William Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” But what would the late-16th-century playwright’s work look like in the virtual world? A collaboration at the University of California, Davis, among the DataLab, the ModLab and the Department of English is giving undergraduate students the chance to find out.

What if you could talk Shakespeare’s Macbeth out of violence? A new UC Davis-developed game lets players do just that, using AI to simulate dialogue and teach real-world conflict de-escalation skills through interactive storytelling rooted in some of the greatest dramas in the English language.

English Professor Gina Bloom dives into how ModLabs’ Shakespeare video game, "Play the Knave," knocks Shakespeare off a pedestal and gives students creative control over his plays. The game, released in 2020, is currently being adapted for virtual reality headsets.