The purpose of the Dragon Game is to promote the Cypriot history and mythology of the dragons. It can also encourage the user to travel around Cyprus to discover the fountains (βρύσες) that are in all the different parts of the country, thus promoting tourism. The game was commissioned by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

The game will include 20 points of interest, that will be represented by 20 fountains, found in different villages in the areas relevant to the Heartland of Legends, a route created by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, which passes through mountainous areas, aiming to offer authentic experiences to visitors and tourists, and bring them closer to Cypriot nature, tradition, way of life and learn about the history of the fountains.

The Dragon Game is an AR (Augmented Reality) application that runs on mobile phones and the users are tasked with finding and acquiring dragons from the fountains that are scattered around Cyprus. The user scans the fountain with a mobile phone’s camera and once it is recognized, a small story will unfold in front of them that will depict one or several dragons from the Cypriot mythology.

The story is usually short (30 seconds to 1 minute), and it tries to present to the user the story of the fountain. Once the story is over, the user “captures” the dragon which is then included in a virtual collection within the application. 

The dragons’ designs are inspired by Cypriot mythology, and they are based on the Cypriot engraver Hambis’ printed dragons.

The project is a collaboration between the ITICA MRG and the Museum Lab.

Partners:
Deputy Ministry Of Tourism – Republic Of Cyprus, CYENS ITICA MRG Team, CYENS Museum Lab Team, Magdalena Zira, Yiorgos Tsangaris