Wherigo Glossary


Cartridge
A Wherigo cartridge is a compressed, self-contained file that can be downloaded from our website and run on the Wherigo Player application.
Character
Just like in a video game, characters can guide, talk to, or otherwise interact with Wherigo users. Characters may be purely virtual or represented by objects in the real world.
Condition
A logical statement that is evaluated to determine a result or outcome. It is usually written in the form of an If-Then statement: e.g. "If (something is true) then (do something else)." For instance, when a player tries to open a door, an author might create a condition where the door can only open if the player has a key.
Distance
The farthest distance at which a zone will be displayed on the main screen of the Wherigo Player. For instance, if a zone's Distance is set to 500 feet, then the zone will only be visible if a Wherigo user is within 500 feet of the zone. Note: A Distance value of -1 indicates that the zone will always be displayed, regardless of how far away the player may be. It's usually a good idea to set the Distance of the first zone in a cartridge to -1 to ensure that players can always find it.
Event
Literally, something that happens in a cartridge. Events can be location-based (for example, when the user enters or exits a zone) or action-based (the user, via a menu, chooses to talk to a character on the screen).
GWC File
A compressed, executable cartridge file that can be run with the Wherigo Player application.
GWL File
A Wherigo cartridge log file. Stores a record of every action that occurs in a cartridge. A new log file is created every time a cartridge is played.
GWS File
A Wherigo cartridge save file. This can be used to restore a previously played Wherigo experience and is also a way to unlock a cartridge when you complete it.
GWZ File
A Wherigo cartridge zip file that holds at minimum, the Lua file containing all the code for a Wherigo cartridge. May also contain all of the media associated with the cartridge.
Input
An input is a way for a Wherigo author to ask a player a question. The question is displayed in a window on the device, where the user can then interact with it. There are three types of inputs: Text (where the player uses an onscreen keyboard to type in an answer), Multiple Choice (the player chooses one of several options via a list of buttons), and True/False.
Inventory
A collection of items that belong to the player. During a cartridge, whenever a player acquires an item, the item is stored to the players inventory. Once an item has been added to Inventory, the player can have access to it throughout the remainder of the cartridge.
Item
Items represent both real and imaginary objects that players interact with in a cartridge. For example, when a player enters a zone, an item can appear. The player can then choose to take the item, give it to a character, or use it later on during play.
Location
See Zone
Object
An object is the generic term for the class of things that can be added to a Wherigo cartridge, including zones, items, characters, tasks, timers, variables, media and inputs.
Open Source
A cartridge can be made Open Source by the author, meaning all of the cartridge media and the Lua code can be downloaded and viewed by other users. Open Source cartridges are a great way to share story building techniques and help encourage new users to develop their own cartridges.
Pocket PC
A handheld computer that runs the Windows CE operating system. It has many of the capabilities of modern desktop PCs in an ultra-portable format. A Pocket PC with a GPS receiver add-on can run the Wherigo Player application.
Proximity
The distance at which a Wherigo user can be considered “close” to a zone: Literally, an author-specified distance from a zone’s boundary. For instance, if a zone’s proximity is set to 50 feet, an author can have an event occur when a user is 50 feet away from the zone.
Task
Tasks are elements that an author can use to direct a player through a cartridge. They can function either as basic directions or as a user's to-do list. For example, a tour cartridge could have a series of tasks telling the player to go to certain landmarks in a city, or an adventure cartridge could define individual quests for the player to complete.
Timer
A timer allows the author to create a timed event in a cartridge. Timers can be set to count down a certain length of time or to “tick” on a recurring interval. For example, an author might use a countdown timer to make the player race a character to a virtual finish line, or use an interval timer to make a sound play every minute.
Variable
A variable stores information while a cartridge is being played. There are three types of variables: String (text), numeric (numbers only) and flag (true/false). String and numeric variables can be used to hold responses to inputs, while flag variables are used to store state (for example, whether a timer has expired or whether a box item has been opened or not).
Wherigo
A toolset for creating and sharing location-based games and other real-world experiences using a combination of GPS-enabled handheld devices and the Internet. The Wherigo family includes two main applications, the Wherigo Builder and the Wherigo Player.
Zone
Zones are the building blocks of Wherigo cartridges. They are known simply as Locations in the Wherigo Player. A zone uses latitude and longitude coordinates to define the boundary of a virtual shape in the real world. Wherigo users interact with zones primarily by entering and exiting the shape, but events can also be triggered by simply coming near a zone (see Proximity). Zones can contain characters and items (both real and imaginary), and may be any shape or size the author chooses.