14 DAY TRIAL // Virtual Earth can be a platform for more than just search, mapping and location applications and services, as it can also accommodate gaming content; geogames, to be more specific. UMapper allows users to create and play geogames built on top of Virtual Earth. Case in point: GeoDart, designed as a geography trivia game. As you can see from the content embedded at the bottom of this article, playing GeoDart involves nothing more than answering the question by pointing the answer on the map available. With the UMapper platform and Virtual Earth, users can also build their own games, in a similar fashion, by taking advantage of the maps available and with only their imagination limiting the geography-related topics they can tackle.
“UMapper has a new Flash-based, Microsoft Virtual Earth game called “GeoDart.” The object? Click the aerial photo closest to location specified to identify where it is. The closer you are and the faster you respond, the more points you accumulate. Get a high score and you get bragging rights for the rest of the week. Enjoy, and apologize to your managers for me as productivity is about to go through the floor,” revealed Chris Pendleton, Virtual Earth tech evangelist, Microsoft.
The video below will illustrate just how easy it is to actually put together your own geographic trivia game. Users only have to follow a few simple steps in order to produce their own equivalent to the USA States Trivia or European Countries GeoDart titles. The best part about the gaming content is that it can be embedded into any website, and it is immediately accessible to visitors via Flash.
“GeoDart Game creation steps: 1.Create a new map and give it a title and a description, then select the GeoDart Game template as the primary map usage mode. The title of your map should be the game title; instructions on how to play the game can be included in the description field. 2.In the editor, select marker tool and ad locations. You can also add geometrical shapes such as polygons and circles. 3.Open marker info window property and add title. The title will be used as the name of your marker, the description as the trivia question. 4.That is it! Save and preview your game,” said a member of the UMapper team.