In November 2011, Aqueonautas Worldwide, a Marine Archaeological company that has been operating in Africa and Asia for 17 years, announced that they are developing a real-time strategy game based on their day to day experiences.
The player takes on the role of leading a treasure quest into the depths of the Indian Ocean. He must set up his team, invest in research, get his equipment, stock up on supplies and set out on his expedition.
Once he has located the wreck site the excavation begins. He must manage his team of divers assigning tasks and monitoring air levels.
As in real life the player is confronted with strong currents, low visibility, storms, sharks, corrupt politicians, pirates and aggressive competition.
Based in Estoril, Portugal, Arqueonautas and their in-house artists paired up with a team of local developers to produce this game. The team is now getting close to a working version of the game.
With the guidance of its experts, Arqueonautas is aiming to deliver an authentic experience of marine archaeology as well as making a challenging and exciting strategy game.
With this game Arqueonautas intends to bring awareness to the importance of preserving world maritime heritage, as well as, helping to fund future expeditions with revenue generated by the game.
To help promote and fund the game Arqueonautas has set up a crowd funding campaign on www.indiegogo.com/Arq