As I have posted on here many a time, I’m a huge fan of the show Lost. Before there was Lost, I was big into The X-Files. In fact, I am still a big fan of the show and occasionally enjoy the odd episode on DVD. I have all nine seasons on DVD (which is somewhat of a sore spot for me since I bought them long before TV seasons were $50 a pop. I paid $130 a season. Ya. I know. Not cool.)
Anyway, there’s been a new geocache type that is somewhat unique. You create a “Cartridge” which you load onto your GPS and you use the cartridge to guide you through whatever adventure the author wrote. They can be tours, fictional stories, or whatever. It lets you interact with virtual characters/items/tasks/objects based on where you are in the real world by using the GPS to determine where you are. One example would be a walking tour of a part of the city. As you walk, the GPS tells you about where you are, etc, and it changes as you move.
This new type of geocache is called a “Whereigo” cache. If you want more detail, check out their website here. Currently, there are no whereigo caches in all of Atlantic Canada. I have been trying to come up with a good idea that I could use for a cache and then take the time to build the cartridge (which in itself is quite an undertaking).
A few weeks ago I had this idea that I could use an episode of The X-Files as a reference. Make a whereigo cache based on a specific episode of the show. When I sat down and thought about it, I figured maybe I could use my favorite episode as a reference point. The episode, Quagmire, is about some deaths in an area that are believed to be caused by a loch ness monster type creature living in the lake.
I started writing out my own story about a sheriff who has gone missing at a nearby lake (Jones Lake). Agents Mulber & Sulley show up to investigate. They eventually follow some tracks that lead them to a firepit, and find a map which brings them to an island (the one in Centennial Park). When they cross the bridge to the island, the bridge disappears. They eventually find a cabin with items from several time periods. They eventually discover that a man named Jacob and his son Benjamin live in this cabin on a mystical island that seems frozen in time. His son left the island without permission and was confused by what he saw in the “outside world” and hence he attacked the sheriff. Jacob sends the agents on their way and assures them no one will be attacked again. The agents follow a path to a portal that transports them off the “island” and are left with more questions than answers.
It combines elements of The X-Files as well as Lost but works out pretty well with the whole geocaching thing. The “Story” has them leave the “island” with a special map that needs to be deposited into a special container just outside the portal. The container is in fact the geocache.
All of the elements of course are pure fiction and only exists within the GPS’s cartridge. So when they find the “bone” it’s just the GPS telling them they have found a bone. It’s a pretty neat way to have someone go on an adventure via GPS and integrate a fictional story into the mix.
Since I have all of the concepts worked out, the biggest thing I need to do now is to create “zones” which define the specific areas of the lake and park that players will be in. Once I have those figured out and entered, I can build all of the logic and “gameplay” into my adventure. Creating the zones will be time consuming because I have to go to each location, and plot at least 3 GPS coordinates to “triangulate” the area that the player will be in. When the GPS detects that the player has entered a “zone”, it sets off certain events, or makes certain objects visible. Lots of work needed to be done but I think it will be cool.
