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Waehere was funded by the The Cultural Sector Innovation Fund.  This game is a culturally inclusive skills training game carefully designed to incorporate technological concepts in an environment that will guide the player through their game objectives and learning pathway. Mātauranga Māori is threaded throughout the game through environmental design and objects the player can interact with, incorporating Matariki in a technological way while holding true to who the stars of Matariki are and what they represent.

Waehere is free to play and available now on the App Store and Google Play.

Introduction

Guardian Maia Waehere is a 3d adventure game to teach our tamariki to learn coding concepts and systems thinking through a hands-on, reactive environment.

 

The core use for programming languages is to give computer hardware a set of instructions on how to interact with users or the world around it. These instructions can vary in different code languages but typically include direct basic instructions such as “calculate,” “use” or “display.” The basic instructions used in Waehere will allow the player to direct a power current through a computer circuit board from the power source to the end terminal. The current is directed using a sequence of commands placed and ordered by the player.

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Mātauranga Māori is threaded throughout the game through environmental design and objects the player can interact with, incorporating Matariki in a technological way while holding true to who the stars of Matariki are and what they represent.

 

The story the player experiences through this game has our heroine Guardian Maia re-activating a futuristic eco-friendly regenerative city hub that has broken down after centuries of disuse. Guardian Maia enters a virtual city computer interface used to control the city, only to find its systems have become corrupted. With the help of an A.I. assistant named Wiremu and the Matariki Stars themselves, Guardian Maia explores and repairs the city by solving programming style puzzles.

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Gameplay

The gameplay loop revolves around the nine stars of Matariki. Players activate each star in order with each star introducing themselves and giving the player an objective related to rebuilding the eco-city hub. Each objective involves completing puzzles that introduce a new coding concept, then using that concept to solve puzzles which will re-activate a part of the eco-city and finally activating a laser to complete the energy loop to activate the next star.

 

The objective of each Matariki star has the player fixing a part of the eco-city related to what each of the Matariki stars represents. For example, Tupu-ā-nuku is connected to food grown in the ground. The puzzle for the Tupu-ā-nuku star involves activating the robotic gardening arms held in the in-door vertical gardens, for sustainable plant farming in an urban setting.

Navigation: 

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To help the player navigate the virtual city and locate objectives, each mission has highlighted strips on the ground for the players to follow and the object they are seeking can be viewed through walls if they lose direction.

 

Sources of information:

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The virtual city is controlled by an A.I. assistant named Wiremu that will introduce players to the game world and offer directions and advice throughout the game.

 

On their mission players will meet and talk to each of the 9 Matariki stars who will introduce themselves and explain how they are integrated into the eco-city's design.

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There are also several locations in the city for players to interact with that will give further insights into the Matariki stars, their history, Mātauranga Māori, and Māori objects.

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Player Abilities

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  • Idle - Waiting to move.

  • Walk - To navigate the 3D world. Players can walk or run depending on how far they drag the virtual control stick.

  • Interact - To activate the objectives they are near too.

  • Jump - To leap into platforms.

  • Strike - To dispel computer viruses that slow the player.

 

Other Actions

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  • Coding puzzles that involve ordering code blocks to complete instructions to navigate electric circuits.

  • Wiring puzzles that involve clicking on puzzle pieces to rotate them into the correct direction to complete the connection.

 

Player view

  • 3rd person perspective where the camera follows the game character and can be rotated to face a different direction.

The Matariki Stars

 

  • Hiwa-i-te-rangi: helps recognise dreams and aspirations, encouraging us to reach our goals.

  • The tutorials for Movement code blocks are in the Hiwa-i-te-rangi building.

  • The Movement code block coding puzzles are represented by four solar panels on the roof of the Hiwa-i-te-rangi building to kickstart the reactivation of the eco-city.

 

  • Pohutukawa: represents those who are no longer with us. She encourages us to treasure and acknowledge these memories.

  • The tutorials for Repeat code blocks are in the Pohutukawa building.

  • The Repeat code block coding puzzles are represented by four antennas on the roof of the Pohutukawa building to connect the systems of the eco-city and share information.

 

  • Ururangi: determines the winds for the year.

  • The tutorials for Nesting code block tutorials are in the Ururangi building.

  • The Nesting code blocks coding puzzles are represented by four wind blades behind the Ururangi building to capture green energy from the wind to further power the eco-city.

 

  • Waitā: examines our vast ocean.

  • The multiple Terminals tutorials are in the Waitā building.

  • The multiple Terminals coding puzzles are represented by opening the water gates behind the Waitā building to allow the flow of water around the city.

 

  • Waitī: watches over freshwater bodies and food from these waters.

  • The tutorials for Welding code blocks are in the Waitī building.

  • The Welding code block coding puzzles are represented by water turbines behind the Waitī building to generate clean hydropower from the force of water.

 

  • Tupu-ā-nuku: is connected to food grown in the ground.

  • The tutorials for If code blocks are in the Tupu-ā-nuku building.

  • Coding puzzles are represented by two vertical gardens behind the Tupu-ā-nuku building to grow and harvest plants within an in-door urban farm using water from the stream.

 

  • Tupu-ā-rangi: looks over things that grow in trees, including fruits, berries, and birds.

  • The tutorials for Jump code blocks are in the Tupu-ā-rangi building.

  • Coding puzzles are represented by the farming drones next to the trees behind the Tupu-ā-rangi building to monitor and harvest the food grown in trees.

 

  • Waipuna-ā-rangi: welcomes our winter skies in all forms - rain.

  • The tutorials for Welding code blocks Coding tutorials are in the Waipuna-ā-rangi building on four panels

  • Coding puzzles are represented by weather radars on top of the Waipuna-ā-rangi building to collect weather information for improved management of the farming systems.

 

  • Matariki: connects communities with our environment. The last star.

  • The initial challenge coding puzzles are in the Matariki building.

  • The final challenge coding puzzles are represented by satellites on top of the Matariki building which encircles the central star hub, to connect the restored Waehere eco-city with the outside world and invite people to return.

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