” We are in May 18, 1291. You’re a knight Templar who has just managed to reach Sidon sea castle with some other fellow knights. You have to gather the precious items of a treasure before fleeing to Cyprus with a boat.”

MED GAIMS presents: “Save the Treasure”, an Augmented-Reality game based on historical events that take place on site in the Sidon Sea Castle, Lebanon. You are a Knight Templar who is tasked with gathering the pieces of a treasure scattered all around the castle. Using your smartphone, and following audio tips and instructions, you have to explore the castle to find and gather these items in preparation to board a ship to flee to Cyprus.

This game is for site visitors that are casual gamers, adventure seekers and new experience explorers. “Save the Treasure” is explicitly designed to be easy to understand and follow. It is understood that tourists have limited time to spend in each touristic location and they cannot be bothered to understand complicated instructions after long days of travel. In addition, the game runs in the browser, so all the player has to do is navigate to a URL or scan a QR code to start playing on their own device. It was developed using BabylonJS, a game engine that runs in the browser, and it can be played on modern smartphones with Augmented-Reality capabilities.

The game’s art is kept simple with high-contrast to help players see and read the smartphone’s screen, because most of the days of the year when the Sidon Sea Castle is open to the public, it is quite sunny. That is also why the game heavily relies on audio instructions, so that the player does not have to look at the screen all the time to keep playing.

Education is a high-priority in the game. After every treasure item is found, it is shown in 3D using Augmented-Reality and a short audio recording is played describing a few interesting historical aspects about the item. The presence of an audio recording along with the text means that players can continue to enjoy playing the game while listening, so it is much less likely for them to skip such descriptions.

“Save the Treasure” does not lack surprises either. The process of gathering the treasure items is interrupted at various points with mini side quests to keep things interesting and fun, all contributing to serve the final goal of gathering the treasure and escaping to Cyprus.

We cannot wait for you to visit us at Sidon Sea Castle in Lebanon and play “Save the Treasure” once it is officially released to the public later this year.