Strange Sickness, a video game based on the research of historians Dr Jackson Armstrong and Dr William Hepburn, is up for a 2022 Scottish BAFTA.

The Aberdeen University historians used the extensive Burgh records to look at life in the city in the Middle Ages during a time of plague.

The game used Kickstarter to get funded and was designed by game developer Katharine Neil with visuals by the artist Alana Bell.

Commenting on being in the running for a top award Dr Jackson Armstrong said:

“The BAFTA Scotland Awards celebrate and reward the highest achievements in Scottish film, television and games talent and we are beyond delighted to see Strange Sickness shortlisted alongside such prestigious talent.

“Games are an amazing tool to help people imagine the past and the Burgh Records are an outstanding resource to help us understand life in the Middle Ages. To see a game using historical records recognised in this way is a real boost for our collaborative research efforts with the Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives.”

Importantly profits from the first year of sales of Strange Sickness will be split equally between the Lord Provost’s Charitable Trust and vaccinaid.org, a UNICEF initiative to deliver Covid-19 vaccinations to the most at-risk people around the world.

Scotland’s BAFTAs take place this year on Sunday 20th of November.

The games category nominations are:

HERCULE POIROT: THE FIRST CASES Development Team – Blazing Griffin
THE LONGEST WALK Alexander Tarvet
STRANGE SICKNESS William Hepburn, Jackson Armstrong, Katharine Neil, Alana Bell – Common Profyt Games Ltd