When a video game helps rebuild the jewel of France's heritage... On April 15, 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris was ravaged by a devastating fire, provoking worldwide emotion. A large part of the cathedral has to be rebuilt, but on what basis? That's where video game giantUbisoft comes in! And with good reason: the French studio, for the creation of its video game Assassin's Creed Unity, released in 2014, modeled the building in its entirety.
This detailed representation of the cathedral took over 14 months and 5,000 hours of work to model alone. An initiative which, although purely artistic, made a lasting impression and was of great use. However, this virtual replica, designed for an optimal gaming experience, included specific adjustments, such as additional entrances and Viollet-le-Duc's spire, which was lost in the fire.
It's only a short step from there to saying that the plans helped in the reconstruction... Thierry Noël, historian for Ubisoft, doesn't take it that far:"There's a charming rumor that Ubisoft provided the plans for its model Notre-Dame to help with the reconstruction. It's just a rumor," he tells BFMTV. He goes on to say that the virtual model"is specific to video games". So it's not a faithful representation, even if the model of the building is almost an exact replica of the cathedral in 1789, the period in which the game is set. An indirect contribution, nonetheless, at least in terms of the enthusiasm the game generated after the fire. And a way of preserving history, too!
The real contribution lies elsewhere... It's financial! And with good reason: Ubisoft donated 500,000 euros to the reconstruction, and offered the PC version of the game free of charge for a week. This initiative enabled millions of gamers to virtually rediscover Notre-Dame and promote its heritage. Despite these limitations, Assassin's Creed Unity 's version of Notre-Dame has heightened interest in cultural heritage and opened up discussions on the use of digital tools for historic preservation. A striking example of how the virtual can raise awareness of the importance of historic monuments.
