FAQ
General
What is Wherigo?
How much does it cost?
What is a Zone?
Do I need certain hardware to use Wherigo?
Is a wherigo.com account separate from a Geocaching.com account or Waymarking.com account?
Cartridges
What is a Wherigo Cartridge?
How do you create a Wherigo cartridge?
Can you create multi-player cartridges?
How do I find a local cartridge to play?
What cartridges will Groundspeak create?
Is WiFi or online connectivity required to play a cartridge?
Do you need a GPS-enabled handheld device in order to play a cartridge?
Player
What is the Wherigo Player?
How does the Wherigo Player work?
What platforms does the Wherigo Player support?
Builder
What is the Wherigo Builder?
Can I include a geocache in my cartridge?
How do I get feedback from other users on my cartridge?
What is Wherigo?
Wherigo is a toolset for creating adventures in the real world using a combination of GPS, handheld devices and the Internet. The Wherigo family includes two main applications, the Wherigo Builder and the Wherigo Player.
How much does it cost?
We are introducing the Wherigo applications as a free beta to get some feedback on how the tools and applications work. As this is a work in progress, we are still figuring out the details on this. But in the meantime, have at it!
What is a Zone?
A zone is a series of latitude and longitude coordinates that draw a virtual area that maps to the real world. A zone can be as large as a continent or as small as the head of a pin. However since GPS accuracy is, at best, around 6 ft resolution, most zones are pretty large to enable events within a Wherigo cartridge. Most zones will be the size of buildings to make up for the varied GPS signal strength.
Do I need certain hardware to use Wherigo?
If you are interested in authoring a cartridge, you need to be running Windows and be connected to the internet. If you wish to play a cartridge, you will need a GPS-enabled handheld device.
Is a wherigo.com account separate from a Geocaching.com account or Waymarking.com account?
No, all three sites run off of the same account database. If you have an account on one site, you have a usable account on all.
What is a Wherigo Cartridge?
Like traditional game cartridges, a Wherigo Cartridge is a self-contained experience to be played on a handheld device. The open architecture of a cartridge allows the author to create different themed cartridges, whether it is a driving or walking tour, scavenger hunt or interactive fictional adventure.
How do you create a Wherigo cartridge?
You create the story, the clues and the rules for another person to play. The experience can be as complicated and creative as you wish!
There are three general steps for creating a cartridge:
Step 1: Map Out Zones
Zones are the basic building block of Wherigo cartridges. These are areas in the real world that set the stage for a user’s gaming experience.
Step 2: Create a Story
Build characters, tasks, items and conditional rules to support your story. As users walk inside, outside, or even close to a zone, their location and actions will trigger the events that you program into the cartridge, creating an interactive experience.
Step 3: Share It Online
Now you’ve created a cartridge! Simply upload it to our website for others to play.
Can you create multiplayer cartridges?
No. However, through the tools you can create several role-based cartridges that require one role to do a task to help another role complete their task. For example, a user may have to decode a password and give it to another user, who then unlocks a keypad with that code. Also, future versions will enable the ability to pass virtual objects from one Wherigo Player to another. This way someone can pass a virtual key to another user to open a lock, or a sword to kill a monster.
We do have multi-player capabilities in mind for future versions of the Wherigo Builder and Player but the first versions will not have this capability.
How do I find a local cartridge to play?
We have a searchable database of published cartridges. These cartridges are searchable by location, type and keyword.
What cartridges will Groundspeak create?
Other than some demo cartridges to give you an example on how the builder and player work, Groundspeak won't be creating any cartridges. We consider ourselves a tool company and acknowledge that there are far more capable and imaginative authors out there. We feel it is our job to make sure you have the tools to create an engaging experience. However, Groundspeak employees may take it upon themselves to create their own cartridges for the fun and enjoyment of others.
Is WiFi or online connectivity required to play a cartridge?
The short answer is no. A cartridge is currently self-contained and is played while disconnected to a cell network or WiFi hotspot. This does not mean that cartridges will not have connectivity in the future. We just do not provide this feature now. In the future, we will also hope to provide location-based downloads so that if you had a connection to the Internet, you could download cartridges to play without returning to your home computer.
Do you need a GPS-enabled handheld device in order to play a cartridge?
Generally yes. However you can create a cartridge that does not require one. Since GPS doesn't work in most buildings, there will be features to allow users to interact with objects by allowing the player to "move to" a location to interact with the objects within it. If all of the zones are "move to" enabled, you could technically play the cartridge without GPS technology. But that's not as fun.
What is the Wherigo Player?
The Player is a GPS-enabled handheld application that a person uses to play a cartridge.
How does the Wherigo Player work?
GPS technology is the focus for any Wherigo cartridge. The Player determines your location and movement in the real world, and checks for your location in comparison to cartridge defined zones. As you walk into, out of, and near these zones the cartridge reacts by rules set by the person who built the cartridge. You can also interact with virtual (and in many cases, physical) objects within these zones to tell a story or create an experience. It all depends on the depth of the cartridge and the creativity of the author.
What platforms does the Wherigo Player support?
Although we plan to have the Wherigo Player work on many platforms, the first version will only work on a PocketPC handheld device. In house we have tested the application with the Garmin iQue M5, Mio, and several bluetooth GPS devices with PocketPC enabled handhelds. The Player is built in CE.Net.
The Builder was designed to allow an author to create images and sounds that can be adapted to any device. Once the cartridge is published it can be recompiled for an optimal experience on each device. For example, an image will adapt its size for smaller devices, but maintain a quality image on a device with a higher resolution screen.
What is the Wherigo Builder?
The Builder is a desktop application that contains tools for developing Wherigo cartridges to be played on handheld devices.
Can I include a geocache in my cartridge?
Certainly. However, at this time there is no cross-verification system in place to check that the cache is available at the time the cartridge is played.
How do I get feedback from other users on my cartridge?
Upon completion of a cartridge, users can upload the results to our website. From there, authors will be able to see a full gamut of information, including how many tasks were successfully completed, how long it took, etc. You will also be able to review user comments and suggested changes.