The goal of our project is not only to recreate ancient Rome in 3D with the utmost accuracy, detail, and completeness, but also to provide an opportunity for anyone interested to explore it. I achieve this by regularly publishing updates in the form of images, videos, and 360-degree panoramas on our various platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.).
One of the priorities is to create an interactive virtual game-app where users can independently walk through ancient Rome and explore it. I am developing this app using the Unreal Engine 5, while simultaneously modeling new areas of Rome.
A few days ago, I presented a short video trailer on YouTube for the first demo version of the interactive app. This demo includes iconic structures in the center of ancient Rome as it was in the mid-4th century CE. In the video, I take a walk from the Colosseum, passing by famous structures along the Via Sacra. We can see the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Venus and Roma, and the Basilica of Maxentius. Then, we stroll through the Roman Forum, enter the Basilica Julia and the Curia Julia. Finally, we climb the Capitoline Hill, see its temples, and look out over the entire center of Rome from above.
A video trailer of this walk, featuring the most iconic moments, is available on YouTube:
The full 20-minute version of this video is available to our subscribers on Patreon.
In the coming months, I plan to release this demo version, after fixing several issues and adding more details, including “opening” a few more interiors. My aim is to proceed from simple to complex, expanding the area of Rome available for exploration with each version, adding information about buildings and objects, as well as incorporating interactive elements with which users can interact—such as opening doors, drawing water, lighting fires, unfurling the velarium, rowing a boat, and more.
Of course, I will continue to release updates on the project as a whole, as well as educational videos on YouTube.
Thank you for being with us!
