. The Challenge has been fostering creativity and innovation in serious games for more than a decade. Specifically, the Innovation Award, which was presented to Triseum at a ceremony in Orlando, recognizes techniques that enhance serious games in a new or different way.
The Serious Games Society gave the Business award to Triseum during a ceremony at its GALA Conference in Lisbon, Portugal. The panel of researchers and serious games professionals who judged the game nominees paid particular attention to interoperability, as it is a main requirement for a sustainable approach towards the professional development of serious games.