Civilization III mod teaches Canadian history

by John Bardinelli { Jun 4th 2007 at 11:00AM }

Ten years in the making, a million-dollar project funded by Telefilm Canada and supported by Canada's National History Society has finally come to fruition. HistoriCanada: The New World is a Civilization III mod designed to help students learn about Canadian history. Gamers take control of the English, French, or one of over half a dozen native peoples and play through the years of 1525 and 1762, shaping the country as the game plays out in Civ III-style.

The chair of the Queen's University Centre for the Study of Democracy says Canadian history is sometimes portrayed as "dull as dishwater", but when experienced through Civ III players can see the "complex interaction of economic, religious, social and military choices" that have shaped the country's past. The mod is available for download on the HistoriCanada website (you must have Civ III and the Conquests expansion) and will be packaged with copies of Civ III and donated to over 100,000 Canadian high school students.

Edutainment can go horribly wrong, but sprinkling a little history lesson in with Civilization is a great idea in our book. Just one question: why Civ III and not Civ IV?

[Thanks, Bryon S.]

Tags: 2k, canada, civiii, civilization, history, maxis, mods

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hvnlysoldr @ Jun 4th 2007 11:07AM

They obviously picked the point of the French Indian War when they lost to us to end the history lesson. I kid of course, they were a big ally in WWII.

Anam @ Jun 4th 2007 11:13AM

I love this idea. It would be nice if they did something similar here in the states. Possibly even a seperate mod for each state or something... at least, for the "fun" states...

Also, I think the reason they picked Civ III over IV is because they have been working on it for a while. At least, that's the impression I got out of it.

Jason Lamb @ Jun 4th 2007 11:14AM

I'm from Canada...and no matter how much they spruce up Canadian history, even in a video game, it truly is "dull as dishwater."

Matthew Walsh @ Jun 4th 2007 11:21AM

Why not let the game run to say... after 1812? ;)

Anam @ Jun 4th 2007 11:24AM

@Matthew Walsh

Maybe they'll start with a game of Civ III, then switch over to a SimCity mod at a certain point...

ckattner @ Jun 4th 2007 11:33AM

I doubt most Canadian schools have computers that can run Civ 4. plus you say they have been working on this for ten years. it wouldn't make sense to switch games in the final year.

CaptNink @ Jun 4th 2007 11:38AM

The only exciting piece of Canadian history that I can recall from my school days was Louis Riel. The rest is truly "dull as dishwater".

Jerk Face @ Jun 4th 2007 11:46AM

I heard they have yetis up in Canada.

Fuji @ Jun 4th 2007 11:54AM

Canada has a history, other than being the disgruntaled neighbor that lives above the party apartment. Sure, the parties might not always be great, but they keep you up at night and you are never invited.

Kent Houseman @ Jun 4th 2007 12:08PM

They should make kids that fail US history play this. That will teach them some appreciation.

bocaj_patton @ Jun 4th 2007 12:33PM

Just one question...are there mounties? that's the major selling point for me...even if it's free...

Mounties FTW

Tim @ Jun 4th 2007 1:03PM

Guy makes a good point. Should play through 1812. Probably left it out because of the.... genocide? Is it called genocide?

Farseer @ Jun 4th 2007 1:03PM

Civ III teaches Canadian history, but Civ IV makes for a better screenshot, huh. :)

Slvrgun @ Jun 4th 2007 1:16PM

US History is dull too. It's just a bunch of events that allowed nearly every non-white to be exploited, used, and pushed aside. It speaks clearly about bigotry, hate, racism, sexism, pride, division, brotherhood, greed, power and glory. Things don't really get interesting until the early 20th century. That's when things really start to look up for this great country. As much as I don't like some parts of it, US history is as much a part of me as I am to it. God bless America, despite its transgressions.

European History is much more interesting in my opinion. I took AP European History in Highschool like 5 years ago. It was a thrilling journey through time.

Jonah Falcon @ Jun 4th 2007 1:28PM

Why Civ III? Because it's a far more "open" game than Civ IV. The game mechanics for replaying a history lesson are easier with Civ III.

Geist @ Jun 4th 2007 1:45PM

Don't you get it guys? If you die in Canada, you DIE IN REAL LIFE!

Incidentally, I wasn't aware us Canadians had a history that could be made into a game. We fought like two wars and talked our way into independence.

Grammar freak @ Jun 4th 2007 2:34PM

The special unit for the Canadian civilization is the powerful Mountie, along with special leader unit Wayne Gretzky.

rjm72 @ Jun 4th 2007 3:44PM

Even though this part of history bores me to death, I would still download the mod if I hadn't given my Civ 3 to my friend after I bought Civ IV

sleeptastic @ Jun 4th 2007 5:11PM

For Americans that might be confused, the Canadians believe the War of 1812 to be a great Canadian military victory over the US, similar to how the Free French probably think that Normandy was a great French victory over the Nazis. Only if Germany hadn't lost the war in the end and instead became the most powerful nation on Earth.