Holly launches into avatar role
DUNEDIN Paralympian Holly Robinson will be throwing javelins across mobile phone screens around the world.
Robinson is set to feature in the first official International Paralympic Committee video game, The Pegasus Dream Tour, created by Japanese game developer JP Games.
The 2016 Paralympics javelin silver medallist is one of just nine reallife athletes included in the game, which is part of a partnership between the New Zealand Centre of Digital Excellence (Code) and JP Games.
Robinson said she was excited to be involved.
She enjoyed creating her avatar with JP Games, which involved her sending them a lot of pictures of her in different positions, and was happy with how it came out.
The game would be great for the Paralympic movement, she said.
‘‘We may get some people that have shied away from sport or have not been involved that may take up sport because of this game, which is really exciting.’’
Many details of the game had still not been made public, but Dunedin would feature in some form, she said.
She was looking forwards to participating in the Tokyo Summer Paralympics in August, which were postponed last year because of Covid19.
Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said Robinson was a fantastic role model who showed where passion and determination could take you.
Code was the only governmentbacked organisation to be involved in the game, which illustrated the organisation’s position on the global stage, Mr Hawkins said.
Code establishment director Tim Ponting said when the opportunity to include a Paralympian in the game arose, Robinson stood out as a great candidate.
JP Games global account manager Ken Kawashima said the partnership with Code was based on fostering diversity and including underrepresented groups in game development.
Working with Robinson to create her ingame character was a joy for his team, he said.
The game is set to launch on June 24 ahead of the Paralympic Games.