Bridge Street has stepped into the world of augmented reality with the launch of a new mobile game by the Bridge to Better team, High Five Heroes.
Played via a website, the game encourages people to follow or chase animated characters along Bridge St, tapping them to earn points.
The characters are inspired by familiar local faces, including Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, Deputy Mayor Pete Rainey and Gentle Ged, better known as Isaac Construction’s Bridge to Better project stakeholder manager Gerald ‘Ged’ Casey.
“This is such a fun way to showcase the people working behind the scenes on Bridge Street every day,” Pete says.
“While roadworks, traffic management and construction activity are often the most visible parts of a project, the game features all of these elements, from team members to diggers, pipes and road cones.”
The game aims to encourage more foot traffic into the city centre, giving families another reason to spend time on Bridge St.
Players can collect points, climb the leaderboard and win monthly and quarterly prizes of Bridge Street Bucks, which can be spent at Bridge St retailers. Purchases made with participating businesses also earn players additional points, helping boost city centre activity.
Ten-year-old Navar Orlowski and his nine-year-old sister Laylah tested the game on Bridge St last week ahead of its official launch today, Wednesday.
Players can choose to experience High Five Heroes using augmented reality or in a 2D format. As they explore the street, they tap on in-game characters to ‘high five’ them and earn points, with different characters worth different amounts.
“We hope people of all ages have fun with it,” Pete says.
“It’s a creative way to support local businesses, spend time in the city centre and see Bridge Street through a different lens.”
And the verdict from Navar and Laylah.
“Can we come back and play again tomorrow?”
