Traipsing through Boston in 1783
The historical film is a journey into the past. You watch as known narratives or even alternative ones unfold, catching a glimpse of idiosyncrasies, and at times, judging historical accuracy. So if the historical film is a journey into the past, then the historical game, in this case Assassins Creed III, is an experience of that past through the lens of a participant that has a hand in the unfolding of those narratives, occupying space and viscerally reacting to the events that have been coded in. Yes, the world within which these events play out, are inspired recreations of historical records, but are places in themselves with a life of their own. Suppose we indulge ourselves for a moment and take on the role of tourists, perhaps for a city like Boston - that is as undidactic as historically seminal cities gets. A street corner that may be overlooked as mundane becomes understood as the location of posters and fliers that perhaps went on to influence public political sentiment in the 18th Century. For our tour, I have chosen 1783. A time just after the war in a place reeling from the turmoil, recovering, and healing - glimpses of a near past still visible. We deviate from being voyeurs. We taste the changing sights and smell the hanging sounds.
"….the horizon is peppered with the first signs of American flags. Paddocks, horses and overgrown grass characterise the path on which I am treading (Fig.1). The horse I am on is old, but its gait is firm, reminiscent of an active, hard-fought life. I am donning military garb, alluding to a past of which I am a part. There are groups gathered in small numbers and I can only speculate about what they are discussing. Reeling from the losses and wins just recorded or hopeful for a more peaceful future. I traipse through them, neither acknowledging their presence nor apologising for breaking their conversation. At least they see me and move out of the way. A fort appears in the horizon. It is an unusual one because my encounter with forts in other cities are as relics, leftover features from the past. This one is recent, still inhabited and used for its intended purpose (Fig.2). A market square in the midst of buildings emerges into view, rank and file milling around with no apparent direction, bumping into each other at times and not engaging with the goods on sale. The background chatter of the market can be heard, haggling, perhaps prosaic conversation. It is an illusory bustle. There seems to be a uniform. Women dressed similarly and men likewise (Fig.3). Carriages are roughly strewn about, with the occasional cat scurrying beneath them. A church yard punctuates the space, the red brick church dominating the other buildings around. Soldiers drift by in shoals, guns in hand with a drummer in tow. I know them by attire (Fig.4).
As I move between the buildings, their closely hanging lights suggesting a rich nightlife that will undoubtedly take place on the tightly cobbled streets - I make a mental note to return at nightfall. I emerge in West Boston, an apparently more rural part of town, streets vaguely defined, the paddock the dominant feature and houses more closely spaced out; their gable roofs, prominent chimneys and timber construction alluding to their role as farmhouses. A church comes into view, and it is the exact replica of the first one I saw earlier. Red brick, arched windows and a prominent bell tower against the west façade (Fig.5-8). An even more fortified fort comes into view, my path delineated by market carts and paddocks on the opposite side. It is currently late afternoon and as I adjust the time to morning, the market stalls empty out. As I re-emerge into a densely populated area, children's laughter rings out in the midst of a row of terraced houses predominantly red brick and white painted timber. A church as an exact replica of the previous two comes into view". I realise it is a trope, a recognisable placeholder for what would have existed.
"The doors are closed but people are milling around, a suggestion of its role as a place for gathering. As I emerge into a side street, wanting to explore every nook and crany, the Union Jack draws my attention, only a glimpse of it remains stuck beneath posters with indecipherable text (Fig.9). The suggestion is that it is no longer relevant enough to be seen. The new posters are however roughly positioned as if placed in a haste, a sense of urgency that comes with a revolution. The side street leads to a shipyard, under construction, the scaffolding and armature of the ship already in place. A horse drawn carriage emerges on my path, impeding my movement. Communication is however limited so it goes at his ordained pace (Fig.10). As I venture further, the clanging of the ships bells increases and together with the tempos of voices alludes to layers of life and activity. The tension in the air is palpable (Fig.11). Something cataclysmic had only just taken place. A dog scurries along as it starts to pour with rain. The reactions of people are however infinitesimal. Perhaps they cannot feel it. Food in the market stalls is still laid out, smoke still billowing from certain carts. Oh I wish I could smell what was on offer (Fig.12). I approach what appears to be the Old State House , standing prominently in the town square. I can not help but re-emerge into my historic present, the State House dwarfed by skyscrapers, yet standing tall and firm as a relic (Fig.13 & 14). Whilst I have carried on my tour in path guided by the map off to the side, I have chosen to ignore the smattering of red dots, curated possible interactions in which I write history."
In treating the game play as a narrative tour as one would a lived experience, there is the inkling of an argument that the experience of the historical city within the game is an equally valid simulation of the experience of the historical city in real time, where such an experience is spatiotemporally impossible. We embody the character and by becoming us, their experience of spaces is ultimately ours too. Not a recreation, but a thing in itself. 9 weeks is not enough time to cast myself a resident of Boston, so I won’t. I’ll cast myself as a tourist, exploring present day Boston overlaid onto a historical tourist experience of the city.
Game Play:
The choice of Boston was guided by our present reality and Assassin’s creed III, a game I am familiar with, with a storyline partly set in historical Boston, was the perfect game. The difficulty to get a hold of the game away from home meant that I improvised with a game play Intended as a tour as linked below:
ElGatoExplorador. “1783 Boston Map Tour | Assassin's Creed III Remastered.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 July 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfNRke4DDos.
“Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered” Computer software. Ubisoft Montreal, March 29, 2019.