Announcing Beltane: a strange encounter at Duloe 'Stone Circle'

Strange and mysterious sightings have been reported at the ancient stone circle at Duloe, Cornwall, in the far South West of Great Britain. The area is steeped in folklore and legend, with human activity dating back millennia, the time of stone age tools and celestial worship. Many believe that stone circles are placed to align with planets, the moon and the movements of the sun. Others believe there is some otherworldly quality, an unknowable power from beneath the soil or perhaps, given recent evidence, from above?

Explore the ancient stone circle, while unearthing clues to the nature of the 'mysterious lights'.
Examine ancient monoliths in full 3D detail, to unlock their secrets.
Full 360 exploration, 4K graphical location detail.
Survey the location using a compass and camcorder, to find that which is hidden.

Learn about the real location, through immersive learning.
Impressive visual effects and augmented scenery, 3d foliage.
A full audio experience, with sound captured at the site.
A short 'point and click' adventure.


Creation: Beltane was produced by three people, over 50 hours, as part of an educational course in virtual tours and digital presentation, with all images, effects, sound and music created especially for the project.

The main shoot at the Duloe Stone Circle, was carried out on May 4th, not long after 'Beltane' a pagan festival that gives the game its name. Field recordings were made of local sounds and ambiance, while full 360 captures were made of the meadow and ancient monument. One stone, the tallest, was captured in full 3D using photogrammetry, a technique used in advanced digital archaeology.

Matt Clark has long had an obsession with the stone circle, ever since visiting as a boy. Since then, Matt has made hundreds of trips to the stones, not too far from Shadow Tor Studios base, on the coast in Looe. "This short course was a great opportunity to produce a short adventure game, set somewhere I love, but go places we've not been before. The best way to capture the essence of the place is to feature the actual location, and augment the 360 views with birds, bugs, weather effects and there's even a friendly cat in this game. He's based on Rusty, the old ginger cat that used to follow me to the stones on visits, many moons ago".

Full Soundtrack comes with the game, an experimental delve into the Cornish Countryside as a heavy atmosphere and thunderous conditions threaten to disturb the rural idyll.

01 - Rural Activity
02 - The Atmosphere
03 - Bad Reception
04 - Inside The Circle
05 - The Compass
06 - Akernite Events
07 - Camcorder
08 - The Message
09 - The Beacon
10 - Abduction
11 - Space
12 - Transmission

I hope they put this on Steam so we Steam users/adventure gamers can purchase it!

Beltane also comes with a full walkthrough & Soundtrack. Purchasing from Shadow Tor ensures developers themselves profit from their work. Safe & secure download. No plans to publish Beltane to online stores at present.

This was VERY enjoyable, Matt. I will now using the just-about-to-replace-the-last-stone (no further spoilers) as my "go-to / load saved-game" as a lovely environment to visit, when I pay my bills at my desk!
I cannot wait to see more adventures like this. Quick,fun adventures; lovely (hyper-realistically-lovely, actually) environments at a decent price. Please keep creating more of them!
Ive enjoyed all the Dark Fall, Barrow Hill and Lost Crown games. By the way, when is Silent night coming out (is that yours, as well? I enjoyed the Preview demo while it was out)....

Rob (a big fan, in Brooklyn)