How a video game could help restore Notre Dame

A video game version of the iconic Notre Dame could help with the cathedral's reconstruction after it was devastated by fire.

The French games company Ubisoft recreated the cathedral for a game made in 2014. Digitally, Ubisoft created Paris and the famous cathedral as they were back in 1789. The cathedral has remained pretty much the same for hundreds of years, until it was damaged by the blaze this week.

Developers of the game used 3D maps to construct the Parisian landmark, including the inside of the cathedral and the outside of the building.

A spokesperson for Ubisoft says: "It is important to keep in mind that what we did for the game was not a scientific reconstruction but rather an artistic vision. While we wanted to be very precise with details, there are some differences in terms of scale."

"That being said, we would be more than happy to lend our expertise in any way that we can to help with these efforts."

The historic cathedral in Paris, which dates back almost 850 years, was badly damaged by the huge fire on Monday night.

A video game recreation of Notre Dame

Ubisoft level designer Caroline Miousse spent over a year of her life looking at details of the cathedral to create as accurate a version as possible in the game.

"Overall, it took 14 months of production to create Notre-Dame, both interior and exterior, It ended up becoming [the game's] benchmark landmark." Said Miousse. "Notre-Dame is almost like reality. In fact, it is exactly 90% of the real scale."

Ubisoft added that they are donating €500k to help with the reconstruction of the Cathedral. "Notre-Dame is an integral part of Paris, a city to which we are deeply connected. Seeing the monument in peril like this affected us all." Said a spokesperson.