Peru, 1860. You have been sent to take a tree.

Game overview: You are Sir Clements Markham, a British geographer, sent by the India Office on a legally and morally dubious mission to Peru to locate cinchona trees in the Andean interior and bring them out of the country. You must navigate difficult terrain and dwindling supplies while negotiating with the people you meet along the way. They are government officials, traders, farmers, and guides, each with their own knowledge, interests, and reasons to help you or send you down the wrong path.

Every conversation is a choice. Every action is a calculation. Ration your supplies carefully, listen closely, and ask the right person the right question. Will you get the tree out of Peru? Or will you perish in the forests of the Andes?

Historical background: Quinine, an antimalarial compound extracted from cinchona bark, made European empire in the tropics survivable. By the mid-nineteenth century, Britain no longer wanted to buy the bark from Latin America or its imperial rivals—it wanted the tree itself. Sir Clements Markham’s expedition helped shift the world’s supply of quinine from Latin America to Asia within a single generation. The vast cinchona plantations of British India and Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) stem from Markham’s efforts.

Meet the team:

• Background Research: Ben Farrugia

• Narrative Design: Adah Skaff

• Art Design: Melina Lopez Ball

• UX/UI Design: Grace Park and Masha Koscheev

• Programming: Hongji Shi and Masha Koscheev

• Faculty Advisor: Raymond Hyser