Tararua District iwi's innovative new game

The launch of Hidden Aotearoa held at Te Papa. From left: Yee Hung Lim, Hidden co-founder, Singapore High Commissioner William Tam, Ngāti Kahungunu Ki Tamaki nui a Rua chairman Hayden Hape, Aaron Hape, and co-founder Loh Jun Wei.

It’s a whole new way of storytelling and could open up new doors for the Tararua District.

Hidden Aotearoa blends gaming technology, immersive experiences and local history and was developed by a Singapore-based social enterprise, Hidden, backed by Ngāti Kahungunu Ki Tamaki nui a Rua.

Hidden co-founder and group chief executive Yee Hung Lim says Hidden Aotearoa is a modern take on a treasure hunt.

“You progress tohu (clue) by tohu (clue) through locations, attractions and destinations.”

While the technology was developed by Hidden, local stories are curated by Ngāti Kahungunu Ki Tamaki nui a Rua and the collaboration marks possibly the first partnership between a Māori enterprise and a Singapore tech company.

Ngāti Kahungunu Ki Tamaki nui a Rua chairman Hayden Hape says they were looking at doing a tourism project and had been in conversations with the Singapore company.

“Singapore’s a real forward-thinking country and they sort of don’t really look back,” he says.

“[They] had the ability to make this tech that allows people to have a bit of fun and at the same time learn their history.”

Hayden says he decided to fly over to Singapore to see how the game was being used, including team-building.

The official launch of Hidden Aotearoa was held at Te Papa late last month.

The game works using platforms such as WhatsApp or Messenger on a phone.

Hayden says during the launch they designed a game for the room, which was basic, using a cat as a character.

“They had these soft toy cats that have a chip in them and you just hit the cat with the phone, and then it loads the game.”

He says the cat is named Pīata or Shiny Eyes and hopes people will come away with the knowledge that the shiny eyes will help them gain a better understanding.

“They’ll look at it differently.”

Hayden gives an example of landmarks in Dannevirke where the game will provide clues to a destination and those following the clues will take a photo at the site and learn different facts and figures, or see photos from the past.

“[You can] discover things you never knew below your feet and above your head.”

In Singapore, the game is played at places such as Changi Airport, the science centre and the military museum.

While there is a fee, Hayden says those who log in can go into a draw to win a prize at the end of it.

Those prizes can be anything from products to subscriptions.

“Most importantly, people get to learn the history of a particular area.”

Hayden says there are good social outcomes as well as it will bring business to places such as Dannevirke.

He says an agreement has also been signed with Te Papa to help get people into areas where they wouldn’t normally go.

Schools can also be involved where the game can be designed for inside the school so students can learn about the history of their school.

Hayden says the “cool” thing about it is that once people get the information on their phones, it stays there.

“You can go to a museum, you download the game, you play the game and everything that you learned at the museum that day is on your phone. So the information comes with you.

“So you always have that knowledge with you and you can refer to it and understand it better as well.”

It’s a project that has the potential to go global with other countries also expressing an interest.

Hayden says there are other projects they are looking at doing in the tech space as well and the game can open up opportunities for young people to work in that space.