CONSPIRACY
Are you interested in true crime? Do you love solving mysteries? Do you want to turn a genuine legal mystery into an exciting video game?
For Spring 2024, we’re recruiting 5 interns to work on an innovative video game focused on the Amboina incident, a famous and controversial conspiracy case that took place 400 years ago but which remains unsolved today. In March 1623, 10 Japanese mercenaries were executed for a conspiracy to seize control of a Dutch East India Company castle on a remote island in Southeast Asia. The cases hinged on confessions extracted via the use of a torture technique called waterboarding that re-emerged in the 21st century.
No one knows what really happened. Did the ten Japanese soldiers really plot with a group of English merchants to murder their Dutch employers? Or were they just innocent solders forced to confess after hours of torture? Were they calculating plotters, victims or something else entirely?
The Amboina conspiracy trial was hugely consequential. It helped the Dutch East India seize control of the lucrative trade in precious spices. It ended the Company’s dreams of recruiting large numbers of Japanese soldiers to fight its wars in Southeast Asia. And it sparked a long conflict between the Dutch Republic and Britain. It also marked a turning point for the Japanese diaspora to Southeast Asia.
For centuries now scholars have dissected the Amboina case. It’s been the subject of countless pamphlets, books and other publications. But no-one has turned it into an exciting video game that places players at the center of a unsolved mystery. This is where you come in.
Apply by November 30 using this short survey
The application process is competitive. Successful applicants will be asked to interview the week of December 4-8.
No prior experience is required, but an ideal team will include students with a combination of:
Traditional art and/or digital art skills
Computer Science / coding experience
Experience in background music and/or sound design
Strong creative and/or analytical writing skills
Students with any of the above are encouraged to apply.
Digital Humanities Intern Responsibilities
Familiarize yourself with the Amboina conspiracy trial.
Take the lead on your portion of the game, and assist on others:
a. Use historical artwork. develop original artwork, or a combination thereof.
b. create an engaging story with exciting dialog
c. Design and code the game using the Ren’py Visual Novel Engine or Unity.
d. Create an appealing user interface.
Participate in testing and refining the game created by the group.
Attend weekly meetings. See Parameters below for details.
Digital Humanities Intern Learning Outcomes
Interdisciplinary research experience
Gain familiarity working with and interpreting textual and visual sources for a public audience
Experience working as part of a team to complete a real, useable project
Experience working in Unity or Ren’py, a popular visual novel engine.
Parameters
Successful applicants will enroll in a COLA internship—or the equivalent for their own college—in digital humanities via registration for LA 320wb (3 hours of credit and letter grade that counts toward GPA).
Interns will work 10 hours a week, including group meetings, and must be available to meet at least once a week.
You will be working closely with Dr Adam Clulow, who is a leading expert on the Amboina conspiracy trial.