Join Nevada Humanities on Thursday, March 13, 2025 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm PT as we explore two educational games, The Hajj Trail and Seyahat, created by Tyler Kynn, assistant professor of history at Central Connecticut State University. During this stream, we will learn about the digital humanities and games as tools for playful learning, and how through these two games created by Kynn, players can immerse themselves in the history and culture of the early Ottoman world.
The Hajj Trail project is a digital educational text-based game which depicts the early modern Ottoman journey from Sarajevo to Mecca for students. This free educational game allows students to be introduced to the social and cultural history of the early modern Ottoman world presented through the lens of a traveling Ottoman pilgrim. The game introduces to the player over 300 Ottoman cities, hundreds of random events - all based on primary source material, and hundreds of quotes from historical travelers who journeyed along the same roads in the early modern Ottoman Empire.
Seyahat: A Journey to Mecca is a spiritual sequel to The Hajj Trail and was developed using the Unity game engine to craft a 2D visual experience in Ottoman-inspired painting style. Seyahat uses The Hajj Trail as an outline for the narrative structure and the primary source underpinnings of the game but aims to present these stories of the Ottoman past in a more immersive game with a more unified visual style. This game is currently in development with the demo of the first few scenes of the game available on Steam.
Audience participation is welcome and encouraged. While no account is needed to tune in, we encourage you to create a free Twitch account so you can participate in the chat with us.
Photo courtesy of Tyler Kynn
Tyler Kynn is an Assistant Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and the coordinator and developer of CCSU's new Game Studies minor. Tyler received their BA in History at the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, their MA in History at Central European University, and their PhD in History at Yale University. Tyler's research explores the hajj in the early modern world, examining both narrative and archival material related to questions of Ottoman sovereignty and power in the Hijaz. Their current book project is entitled A Season for Empire: The Hajj in the Early Modern World. Tyler is also one of the co-creators of The Hajj Trail which took their dissertation and converted it into a free classroom tool and digital simulation of the seventeenth-century hajj journey. Tyler's second educational game project, a spiritual sequel to The Hajj Trail, is Seyahat: A Journey to Mecca which can be found as a free demo on Steam. Tyler's research interests includes the history of the Islamic World, the Ottoman Empire, early modern empires, sovereignty, mobility, identity formation, gender and power, and the intersection of digital history and gaming.
Humanities at Play explores and showcases the significance of the humanities in everyday life through games, media, and popular culture. Join us for dynamic and interactive online and in-person events designed to spark thoughtful conversation and reflection. Learn more here.
