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2025
Client: Ubisoft, Welsh Government
Focus: Animation, 3D Modelling, Character Rigging, 3D Texturing, AR Development, 8th Wall Development
Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad, a Ubisoft Original, is an ambitious project brought to reality by Sugar Creative. Developed as a complementary experience to Assassin’s Creed Mirage®, the project transforms the rich, researched world of 9th-century Baghdad into an interactive, educational journey across mobile and web.
This standalone app offers two key modes:
Access Codex, which offers a curated encyclopaedia spanning from historical knowledge, art, culture to daily life, society and economy from the Abbasid Caliphate - enhanced with augmented reality to bring key artefacts to life.
Explore Baghdad, a narrative-driven experience filled with mini-games, discovery-based learning, and immersive 360° scenes.
Sugar led the full-stack development of the app spanning UX and narrative design, technical architecture, and AR integration. The experience had to feel intuitive and engaging for casual users, while remaining historically authentic and technically robust across a wide device range.
Sugar Creative have proven their expertise in combining immersive technology with rich, accessible storytelling, and it was truly exciting to work with them on developing the Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad. Their experience in delivering interactive cultural experiences, particularly those grounded in history and education, made them the ideal partner to help bring the world of 9th century Baghdad to life beyond the console.
Amy Jenkins -Strategic Alliances Director, Ubisoft
Working closely with Ubisoft’s historians and cultural consultants, and with strategic support from Creative Wales, Ubisoft's project was shaped into a culturally sensitive, visually rich, and globally accessible experience. Our Cardiff studio contributed to the development alongside Ubisoft’s global team, ensuring tight creative alignment and seamless delivery.
From real-world artefacts like the Ruby Lustre Bowl, provided by the Arab World Insiitute in Paris, to branching narrative paths and gamified puzzles, Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad merges cultural storytelling with the language of contemporary play.
Designed to work across iOS, Android, and browser-based platforms - opening up world-class historical learning to students, families, gamers and educators anywhere in the world.
At the heart of Discovery Tour App: Medieval Baghdad is a play-based learning journey that rewards curiosity. Users embark on a guided adventure through the streets of 9th-century Baghdad, unlocking segments of the historical codex by solving puzzles, exploring immersive 360° scenes, and completing branching narrative missions. Players must draw on what they’ve learned from the codex to choose optimal paths, navigate challenges, and uncover deeper layers of the story. It’s a fusion of historical insight and interactive design that transforms passive content into active discovery.
This project also continues Sugar’s long-standing exploration of how immersive technology can enhance education and engagement. Building on our experience from projects like 878 AD and Doorway to History, this uses the medium of play to build meaningful connections with the past.
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