Posts Tagged ‘Calgary’

Geo-what now?

January 22nd, 2010 by Derrick Plotsky

Location-based games are becoming more and more popular as smartphones with GPS get in more and more people’s pockets. Foursquare (written about by Wil Knoll very recently) is one of these location based games. Another is geocaching.

Geocaching started in May of 2000 around the time the locks came off of handheld GPS units and their accuracy became increased. Today the accuracy (and relatively low cost) of a handheld GPS unit makes it so this game can be played by almost anyone. You don’t even need to have a smartphone to play this game, it can be played with any handheld GPS device. (more…)

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FourSquare! (huh?)

January 5th, 2010 by Wil Knoll

Way more productive than Farmville

Just over a month ago, FourSquare added Calgary to the list of supported cities that it’s users could play in. Calgary had joined the ranks of New York, Barcelona, and Vancouver as metropolitan areas that users could battle in for ownership of physical locations.

For the uninitiated, FourSquare is almost an augmented reality game. Users get points for checking into physical locations, like the local pub or eatery, and battle for position on the weekly leader board. A check in at a new location gets you five points if you’re the first person to create the venue, and five points for your first visit there. But that’s just the tip. Geolocation connects you to advice left by other players, there are unlock-able achievements, and people battle for the coveted “Mayorship” of their favourite locales.

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