Dr. Luca Ottonello
I started my career as an English Language teacher in Russia, I have built my skills and knowledge, towards becoming a fully formed manager in the administrative branches of Historical preservation and tourism, with a particular passion for the implementation of 3D reconstruction of archaeological environments, objects and full animation.
I have always lived abroad, mainly in Zambia (10 years), Venezuela (3 Years), and England (7 years). Other countries I have lived in are Germany, Russia and Italy. During these years I have had the privilege of getting to know both the history and culture of these countries, and grew to love it.
To the point that I decided to dedicate my life to the preservation, reproduction, interpretation, teaching and promotion of History in the world.
In Russia I worked as an English, Italian and History teacher, I then worked on employee relationships, in order to expand my skills, to be able to deal with events and businesses from a HR point of view. I then went back to my passion for history and culture, having acquired more practical skills in the tourism industry and in the running of personnel; I worked as assistant lawyer in St. Petersburg, and acquired a deeper understanding of the legal matters in interstate exchange of historical artifacts.
I later specialized further into the Archaeological field. By combining my knowledge of legal regulations, HR management, and the tourism industry, and became involved in field archaeology project management dealing with new media and technological 3D developments in the museum and archaeological environment in general.
In 2024 I obtained my PhD in Digital archaeology and emotive game design at the University of Glasgow in Scotland producing a thesis entitled: An archaeological emotive study through point & click archaeogaming:
investigating nostalgia, complex and negative emotions and how they are triggered and/or hidden in archaeological research.
.
Supervisors: Dr. Rachel Optiz and Dr. Gareth Beale
I have always lived abroad, mainly in Zambia (10 years), Venezuela (3 Years), and England (7 years). Other countries I have lived in are Germany, Russia and Italy. During these years I have had the privilege of getting to know both the history and culture of these countries, and grew to love it.
To the point that I decided to dedicate my life to the preservation, reproduction, interpretation, teaching and promotion of History in the world.
In Russia I worked as an English, Italian and History teacher, I then worked on employee relationships, in order to expand my skills, to be able to deal with events and businesses from a HR point of view. I then went back to my passion for history and culture, having acquired more practical skills in the tourism industry and in the running of personnel; I worked as assistant lawyer in St. Petersburg, and acquired a deeper understanding of the legal matters in interstate exchange of historical artifacts.
I later specialized further into the Archaeological field. By combining my knowledge of legal regulations, HR management, and the tourism industry, and became involved in field archaeology project management dealing with new media and technological 3D developments in the museum and archaeological environment in general.
In 2024 I obtained my PhD in Digital archaeology and emotive game design at the University of Glasgow in Scotland producing a thesis entitled: An archaeological emotive study through point & click archaeogaming:
investigating nostalgia, complex and negative emotions and how they are triggered and/or hidden in archaeological research.
.
Supervisors: Dr. Rachel Optiz and Dr. Gareth Beale
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Papers by Dr. Luca Ottonello
The study of emotion as much as the study of physical reconstruction can enhance the way archaeological computer graphics can aid the study of history. Emotional factors connected to storytelling are an under-researched aspect of archaeology. This research aims to address and explore such factors further. The central argument to this thesis is that exploring emotion as a core component in our understanding of the past is needed in order to achieve a fuller vision of the past. The possibility of being able to better represent archaeological understandings of the past through storytelling and immersion has the potential to move theoretical discourse beyond a focus on issues of accuracy and authenticity towards a fuller, more experiential, more practice-driven conception of the value of archaeological computer graphics.
The use of archaeologically themed videogames is a proposed solution that may allow the storytelling and emotion to accompany and complement the physical reconstructions mentioned above. This would give the potential for a researcher with no experience in digital design and programming to create an archaeogame tackling principles connected to emotive perception and having a narrative and technical game design strong enough to create a sense of immersion that in turn would allow a level of emotive perception and experience to the users with a focus on serious games. As a way of exploring the value of emotions as a component of archaeological representation, this thesis will focus on nostalgia and negative or complex emotions. These emotions are a leitmotif in the representation of the past, both within archaeology and within visual culture more broadly. As well as being potentially problematic and perhaps encouraging uncritical attitudes to these images, nostalgia and negative or complex emotions also have the potential to create empathy, communicate the commonality of human experience through time while also emphasising profound cultural and material differences.
The above application of nostalgic and complex emotions has the potential to tackle the issue of applying modern emotive concepts associated to justice and morality to the past which might subjectively influence the interpretation of the context within such past, by both archaeologists and the intended audience. In terms of archaeology, this research would allow us to explore and interpret the reasons behind the creation and use of material culture beyond the simple utilitarian use, integrate life stories of the people who either created or used such objects and enhance the storytelling allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the archaeology.
As archaeology confronts its role in colonialism, and the extent to which colonial ideas still inform elements of archaeological thinking, it has become necessary to allow voices, sentiments, and ideas from outside of our hegemonic, empirical disciplinary paradigm, to find expression.
One part of this process is to acknowledge the need for emotive factors to feature in our understanding of past events, but also to acknowledge the role of emotion in helping contemporary people to formulate responses to the past within archaeological research, this research will attempt to investigate how far the emotive subjectivity of archaeologists influences such interpretation.
The method used to achieve the above aims, was to investigate the literature available on emotions in digital archaeological applications, combining it with the literature on archaeogaming, game design and serious games and attempting to obtain the missing emotive reasoning not documented in the literature through a series of interviews with relevant authors. The results of the literature analysis and the interviews were then employed in the creation of an archaeogame built with the principle in mind that it should have been simple enough for an archaeologist not an expert in digital design to develop easily still developing a strong enough narrative and designed to provoke and experience emotive triggers aimed specifically at nostalgia and negative or complex emotions.
The key results of this stage of the research were several hypothetical concepts from the interviews in relation to emotive reaction to situations enacted within the storytelling and the narrative, experimenting on the personal or subjective manner and direction of such reactions by testers of an archaeogame designed just for this purpose, fully developed using basic computer skills avoiding programming developed by a single archaeologist.
The results of the interviews of the users after experiencing the game, were a confirmation of the specific emotive reactions to some of the emotive triggers within the archaeogame designed in line with the concepts of game design, storytelling and narrative found within archaeogaming and serious games, together with more hypotheses within the realm of archaeological subjectivity in interpretation, applicability, and feasibility of using archaeogaming to study emotions within archaeology. Furthermore, the results allowed an evaluation of the ability for archaeologists to combine other disciplines and areas of study to better investigate and show emotive connections to material culture which showed a positive inclination towards the feasibility of such a feat.
academic purposes: the programming, the design, the architectural and environmental research, the testing
etc.
But the factor that makes a game (any game) a success or a failure, is the ability to turn the already known
facts into a compelling narrative, which the user will get immersed in and want to continue playing until the
end.
For that reason, this article delves into the relation between historical accuracy, compelling character
arches and the creation of fictional narratives which follow the historical account closely enough to be both
accurate and compelling at the same time.
The article will follow as a case study the historical narrative of a recently designed Palmyra computer
game, following characters who were in Palmyra for different reasons and had strong historical ties to the
ancient town: Queen Zenobia, William Wright and a general historically extrapolated slave.
Keywords: narrative, computer game design, historical accuracy, Palmyra, Queen Zenobia, William
Wright, classics, digital archaeology, emotive
and the beginning of the age of early metals. Particular attention is paid to the process of Neolithization and interaction between different societies in Southern and Eastern Europe.
The proposed collection will be useful for anyone interested in the prehistory, archaeology and geography of
Europe – archaeologists, prehistorians, specialists in local history, ethnographers, museum workers, cultural heritage
researchers and students of higher educational institutions.
August 2015
The main aim of the dissertation is to create a set of best practice guidelines that will enable the archaeological community to utilise virtual reconstructions in a way which will not raise as many questions or debates as it is doing now.
Furthermore, by testing against a set of case studies, the author aimed at verifying the effectiveness of the best practice guidelines.
This was also done in order to guide the archaeological community in the appropriate use of virtual reconstructions, aiding the archaeological data dissemination to the general public by removing barriers that may have misguided or confused the audience.
The study of emotion as much as the study of physical reconstruction can enhance the way archaeological computer graphics can aid the study of history. Emotional factors connected to storytelling are an under-researched aspect of archaeology. This research aims to address and explore such factors further. The central argument to this thesis is that exploring emotion as a core component in our understanding of the past is needed in order to achieve a fuller vision of the past. The possibility of being able to better represent archaeological understandings of the past through storytelling and immersion has the potential to move theoretical discourse beyond a focus on issues of accuracy and authenticity towards a fuller, more experiential, more practice-driven conception of the value of archaeological computer graphics.
The use of archaeologically themed videogames is a proposed solution that may allow the storytelling and emotion to accompany and complement the physical reconstructions mentioned above. This would give the potential for a researcher with no experience in digital design and programming to create an archaeogame tackling principles connected to emotive perception and having a narrative and technical game design strong enough to create a sense of immersion that in turn would allow a level of emotive perception and experience to the users with a focus on serious games. As a way of exploring the value of emotions as a component of archaeological representation, this thesis will focus on nostalgia and negative or complex emotions. These emotions are a leitmotif in the representation of the past, both within archaeology and within visual culture more broadly. As well as being potentially problematic and perhaps encouraging uncritical attitudes to these images, nostalgia and negative or complex emotions also have the potential to create empathy, communicate the commonality of human experience through time while also emphasising profound cultural and material differences.
The above application of nostalgic and complex emotions has the potential to tackle the issue of applying modern emotive concepts associated to justice and morality to the past which might subjectively influence the interpretation of the context within such past, by both archaeologists and the intended audience. In terms of archaeology, this research would allow us to explore and interpret the reasons behind the creation and use of material culture beyond the simple utilitarian use, integrate life stories of the people who either created or used such objects and enhance the storytelling allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the archaeology.
As archaeology confronts its role in colonialism, and the extent to which colonial ideas still inform elements of archaeological thinking, it has become necessary to allow voices, sentiments, and ideas from outside of our hegemonic, empirical disciplinary paradigm, to find expression.
One part of this process is to acknowledge the need for emotive factors to feature in our understanding of past events, but also to acknowledge the role of emotion in helping contemporary people to formulate responses to the past within archaeological research, this research will attempt to investigate how far the emotive subjectivity of archaeologists influences such interpretation.
The method used to achieve the above aims, was to investigate the literature available on emotions in digital archaeological applications, combining it with the literature on archaeogaming, game design and serious games and attempting to obtain the missing emotive reasoning not documented in the literature through a series of interviews with relevant authors. The results of the literature analysis and the interviews were then employed in the creation of an archaeogame built with the principle in mind that it should have been simple enough for an archaeologist not an expert in digital design to develop easily still developing a strong enough narrative and designed to provoke and experience emotive triggers aimed specifically at nostalgia and negative or complex emotions.
The key results of this stage of the research were several hypothetical concepts from the interviews in relation to emotive reaction to situations enacted within the storytelling and the narrative, experimenting on the personal or subjective manner and direction of such reactions by testers of an archaeogame designed just for this purpose, fully developed using basic computer skills avoiding programming developed by a single archaeologist.
The results of the interviews of the users after experiencing the game, were a confirmation of the specific emotive reactions to some of the emotive triggers within the archaeogame designed in line with the concepts of game design, storytelling and narrative found within archaeogaming and serious games, together with more hypotheses within the realm of archaeological subjectivity in interpretation, applicability, and feasibility of using archaeogaming to study emotions within archaeology. Furthermore, the results allowed an evaluation of the ability for archaeologists to combine other disciplines and areas of study to better investigate and show emotive connections to material culture which showed a positive inclination towards the feasibility of such a feat.
academic purposes: the programming, the design, the architectural and environmental research, the testing
etc.
But the factor that makes a game (any game) a success or a failure, is the ability to turn the already known
facts into a compelling narrative, which the user will get immersed in and want to continue playing until the
end.
For that reason, this article delves into the relation between historical accuracy, compelling character
arches and the creation of fictional narratives which follow the historical account closely enough to be both
accurate and compelling at the same time.
The article will follow as a case study the historical narrative of a recently designed Palmyra computer
game, following characters who were in Palmyra for different reasons and had strong historical ties to the
ancient town: Queen Zenobia, William Wright and a general historically extrapolated slave.
Keywords: narrative, computer game design, historical accuracy, Palmyra, Queen Zenobia, William
Wright, classics, digital archaeology, emotive
and the beginning of the age of early metals. Particular attention is paid to the process of Neolithization and interaction between different societies in Southern and Eastern Europe.
The proposed collection will be useful for anyone interested in the prehistory, archaeology and geography of
Europe – archaeologists, prehistorians, specialists in local history, ethnographers, museum workers, cultural heritage
researchers and students of higher educational institutions.
August 2015
The main aim of the dissertation is to create a set of best practice guidelines that will enable the archaeological community to utilise virtual reconstructions in a way which will not raise as many questions or debates as it is doing now.
Furthermore, by testing against a set of case studies, the author aimed at verifying the effectiveness of the best practice guidelines.
This was also done in order to guide the archaeological community in the appropriate use of virtual reconstructions, aiding the archaeological data dissemination to the general public by removing barriers that may have misguided or confused the audience.