HP Labs researchers from Bristol were piloting a new adventure game last week at the Tower of London in which visitors help virtual prisoners to escape. The game, developed by the Mediascapes research team and staff at the Tower of London, uses HP iPAQ handheld devices and location sensors including GPS.
As players move into a location in the Tower and its grounds, the appropriate digital file, which might be a video or audio clue is triggered on their iPAQ devices. This allows players to meet historical prisoners in the Tower, such as Guy Fawkes and Anne Boleyn, one of Henry VIII’s wives. Even the Tower’s Yeomen Warders, nicknamed Beefeaters, become part of the game as players try to help historical figures escape.
“We’re interested in exploring how new technologies can help visitors become active participants in some of the Tower’s most exciting stories,” said Aileen Peirce, exhibition project manager at the Tower. “We hope that members will enjoy playing this innovative game on the actual sites where history happened.”
For more info see Reuters’ video footage of the game.
