Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom

Just by touching this box you have sealed your fate. Dare to explore the subterranean tomb of Qin Shi Huanghi, China's first emperor. Experience the mythology and culture of Ancient China. Match your wits against the Middle Kingdom's greatest dictator while exploring vast realms of mystery and untold beauty.

Buried under fifteen stories of earth, filled with traps and pitfalls, the tomb has defied those who would enter it for 2000 years. Now it's your turn to discover the wonder, peril and magical secret of Qin's unexplored underground palace. You control your destiny.

It's you against Qin.

WILL YOU BE THE FIRST PERSON TO LEAVE THE TOMB ALIVE?

Source:

Back Cover - US DOS

Qin

TOMB OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM CD-ROM Thinking Game Reveals One of the World's Greatest Unexplored Archaeological Sites

Chicago, IL, June 15, 1996 -- With the August 6, 1996 release of the MPC CD-ROM QIN: TOMB OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, one of the world's greatest unexplored archeological sites will be revealed for the first time through the power of imagination and computer graphics. Created by Learn Technologies Interactive (LTI), published by Time Warner Electronic Publishing (TWEP) and graphically rendered by View-by-View, QIN, an original 3D graphical CD-ROM, brings to life the unexcavated burial tomb of Qin Shi Huanghi, First Emperor of China.

Located in Lishan, in western China, the burial tomb was constructed to immortalize a man -- who by the age of 39 -- had managed to unite China and put an end to centuries of warfare. He built great cities and monumental public works, including the Great Wall, but the price of his leadership was his ruthless suppression of all dissent. The reward for the thousands of laborers and artisans who built his tomb was death.

This was the only way the Emperor felt he could guarantee the security of the mass of the treasures buried with him and his eternal slumber. Archaeologists have long claimed the official reason that the tomb has never been excavated is a lack of funding. However, those familiar with the history and the lore of Qin conjecture another reason: mortal fear of what lies inside.

Now through the magic of QIN: TOMB OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, players can enter the tomb as an amateur archaeologist and unlock Qin's mysteries through solving a series of puzzles and surviving a series of pitfalls. A labor of love for LTI President Luyen Chou, QIN is a personal as well as a professional landmark for the 28-year-old New York native. Chou's father, who was born in China, took his son to the burial mound on a family trip which sparked Luyen's curiosity about the treasures buried below. The senior Chou, a professional composer, worked with his music students to write an original score which has become the soundtrack for the CD-ROM. He also provided a plethora of text, photographic and encyclopedic references that went into the structure of QIN.

In the Soho, New York multimedia suites of LTI and the San Francisco studios of View-by-View, a battery of laborers, graphic artists, creative directors, architects, Chinese historians, computer engineers, and illustrators spent untold hours fine-tuning their masterpiece. Somewhat like the laborers of Qin's ancient tomb, the CD-ROM's developers sweated through fourteen months, four and one-half seasons, including a sweltering summer and the distraction of the Simpson trial. The only difference between them and their predecessors: Luyen, their merciful emperor, let them live.

The many unique accomplishments by the QIN: TOMB OF THE MIDDLE KINGDOM development team include: * Over 1,300 images were generated for QIN, all of which were rendered in 3D by View-by-View and photo re-touched in-house at LTI
300 storyboards were hand-sketched and collaged by the Art Director
The core 3D architecture of the game was modeled by one person, in less than eight months
Most images in the game were rendered by one woman, who was simultaneously breastfeeding and caring for her one-year old daughter
Production for QIN spawned LTI offices in New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Bulgaria and Columbus, Ohio
Actual liquid mercury was filmed for the Memory Chamber in the Crypt Realm
An entire authoring language called LILT was developed for QIN
* The ambient wind effects in the sound track were modulated by playing the recordings in reverse

Learn Technologies Interactive develops cutting edge educational and informational multimedia products. From reference works to educational games to curriculum products, LTI sets the standard for a new class of learning software.

Time Warner Electronic Publishing is an arrangement of Time Warner Trade Publishing, comprised of Warner Books, Inc. and Little, Brown and Company, with interests in on-line commercial services, the Internet, original CD-ROM development, a books on floppy disk publishing program called Time Warner Quick Reads and the creation of the on-line mystery games, S.P.Q.R. and Modus Operandi (available on America Online, Prodigy and GEnie).

Source:

Press Release

QIN: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom

At Lishan, in the western Chinese province of Shanxi, stands what is perhaps the greatest unexplored archaeological site on earth - the ancient burial mound of Qin Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China. According to legend, seven hundred thousand men worked fifteen years to build this palace of the dead, adorning it with wonderful treasures and lacing it with traps and pitfalls. They were killed before they could betray the site's secrets.

It is certain that the tomb is a storehouse of exquisite treasure and priceless information about a long-past civilization. Grave robbers and archaeologists alike would do anything to find the way into the burial complex. In Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom, the player finds a way in, seemingly by an accident, but can he find the way out? Only by solving a wide array of puzzles and braving a series of devious traps will the player discover the hidden mysteries of the tomb.

Qin seamlessly education with adventure as the player explores one of the true wonders of the ancient world.

Source:

Official game's website

750,000 men labored 15 years to build it...

The most priceless treasures in the world are sealed within it...

Can you solve the mystery of this palace of the dead?

Dare to explore one of world's greatest unexplored archaeological sites-- the subterranean tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, China's first emperor. Experience the mythology and culture of Ancient China. Match your wits against the Middle Kingdom's greatest dictator while exploring vast realms of mystery and untold beauty.

Buried under fifteen stories of earth, filled with traps and pitfalls, the tomb has defied those who would enter it for 2000 years. Now it's your turn to discover the magical secret of Qin's unexplored underground palace. Navigate through five perilous realms combining history, fantasy, and adventure. You control your destiny.

• Stunning, high resolution 3-D rendered graphics
• Multiple game endings
• Original music score, recorded in stereo on authentic period Chinese instruments
• Online multimedia encyclopedia of Chinese history
• Online interpreter for translating clues from Chinese to English

Critics have lavished praise on Qin's stunning 3D graphics, evocative original soundtrack, and fascinating insights into ancient China, calling Qin "phenomenal", "superlative", and "breathtaking and surreal"-- "a better Myst than Myst itself."

Will you be the first person to leave the tomb alive?

Qin is the first title in LTI's "Mystery History" series.

A 1997 Codie Award Finalist: "Best Use of Music or Sound in Multimedia"

Ideal for ages 12 and up

Price: $19.95
To order please call: 1-800-732-5818

Source:

Developer's website