Strasbourg, France – December 11, 2007 – The European Parliament presented Haemimont Games’ award-winning computer video game, Imperium Civitas II, as the centerpiece for the launch of its “Learn to Play Through History” campaign.
As part of this historic new educational initiative, the European Union’s governing body is determined to prove that video games such as the Imperium franchise can provide far more than entertainment, empowering players through an intellectually stimulating environment with the knowledge and skills to engage in substantive inquiry and learning.
In a special all-day parliamentary session where leading educational theorists, sociologists, and historians were invited to express their views on the role of videogames in education, Italian and Spanish grade school students were also present to interact with parliamentarians and other participants while playing Imperium
Imperium was cited for its ability to impart three core values with civic significance through game play:
- 1.Responsibility: players are challenged to meet the evolving needs of the inhabitants of the virtual cities they build through commerce, law, culture, and the allocation of food and raw materials
- 2. Management: players are confronted with complex situations that require them to simultaneously organize and control multiple variables in order to find and implement satisfactory solutions
- 3. Citizenship: players must base their rule on the principles of justice, honesty, and respect in order to create thriving environments for their citizenry.
Imperium’s value as an instructional tool for teachers was also discussed. The game’s sophisticated graphics and advanced multi-player technology allows students to transcend the barriers of space and time, making it easier for them to learn both individually and collaboratively. For example, students organized into small teams use Imperium to solve specific case studies.
Conceived and developed by Haemimont Games, the Imperium franchise is intended to draw players into the world of Rome and its extraordinary civilization. Since its launch in 2003 the Imperium franchise has achieved platinum status with an estimated 1.5 million players worldwide.
About Haemimont Games AD:
Launched in 1997, Haemimont Games (www.haemimontgames.com) is Bulgaria’s premier video games company. With more than six major internationally distributed titles to its name, the Company is focused on creating original properties with global market appeal. It has an internally developed state-of-the-art outdoor graphics engine as well as a host of proprietary tools that significantly streamline the production process.
