Short report: 3. Archaeogaming Hackathon Kiel
A few weeks ago, I announced that I would be organising the third Archaeogaming Hackathon. This time in Kiel. Well, time flies, and it is already over. As before, a more detailed report will be available on the DiKopA project website in the coming weeks. Today, I will give you a short summary of what happened.
One group, four students
This hackathon was the smallest so far. We had four students who formed a single group. Honestly, the smaller size turned out to be a real strength. The group clicked immediately and started working right away. They were incredibly organised, dividing tasks among themselves without much guidance needed from Kevin, my co-tutor, or me.
Unlike previous hackathons, we did not have an online pre-meeting this time — there wasn’t enough time to organise one. But it did not matter much. When we met in Kiel, the group quickly found their rhythm and got to work.
The venue and atmosphere
This time we were hosted at the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory (Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte) at Kiel University. Our host, Christoph Rinne, was very welcoming. He stopped by several times during the hackathon, showed great interest in what the students were doing, and even gifted everyone a copy of one of his latest publications on megalithic graves. A lovely gesture!
Kevin Körner was again with me as a tutor, providing technical support with RPG Maker MV while I helped with the archaeological and narrative side of things. On the first evening we went out for dinner together at Killer Pizza, just around the corner from the institute. It was a really nice way to start the hackathon and get everyone talking in a relaxed setting.
The game
Kieler Küstenfische connects two time periods: in the present, players conduct a rescue excavation at a stretch of Kiel’s coastline, where they can discover a Mesolithic harpoon as the central find – provided they have completed a series of tasks correctly beforehand. These include everyday activities in archaeological practice, such as sorting tools in an excavation tent and preparing them for field use.
Once the harpoon has been found and the excavation properly documented, the game shifts to a second level set in the Mesolithic itself. Players accompany a young fisherman and learn how he crafts his first harpoon and uses it successfully on the hunt.
If you want to try out the game yourself, have a look at the top of the DiKopA Hackathon page: https://dikopa.net/hackathon/