GPS Game Has Kids Running in Circles & Chasing Virtual Oranges

Springwise directs us to a new location based game developed by a UK couple who were alarmed by the increasing levels of child obesity and decided to create an outdoor “playstation.” As avid walkers, LocoMatrix founders Richard Vahrman and his wife Moira Nangle were inspired to create a game that utilized GPS, already an accessory to their walks, that encouraged kids to get outside and have a good run around. Essentially, they’ve come up with a game that lets players run around a ‘real’ environment with GPS enabled phones and compete against themselves or other friends in their own secret game.

In their first game, “Fruit Farmer,” one or more players run around a real environment collecting virtual oranges that only show up on the players screen while they avoid killer wasps. Players can even create their own custom versions on the games website. Their second game, “Treasure Hunt,” has players follow a set of picture clues to find a series of sites and is location specific, meaning that a game could be created for specific locations. Their next game will challenge players to capture territories by running in a circle around an area. If another player enters the circle before the first player completes it, they have to start all over again. The player who successfully captures the most land wins. Sounds pretty fun.

Still a little confused, check out their introduction video:

The only down side we see to this game is that everyone else in the park must think you’re crazy. Which reminds us of this other crazy game we saw at Wired’s Nextfest.LocoMatrix

[via Springwise]