What a fun (and cold) adventure today!
I heard about the newest location-based game called Sighter on a recent GeoGearhead's podcast.
Sighter, found on both iOS and Droid, is a cross between Wherigos, Virtuals and Munzee. The app, using distance, a compass and hints, directs you towards "places of interest". Once there, you use your smartphone app to take a picture of the object. If you do so correctly (the right angle and zoom), you get a point for the find and (hopefully) additional information. To ensure you've met the qualifications, the site compares your captures to the original capture and checks your GPSr location.
Today, members of Team Free Range Lobsters (TaGeez, WikidKriket, SnakeyLicks, and myself) met up with GeoGearhead's DarrylW4 in downtown Birmingham, MI. Darryl just released one of the first Sighter trails in the US, and we were trying it out.
This tour centered around the sculptures of Marshall Fredericks, Birmingham legend whose work is part of the Smithsonian Art Collection. It was a fabulous 7-stop art tour around downtown and a nearby cemetery. The group shot was taken at Frederick's grave site underneath his famed piece, Leaping Gazelle.
It was a gray, 20°+ degree day ("feels like" in the single digits thanks to the wind). As well as the tour, we also grabbed additional "sights" like the Birmingham Theater, the old Edison building and Royal Oak's wooden Mad Hatter statue.
We were victorious. Snapping away, we found 22 sights and each created another 2. As there aren't many playing the game yet, we topped the weekly leaderboard for both Michigan and the World.
I have several observations:
- Don't do this on a 20° day. Brrrr..... However, snow didn't effect the capture/verification process.
- It worked well on the 4S, 5 and 5C iPhone, for the most part. However, the 4S kept crashing in the creation process.
- At different times, each of us were unable to capture a sight. Even in the exact spot and trying different angles, we would get the "Sorry" message. Once, I walked in the HOT zone (as in "you are getting hotter"), and snapped something totally different and got my point.
- There is no social aspect, currently. No way to see if my sister had been there, etc.
- Although you use your phone's camera, it doesn't actually take a picture or save it to your photo library.
- It was fun and the interface was easy to use. However, don't get "caught up" in capturing sights that you forget the art you came to see.
I can't wait for Spring so that I can create many more. This will be fun as we explore new places while geocaching.
Happy Sightering!
Elisa
It was a fun afternoon indeed! Thanks for heading out with me. I look forward to the next iOS release which will include the social features from the current Android app plus some map functions and a "couch mode."
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Any ETA on this release?
DeleteFYI, even though most cachers have probably not heard of it, Sighter is also pretty much an smartphone version of GPSgames.org's Shutterspot game. Shutterspot is a game in which some players take photographs and other players are challenged to find the exact spot where the photographer stood when the camera shutter clicked. That's the "Shutterspot". (http://www.gpsgames.org/content/section/3/57/)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave! I didn't know that and will have to take a look at that. We had a lot of fun with Sighter so I'm sure it's right up our alley, too.
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