We LOVE games here at Estimote. We even have a company-wide game night once a month! Ever hear of playing a game on your smartphone that requires being in a special place at a very specific moment in time? If you played Pokemon Go this summer, roaming the streets amongst adults and children alike, you know what I’m talking about. Did you know that Estimote beacons could be used for building similar context-aware games?
Locatify is an Icelandic software company that specializes in location-aware branded apps, tours, and treasure hunt games. They provide indoor and outdoor solutions for museums, tourism, retail stores, and events. Lately, Locatify and their CMS has been busy with Estimote beacons to put together two unique treasure hunt games for two distinct purposes.
In Denmark, the shopping mall Lyngby Storcentre has a branded app called “GeoTrail GO.” The indoor treasure hunt game provides an indoor map with seasonal holiday-themed treasure hunt games to encourage children to explore. Using the app, they find virtual treasures to earn points towards prizes from the toy store, and raffles to win even bigger! The payoff plays to both customers and shop owners alike: keeping children entertained via games and prizes, giving parents a bit more time and space to shop in peace, and allowing business owners to experience a boost in revenue.
Similarly, Science World in British Columbia created an indoor game using the Locatify SmartGuide app. Science World used Estimote beacons in conjunction with the app for their exhibit “Zoom into Nano,” which guides visitors into a deeper dive of nanotechnology: the science of working at an atomic level. With Zoom Into Nano, they used transparent images rather than color field maps in the application. This made the exhibits invisible in the app, and exploration of the space was essential in activating the content, further gamifying the experience. Visitors could use their phones to connect with the beacons, which would trigger content “finding an exhibit” that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Hence the name, “Zoom Into Nano”. Science World looked to encourage people to interact with exhibits in an innovative way. This was a clever method of using phones in a way that didn’t distract from the exhibits, but actually added value to key target audiences like teenagers.
“It has been a great experience working with GeoTrail Go and Science World to further develop and implement indoor treasure hunt games. Connecting our Creator CMS and outdoor treasure hunt game capability with beacons to migrate the hunt indoors has proved to be a great success for Locatify and our customers. Both games have been received positively and we are excited about applying similar innovative ideas to further projects.”-Sam Liddell with Locatify
Locatify presented their first indoor games using Estimote beacons last year at UT Messan, the information and technology conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. Since then, their customers have welcomed the opportunity to create a new layer of depth and interaction that engages their customers via games. Locatify is constantly working to advance their technology and CMS, with recent added features including a “submit a photo challenge.” Their CMS is available for use with Estimote beacons, and they’re always ready to collaborate with new customers. Check out Locatify for help with your next app!
Jess Anderson, Community Manager + Content Creator at Estimote