Gamers can now do battle in the land of Dilmun, thanks to a new game released on the Google Play Store by Bahraini developer Empire Studios.

‘Guardians of Valor’ is a free tower defence game set in the time of Mesopotamia, which draws on Islamic mythology and references the ancient Dilmun civilisation, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Staying true to its developers’ roots, the game starts on an island called Dilmun, the 4,000-year-old civilisation that once ruled Bahrain.  

A narrow channel separates Dilmun from a nearby land referred to as the Sea of Dunes and players must fend off attacks by a character known as the Djinn Lord.  

“It was a long and challenging journey to reach this wonderful achievement,” said Empire Studios chief executive and co-founder Shaikh Ali bin Khalid Al Khalifa.

“As pioneers of the video game industry here in the kingdom, it gives us pride to launch this game and we hope that people in Bahrain, the Gulf and the world lend us their support, download the game and enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Empire Studios, which was founded in July 2013, began development of ‘Guardians of Valor’ in February last year.

Players first select one of two characters and are able to unlock eight others, all with different abilities ranging from attack strength to magic.

By vanquishing enemies players earn gold, which allows them to build more powerful defences, and the game spans 24 levels, four chapters and several different themes.

The game differs from traditional tower defence games because players can order their own character to join attacks, while simultaneously building defences.

It is based on the premise that the ancient Djinn Lord is attempting to return to the world of Aravia after several millennia, at a time when his legend has been long forgotten.

Djinn are supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology and in the game have cursed the locals, forcing them to attack each other, and the goal is to keep cursed citizens at bay while preventing Djinn from taking over the world.  

The inspiration for the game was derived from ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia, the region surrounding the team’s home country of Bahrain.

“This has been an amazing experience for all of us, we appreciate the passion and effort put forward by the whole team and we can’t ask for better people to be part of the studio,” said Empire Studios chief creative officer and co-founder Shaikh Fahad bin Rashid Al Khalifa.

“This is a big first step for us and the benchmark was set high for a first game.

“Our aim going forward is to keep pushing our limits past what we have accomplished here today.” - TradeArabia News Service