Explore the impact of land use with “Stone& veil”
The video game “Stone & Veil” helps explain human activities’ impact on soil health and land use in Scotland and the complex interrelatedness between the two. Set in Northeast Scotland, the game addresses soil health, land use, and the area’s unique mythology, drawing on Pictish heritage to create an engaging real-time strategy and resource management game. After catastrophic events communities are striving for survival. They need to provide food, shelter and power and avoid the monsters that may pass through the “veil”and cause mayhem.
The science was provided by the James Hutton Institute, a world leading interdisciplinary scientific research Institute based in Scotland, and SEFARI Gateway, the Scottish Government’s environment, natural resources and agriculture research centre. “Stone & Veil” has been designed to allow players to understand and respond to the challenges of manipulating and developing land while addressing climate change, food security and the nature crisis.
“STONE AND VEIL”
A digital game playable on computers, tablets and smartphones (except Apple devices).
To play the game, download the "final build.zip" folder onto your device and extract that file. Right click on the folder to do this. Once extracted, within that folder, you can play the game by double clicking on the "Stone and Veil.exe" file.
GAME DOWNLOAD - BETA VERSION
Please read the instructions before you download the game.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE GAME
The science is based on ecosystem ‘Stores’ and ‘Fluxes’ – exchanges of energy and matter both human and biophysical.
The ‘Store’ is the thin layer of organic matter around earth. ‘Fluxes’ are the exchange of energy and matter which includes solar radiation, precipitation and evaporation.The ‘Store’ uses and regulates these ‘Fluxes’ through processes such as carbon capture and soil formation.
Fluxes are essential for life but if not regulated can damage the store. The earth’s ‘Big Fluxes’ such as flood and storm can be terminally damaging. For a system to have resilience, therefore, its ‘Stores’ and ‘Fluxes’ have to be in balance. This happens in a natural system, but when people abuse the land by cutting down trees, growing crops or grazing animals, the inputs and outputs become so large that they lead to imbalance. More recently the use of large machinery, fertilisers and the excessive extraction of material for food, clothing and timber has led to further degradation of the ‘Store’.
If well-managed, the ‘Store’ and ‘Flux’ can be kept in balance and the land and people are better able to cope with big ‘Fluxes’. The aim is to build and maintain the ‘store’ and extract materials sensibly such as through regenerative farming and regenerative forestry.
PICTISH MYTHOLOGY
This game was inspired by the landscape of Northeast Scotland and its 6000 year history of land use and management. The early settlers were farmers, hunters and fishers who grew mainly barley, wheat, oats, rye and vegetables and foraged for fruit, nut and medicines. They also cultivated grazing land and bred cattle, sheep and pigs. They erected massive stone monuments and carved symbols into rock.
Of all peoples that have occupied this land, the Pictish civilisations were of particular interest to the game designers. Much of what the Picts left behind is a mystery to us, especially the carved standing stones and cross-slabs. There are many theories as to their purpose – gravestones, territorial markers – but the designers were inspired by the thought that that the stones could mark places where the Veil between worlds is thinnest and can act as a gateway through which mythical creatures can pass.
As part of their research the students visited the nearby Ardblair Standing Stones and walked the Cateran Trail.
MEET THE MONSTERS
You will encounter three Scottish mythological creatures on your journey:
Cailleach – Divine hag; goddess of wind, water and landscape; can summon a thunderstorm that reduces the output of all crops.
Kelpie – Dangerous water horse; shape shifter to human form; haunts and disrupts any sources of water, halting the growth of crops.
Giant – Takes up space on the land, blocking the player from building structures.
GAME DEVELOPMENT
The game was developed by students from Abertay University’s Professional Masters in Games Development between September 2023 and August 2024. The students worked closely with the scientists to produce a real-time isometric strategy and resource management game. The artwork was designed in three stages – first concept art stage, followed by the 2-D design, which was then converted into 3-D animations by another team.
Read Marcus Young-Smith’s blog on the development of Stone & Veil.
FUNDERS
DESIGN TEAM
We are very grateful to the Pebble Trust for funding the beta version of this game, and to SEFARI Gateway for their support.
Funding is being sought for the alpha version of the game.
MUSIC
Da Fishing Hands
Inge Thomson
Fraser Fifield
Sarah Hayes
Steven Polwart
Graham Smilie
Abertay University:
Dr Kenneth Fee, head of Professional Masters in Games Development.
Dominic Brooking
Xinhui Liu
Zeng Zhuofeng
Yu Gao
Aibo Zhang
Ben Peake
Amelia Morrison
Marcus Young-Smith
Rinku Sara Chacko
Otto Jacobi
Remy Pijuan
Dasa Falislova
Laura Lukacova
Saeed Talebpour
Project manager:
Gail Halvorsen, chair, SEDA Land.
Scientists:
Professor Lorna Dawson, Head of Forensic Science, James Hutton Institute & SEFARI Gateway.
Dr Geoff Squire, Honory Principal Scientist, James Hutton Institute.
With contributions from:
Pete Ianetta, Head of Ecological Food Systems, James Hutton Institute.
Mads Fischer-Møller, Food advisor at WWF.