‘Kids have forgotten how fun outside can be’
ALICE PEACOCK
Auckland Domain, Friday, 11am.
His eyes transfixed on a screen, face illuminated by a back-lit screen, Haki Karaka is totally absorbed in his game.
But rather than slouched over a screen on the couch, the 7-yearold is running around the Auckland Domain, chasing fish and dodging sharks in an augmented reality world - a bit like a Kiwi Pokemon Go - viewed through an iPad.
Melanie Langlotz and Amie Wolken are the founders of Geo AR Games which is behind two gaming apps ‘Sharks in the Park’ and ‘Augmentia’.
Langlotz said the company has partnered up with councils across New Zealand to create digital playgrounds in parks around Auckland and Wellington, as well as a school in Christchurch.
Geographical boundaries make warning signs pop up in the games to stop kids from running into hazards or onto roads, and if kids did get too close to a hazard, the game would black out.
Haki Karaka was enthralled with his session on Augmentia he said it was pretty tiring but a lot of fun.
‘‘The best thing was running around and chasing cats,’’ he said.
Langlotz said she came up with the the concept back when her stepdaughter was seven years old.
‘‘She was very tech-addicted, I couldn’t get her outside,’’ Langlotz said.
The stepdaughter also loved fairies, so Langlotz figured if she could find a way to get fairies outside, then she would follow. It worked.
When asked to compare Geo AR’s apps with the recent Pokemon phenomenon, Langlotz said their games were a bit like a Kiwi Pokemon Go for juniors.
‘‘Also, what we’re doing is actually a step ahead in technology from Pokemon.’’
The use of true geospatial augmented reality was more ‘‘immersive’’ than Pokemon; kids could interact with characters, which in turn react to them.
Another point of difference was that the app didn’t feature any questionable advertising, nor does it datamine its user’s information like Pokemon Go has come under fire for.
Langlotz said the aim was to help kids to form a healthy relationship with technology, and get them off the couch.
‘‘It’s like kids have forgotten how fun outside can be.’’