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Russian President Wants To Teach History With A World Of Warcraft Clone

gamer culture
by Phil Kollar on July 26, 2011 at 12:55 AM
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See that World of Warcraft screenshot above? Now imagine that this miner represents the plight of the proletariat. That could be the case if Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has his latest request granted.

The Moscow Times reports that Medvedev, who took office in 2008, is looking at popular culture such as gaming to figure out a way to teach Russian youth the history of their country. He explains:

"Take World of Warcraft… It's not all about destruction. It has a subtext about developing human civilization. We could try to make something similar if it's so popular -- not globally, perhaps, but at the domestic level."

It's unclear who if anyone will take up Medvedev's call to arms, but he's looking for ways to help celebrate Russia's history in time for the nation's 1,150th anniversary of statehood next year. Anyone up to the challenge?

[via Kotaku]

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Comments
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  • by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:03 AM
    This is actually really cool. Russia has an amazingly rich history that is sadly under-appreciated. Bringing Russia's history to the mass market of gamers is a great idea. It worked out really well with the Assassins Creed games. Here's to President Medvedev's success.
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    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:21 AM
    That's actually a good idea. Games are designed to be engaging and they have already been used for educational purposes, so it's not a stretch to assume it could be done on a larger scale. A game designed to teach history accurately wouldn't be as action packed as a game designed around saving the world/being a criminal/shooting everything in sight, etc. but it's not a bad idea to attempt new forms of education.
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    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:26 AM
    WOW I DIDNT REALIZE RUSSIA WAS THAT OLD
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    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:35 AM
    We need more leaders / figureheads like this who realise the potential of games, as opposed to the ones who believe that all games are "Corrupting our youth" and "Teaching children how to kill / steal"

    Edit : I couldn't care less what this man has done in this past and,it has not affected me. I try to keep things relevant to the topic and I'm just glad to see a change in a political leaders opinion on games.
  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:41 AM

    Studied a lot of Russian History in College and boy is it complicated. Interesting to see how they could combine something as complex as Russian history with a modern form of entertainment.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:47 AM
    Gosh!! Imagine how big their High School History Book is...
  • by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:52 AM

    Wow, not a bad idea.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 01:56 AM
    Every time I see the picture above- I comment on how it reminds of that person who leveled up by gathering alone----haaha this is the 3rd time.

    here:
    http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/04/07/wow-player-hits-level-85-by-gathering-alone.aspx?PageIndex=2
  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 02:04 AM

    Russia is awesome, Communism is not. MMORPGS are awesome... everything else is not?

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 02:08 AM

    Please don't have it be as historically accurate as Genji 2.

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    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 02:36 AM
    I mean it kinda is a nice idea and all but I feel like its going to push the more educational side of it than the actual gaming. Of course its to be expected but I don't think a game like this will hold my attention span for that long. Is however a good idea IMO.
  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 02:37 AM

    Interesting idea.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 03:14 AM

    Definitely sounds intriguing. Credit due if he pulls it off.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 03:37 AM

    That's pretty cool, now, I'm looking at you assassins creed.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 05:21 AM
    Wow tecnology can be used for other things than it was supposted to be used for. :|
  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 06:40 AM

    i want to have a level 30 ivan temper.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 07:14 AM

    Good job Medvedev, good job.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 07:40 AM

    Bring it to America!!! Lol I can't stand history class. This would actually be interesting.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 08:00 AM

    That's an awesome idea. Russia has some great history, and somehow rendering that in an open world game like WoW would be pretty amazing, and I'm sure something that would stick with the kids more than a textbook.

  •
    by Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 08:01 AM
    I think its a good idea.It is pretty sad how alot of kids these days dont give a S*** about history.I mean I'm seeing kids who dont know who the first president of the US was. imo america has one of the best,most interesting historys in the world.So I think it would be great if we could use something like this to teach them about it.
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