Myth in Motion: Embodying Ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

This symposium will welcome actors Melissanthi Mahut and Michael Antonakos, the iconic voices of Ancient Greek siblings Kassandra and Alexios from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft, 2018) to Bristol. This event looks at the work between game developers and actors as a form of “embodied archaeology,” turning the development process into a collaborative process of reconstructing the past from fragments – textual, environmental, and embodied – similar to the work of classicists and archaeologists. The event is split into two days, with the first day consisting of public facing events centered around the actors' work on their characters. The second day is a student-only full day workshop and game jam.

Day 1 “From Actor to Avatar”: Public Symposium (ARTS 1.H020 and B.H05 Lecture Theatre) 13:30 - 19:00 GMT

• Active Play Session (ARTS 1.H020) 13:30 - 16:00: Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut will react to gameplay of AC Odyssey and do a public Q&A 
• Talks, Panel and Q&A (B.H05 Lecture Theatre) 17:00 - 19:00 GMT
  • 17:00 - 17:20: Lightning talk by Michael Antonakos and Melissanthi Mahut on motion capture and historical embodiment 
  • 17:30 - 19:00: Interdisciplinary panel discussion with Michael and Melissanthi moderated by Dr. Richard Cole and Lexie Henning followed by a public Q&A 
• *Refreshments not provided on this day; there is a 1 hour break between 16:00-17:00 GMT

Day 2 “Become the Character”: Interdisciplinary Student Workshop & Game Jam (Bristol Digital Futures Institute/Bristol Digital Game Lab) 9:00 - 17:00 GMT

• Motion capture demonstration (TBD)
• Workshop on voice work, character construction, and embodied storytelling
• Game Jam where students create games with the actors as judges
• *Lunch and light refreshments provided only on this day
• *This event is only open to current university students studying in the UK or mainland Europe (all disciplines and degree levels welcome) 

*Please note: Day 1 has two separate sessions which will require separate tickets. Day 2 only requires one ticket. If you wish to attend all three sessions across both days, please ensure you have secured each of the three tickets available. 

This event is funded and supported by the Bristol Digital Game Lab, The Institute of Greece, Rome, and the Classical Tradition, the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, and the Centre for Creative Technologies.