Friday 15 / November / 2024
Muscat: In a bid to familiarise children with the new Muscat International Airport and educate them about the importance of safe trips, the Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) announced an “endless running” mobile game, at COMEX2017.
Players of the game, when launched, can on take the role of Saif or Moriya (male and female characters in Omani traditional dress).
They can pacify their adrenaline rush by running endlessly from the drop off point at the airport till the boarding gate.
As they run, they can grab gold coins and magnets out of the air, while simultaneously dodging collisions with objects, ducking, jumping and sliding.
“The game is named Saife Trip and will be made available free-of-charge on all platforms in a month or two,” Mohammed Anwar Raisi, in-charge of technology and innovation at OAMC, said.
The demo version of the game was displayed at COMEX 2017 and is visually rich with intuitive controls and fun.
“It took around one year to develop the game. Now, we are fixing the bugs before the official uploading,” Raisi, who conceptualised and developed the game, added.
The game was developed by OAMC in association with IDIG, a small and medium enterprise in Oman.
Safe Trip will fall into the category of endless running games, such as Subway Surfers, Temple Run and Hunger Crunch.
According to Rashid Al Busaidi, acting head of Governance and Information Security at OAMC, the game was developed by Raisi and his team as part of other technology initiatives.
“OAMC has also developed two apps and augmented reality versions for both the Muscat and Salalah airports,” Al Busaidi said.
The apps and AR versions were launched officially on the first day of the COMEX 2017 exhibition.
“It is available on both iTunes and Google Play store. Once you download the app, then you will be able to enjoy a virtual walk through every nook and corner of new airports,” Al Busaidi said.
“The AR version is also unique. It has a sound sensor feature. None of the other airport AR versions have this. We are the first.”
Oman is nearing completion of the building for the Muscat International Airport, one of the biggest airports in the region.
In February, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, minister of Transport and Communications, said Muscat International Airport’s new terminal will be operational by the end of 2017.
“The new airport is 96 per cent complete and we expect to operate the terminal by the end of this year,” said Al Futaisi.
The new terminal will be able to handle 12 million passengers per year, with plans to increase the annual passenger load to 48 million passengers per year, to be carried out in a series of phased construction projects.
It will have 118 check-in counters for international and domestic flights, along with 82 immigration counters.
There will also be areas set aside for duty free purchases, retail stores, restaurants and cafés. Passengers will be able to take advantage of 40 gates for both departing and arriving flights, along with 29 waiting lounges. 16 additional waiting lounges have been built for those passengers being transported to aircraft by bus.
There will be 10 belts in the baggage claim area, with eight of them for international flights and two for domestic passengers.
While waiting for friends or family members, the new arrival area will allow public access to restaurants, cafés and retail stores, as well as offer a top-down view of passengers claiming their bags.
The 68,000 square metre five-level parking area in the north of the airport will hold 1,100 vehicles, while another 67,000 square metre parking area will accommodate some 1,200 vehicles.
