The Lahore Fort was the beginning of it all. The place where I discovered a piece of my country’s history hidden under decades of neglect. The beauty of the architecture described in imperial narratives as being not as “valuable” as the Mughal forts preserved in territories further East. The actual experience of walking through the different layers of construction, speaking with the guide who pointed out the damage wreaked by pillaging British armies, learning about the customs and designs built to accommodate a civilization that cherished art, music and respected different religions living in the same society.

It felt… civilized. Not barbaric.

My goal to bring this feeling to the world and counter the “barbaric” narrative turned out to be more complex than I anticipated. The full project envisions bringing local professionals and students together in any part of the world to collaborate and re-discover their own cultures in the process of preserving it. Different professions, artists, gamers, historians, engineers and scientists; all can learn from the lessons of the past and rediscover their roots. This knowledge can be shared via the existing distribution channels used by avid gamers worldwide. Perhaps allow other cultures to participate with others in non-destructive manners. Who knows?

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

― Lao Tzu

Thus, after realizing that I couldn’t just jump to the end of the story, I began my first steps, focused on the Hows, and Whys, then started adding Whos.

Looking at the Digital Interactive Preservation process, I’m not yet at the halfway point, but the reality of this project is becoming clearer and much more believable!

Before I know it, I’ll be posting about testing out this process in collaboration with another university, and so on and so forth!