SlingShot creates mobile app for M Shed launch
M Shed, the new museum dedicated to the history of Bristol, has commissioned a new iphone app to help promote its opening on the June 17th.
The app, titled Fortunes, was developed by SlingShot and is aimed at the twentysomething audience.
It uses elements of treasure hunt and street games to guide visitors through a nineteenth century Bristol cityscape. The aim of the game is for visitors to find the jobs, partners and connections they need to increase their social status, ultimately becoming mayor of 1870s Bristol.
Fortunes was developed in collaboration with Calvium and Watershed, as part of a Technology Strategy Board research collaboration.
“We’re proud of how this game engages players with museum archive source material, some of it quite obscure, such as local council election flyers from the 1850s,” said SlingShot Director, Simon Evans. “Using that material within a playful environment is something that’s really exciting and it will be interesting to see how players get involved”.
Through its work with M Shed, SlingShot hopes its unique brand of entertainment products will find a wider audience within the heritage and tourism sectors.
“We create and design games that are embedded in the environment and use the landscape of the city as a backdrop,” explained Evans. “There’s a natural fit between our products and the tourism industry and it’s an area we are keen to explore”.