Local War of 1812 app released for iPhone

A locally-developed War of 1812 application for iPhones has been released in Apples' iTunes online store.

Titled Niagara 1812: Return of the Fenian Shadow, it showcases people and places key to the nationally-defining war in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

In Roam Mode, players encounter historic landmarks on a map. They are prompted to visit each site and learn its historical significance.

In Quest Mode, a folklore mystery is revealed in an interactive game adventure.

The 1812: Interactive Niagara project, created over two years, is a collaboration between Brock University's Centre for Digital Humanities, and nGen, Niagara's Interactive Media Generator.

Development was led by Kevin Kee, a Brock associate professor and the university's Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities.

It is based on research conducted by Kee and students in his simulating history lab.

"We took GPS-based technology that was supposed to be used for car-navigation purposes and used it for our own purposes," said nGen executive director Jeff Chesebrough.

"We're kind of ahead of the curve on this," he said. "So it's very exciting."

1812: Interactive Niagara will shortly expand the game's range to include Queenston, with the possibility of later extending it to other regional historical sites.

Future applications could also be compatible with Blackberry and Android handsets.

Chesebrough said GPS technology used in the game could find its way to future projects.

"The idea is we're going to re-use this and the intellectual property we've created," he said.

"It's not just a nice story about Niagara-on-the-Lake — that's the bigger picture."

Return of the Fenian Shadow costs $7.99 per download on iTunes. It is found under the "Games + Apps" section at http://www.apple.com/itunes/

The download is compatible with iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4.