Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1200837
16.01.2020 TRENDSETTING ENTER into a world of fantasy inspired by the artefacts of Palazzo Falson His- toric House Museum with the new augmented reality (AR) game. In a first of its kind for Malta, Secrets of Palazzo Falson is an innovative app launched through a joint partnership between the Vodafone Malta Foundation and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. e AR game invites visitors to un- lock the mysteries surrounding the death of the game's lead protagonist Lady Caterina. It is a fully inclusive AR game that provides a Maltese and Eng- lish narration and it is also text based for the benefit of the hearing-impaired community. e idea began with the fictional story written by Greek Author, JJEle- ni explains that Palazzo Falson was very open to conduct her research in the museum and 'during the process I learned a lot of stories and legends about the museum, including some ghost stories.' e Palazzo's long histo- ry and the myths surrounding its past residents were the initial inspiration for Eleni. She wrote a dark love story set in the medieval era which engages the play- er to follow the different characters of the game and solve the mystery using the AR app on a smart phone or tab- let device. e players will earn reward tokens as they progress in completing the game, which is entertaining and immersive. e app was designed and developed by local tech company, Mighty Box. e overall supervision of the techni- cal process was overseen by Marvin Zammit. He explains that 'e app is based on AR which means that you can point your smart device at your surround- ings and things will pop up on your screen which are not there in real life. So, you'll see paintings being animated, characters will talk to you and objects will move.' He goes on to say that, 'e technology is particularly innovative because it works without specially printed markers,' which would inter- fere with the aesthetics of the museum rather, 'we use the actual environment of the Palazzo itself.' Palazzo Falson's curator, Caroline Tonna, adds that, 'this is a very excit- ing project that gives the opportunity to use innovative technology in the museum and enhance the visitors ex- perience. e AR game involves the personal interaction of the visitor with the real objects in our collections that are given a different interpretation and perspec- tive. Secrets of Palazzo Falson is an en- tertaining experience that will attract a new audience and after playing the game, the visitors will be invited to take an audio guided tour of the remarkable history of this historic house museum and its collections. At Palazzo Falson, we are moving ahead with times and giving more value to our museum". Michel Macelli, chairman of the Vodafone Malta Foundation, tells us that 'the Vodafone Malta Foundation has had a long-standing relationship with Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, but this was the first time that we col- laborated on a project under our Con- necting for Good programme, which is all about harnessing the power of mobile technology to bring about so- cial benefit. We are using cutting-edge augmented reality technology, which is a first for any museum in Malta. It is an engaging way of helping visitors ex- perience the Museum anew, whilst also rendering the Museum more attractive particularly to children and teenagers, who may not be Museum-goers." Secrets of Palazzo Falson can be downloaded for free on a smart phone or tablet upon purchase of a ticket at Palazzo Falson Historic House Muse- um in Mdina. e game is suitable for ages 12+. Use of own headphones are recommended. e entrance ticket also entitles the visitor to tour the museum and is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (last entry at 4:00 pm). For more information call on 21454512 or send an email to book- ings@palazzofalson.com. Uncover the secrets of Palazzo Falson with this new augmented reality game