Blog Archives
Habitat is on the Map – Find the Virtual Pins
Habitat the Game Virtual pins
We have created a picasa file, a gallery of the Habitat pins showing where they are located in the world. You can view the gallery here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/albumMap?uname=104195294115560509963&aid=6062656779560432689#map
It is a public map so feel free to share.
Habitat the Game Virtual Pins
The pin gallery is in the same spot:
Habitat at the BEAMS Festival
On Saturday the 20th of September Habitat the Game will recreate an interactive winter wonderland in Henrietta Lane, at the annual BEAMS Festival in Chippendale Sydney:
The winter wonderland will allow players to mirror their portable device and play the game on the large screen.
Mock of Habitat the Game’s Winter Wonderland at the BEAMS Festival
To reinforce the sustainable message a series of displays will be set up to demonstrate the real-world actions required to keep the polar bear alive and happy. The Installation will represent bear’s habitat by projecting an icy arctic ocean with oversized cardboard icebergs, sheets of ice and life size polar bears inhabiting the cardboard ice world.
Team Habitat will also be running an interactive scavenger hunt. There will also be some of Australia’s most popular virtual pins relocated to the area for the day! Players will be able to collect the humpback whale, koala, black cockatoo, kangaroo, including popular Wilderquest series of pins.
Find all of the pins and receive a prize!
Habitat the Game virtual pins at the BEAMS Festival
The event starts from 5pm so bring your kids and your phone and enjoy!
Habitat the Game Player Tutorials
We have finished 7 short videos that explain Habitat the Game.
An Introduction:
How to Care for your Bear:
How to feed your Bear:
Real World Actions:
Glacier Park:
Your Profile
How to Trade Pins
You can see these videos and more on our youtube channel at :Habitat the Game on YouTube
Can technology get kids outdoors?
We are hoping to talk at SXSW about how technology can get kids outdoors.
If you have 2 minutes you can vote for our project below.
Habitat the Game video tutorials
There are so many aspects to Habitat the Game – real world actions, bear care, glacier park, player profiles, mini games and more.
A number of players have asked us “how to” so we have begun to film a series of player tutorials with the game’s creator Kylee Ingram.
They will be available on our YouTube channel.
Check out the first video, all you need to know about Bear Care:
Feedback for Habitat the Game
Habitat has enjoyed it’s first month in the hands of players young and old.
We have had a lot of feedback from parents and players. See some of our favourite comments below:
Sally mother of Lachlan aged 9
Lachie found Habitat on my phone, he loves it!! When he gets a turn on my phone he’s choosing Habitat over Minecraft!
Mat father of Alex aged 8
Given that he only has about 30 minutes a day on an ipad, habitat held its own against games like clumsy ninja, and lego star wars for play time.
Jane mother of Will aged 9
Will loves Habitat. He has taught his siblings and neighbours how to play. Will has a life’s amount of ‘screen time’ each week but he manages to check on his bear – and if he doesn’t his brother or sister do! It has been great to see some of Habitat’s lessons put into action in our home – shorter showers, lights turned out and a keenness to recycle their old toys and clothes.
Olivia aged 7
I liked taking care of the bear and feeding it so I knew the bear was healthy and could have a baby. I liked the swimming in the Arctic looking for fish.
Krissie mother of three
Habitat allows a child to imagine and create with a positive environmental focus. This is the best app of it’s genre. It is a positive and challenging experience for children. It encourages children to think about the environment and the positive choices they can make as independent thinkers.
Madeline aged 7
I LOOOOOOOOVE your game. (Today at my brothers soccer my mum said do you want to play on my phone I said no I,d like to play on dads phone can you guess why?)
I soooooooooooo like your game I am the leader. I have 4594 points already.
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- Habitat the Game virtual pin – Mannahatta Beaver
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- Habitat the Game pin trading
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- Virtual seal collected in Central Park Zoo
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- Habitat the Game player’s score
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- Real World Behaviours
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- Temple Run style feeding game
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- Bear care
How to trade pins
How to trade pins. This is the article we posted on the help section of the game for kids. We have included here for parents with pictures of the screens.
Become a global trader!
We are keen to see Habitat players head outside and explore the world.
We will reward you for going outside and finding Habitat locations.
There are currently over 100 Habitat pins in 13 different countries around the world; to find the virtual pins make sure you turn on the location services and sign in.
Habitat the game virtual pin
When you are near a Habitat location you will be notified about the location and which unique virtual pin you will find.
There are a number of ways you can search for pins:
– Use the map to see the pins around you and around the world,
– By country; will show you what pins are available in each country,
– By Pin; type in the name of the pin you would like to find.
How to search for virtual pins
At each Habitat location there is a unique virtual pin you can collect. These pins can be traded at a later date.
When you are close enough to the pin, tap on the pin to collect. The pin is instantly added to your Pin Gallery.
Habitat virtual pin collection
For additional Habitat points answer the multiple-choice questions on the reverse side of the pin.
Collecting more than one pin
You can collect up to three of each pin at any one time. Although you do have to wait 30 minutes after collecting your first pin before you can receive your second pin at that location.
You Pin Gallery will show which pins you own, how many of each pin you have and what pins you have up for trading.
Habitat’s virtual pin gallery
Trading
Once you have collected a pin it automatically goes into your trading list, ie the trading icon is on. You can turn off the trading icon by simply tapping it when your pin is full screen.
If another player puts one of your pins on their wish list you will be notified they would like to make a trade. You will be able to see what pin/pins they will offer in return for you pin.
You then have three choices:
– accept their offer,
– reject their offer or
– ask them to make another offer.
Trades between two players will stay open for an hour and you can trade up with 5 different players at a time.
Any pins you would like to add to your gallery can be added by tapping them on your wish list. You can find pins to add to your wish list by doing either a search by country or by pin name.
There are currently 102 pins you can collect. They are located in the following countries:
USA
Guatemala
Venezuela
Brazil
Costa Rica
Honduras
Belize
Nicaragua
Kenya
Mexico
Peru
Australia
Scotland
New Zealand
You will need to work with other players around the world to get the full set of pins.
For more information on pins you can find us on instagram at habitatthegame or twitter @habitatthegame
Testing Habitat’s Virtual Pins
On Manhattan’s upper west side, a group of young players tested Habitat’s new location services.
They went hunting for pins…..
Ten virtual pins were placed along the Eastside Parkway.
Players navigate to the location using a gps enabled map.
Players can then trade their pins with other players around the world.
Below is a video of the day:
TEST DAY! Habitat the Game
The team at the Centre for Research on Computer Supported Learning and Cognition (CoCo) at Sydney University hosted our Habitat testing day in their fantastic design studio.
We had 18 players participate. They were aged between 7 and 12 years.
Habitat’s official day of testing
We did not give them any direction we just let them start playing the game and we listened to what they had to say.
They ended up playing for 90 minutes, which exceed our expectations.
The baby bear was a massive hit.
We interviewed the players after they played. Their feedback is an integral part to the next phase of our production. Thank you to all who participated.
Our latest location pins
Check out example of the pins our Habitat players will be collecting from across the globe.
Habitat the Game pins can be collected from across the globe
