Educational mobile game app impresses judges at #HackB
‘Big Game Hunter’ an educational mobile game app, to help visitor learn more about the different types of trees, plants and animals inBuckinghamshire’s country parks, emerged as overall winner ofthe County Council’s first Hackathon event last week.
Fondly known as ‘#HackB’, the event which had a country parks theme and was the first of its kind to be held in Buckinghamshire, took place at Pinewood studios over two days on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October.
It saw programmers, business and industry experts, students and county council officers collaborating together as part of a challenge to attract and improve the experience of visitors to Bucks country parks.
The winningidea not only encourages users to get outside and get healthy but also makes it fun. App users hunt for different types of rare trees and plants, in different locations gaining points to work their way up the leader board.
The team, along with the other successful ideas, will now have the opportunity to take their concept furtherand pitch their ideas to an investment panel. The winners have also been invited on a trip to Go Ape, and a Segway experience in Black Park.
Jack Cross (18) and Phil Baldwin (17) two members of Big Game Hunter from Aylesbury College said: “We’ve just started doing app development at college so to watch developers put together an actual finished app has been quite an experience. It’s quite inspiring to see how it all fits together in the end.”
Other ideas included a customised journey map incorporating scenes from movies shot in Bucks country parks, activities such as star gazing, and atree lodge experience.
Warren Whyte, Buckinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment said: “The event was a great success and brought together some of the best creative and tech talent from across Bucks to collaborate with the council.
“By working in teams some exciting ideas were realised, ideas that the council has committed to take forward, try out and apply, to develop new ways of providing a better experience for visitors to our country parks. I look forward to seeing these ideas as they are developed further.”