THIS APP ONLY WORKS ON IPHONE 6S OR NEWER. iPAD CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTED.
This tool is the solution to my own frustrations: How to get my kids join in on hiking, small weekend trips to the woods or a swift trip to a local hill.
The core idea is based on some simple parent hiking tricks: Suspense and payoff as the driving forces to get your kids outdoors. Usually chocolate, soda and crackers are used. This app offers a more healthy substitute.
How the app works:
1. You as a parent plan the trip, and place up to 10 gems along the planned route. You know your kids strengths and weaknesses, so you can carefully plan the placement of the gems along the path and adapt to the challenges of the topography and the endurance of the kids.
2. Track the gems with the gps map as you walk with your kids. You and the kids can check in on the GPS now and then to see if you are closing in on the gems. The parents are in control, but the kids are the "bloodhounds".
3. If you are as close as a few meters to the gem, the phone will start to vibrate, and you can switch to Augmented Reality mode. A big troll is guarding the gem. This is the challenging part - how to get the gem from the troll without being hit by it.
The backstory of this app:
Some time ago, my family (with our reluctant 3 + 5 year olds) was out hiking. We walked behind a family with two sons; the boys ran up hill like bloodhounds, they were about 5-6 years old. Then, as they disappointed had stopped by a big boulder, I heard the father catch up with them and say with suspenseful tone "Oh, no, the troll must have ran off to the next stone...again". The before so disappointed boys now lit up and ran. And so he drove his sons up hill. When we finally came up, they had already ate their crackers and drunk their chocolate. This was the moment I got the idea for this app, with both suspense and payoff: Trolls and gems. And you can even sling in chocolate and crackers if you like.
After feedback from my 4 year old daughter, she suggested that the troll should have a hat, silencer and a red nose - so if you like, you can pimp your troll with those props.
Make sure that no in app Gem items are placed in any map locations that might lead to dangerous situations. Do not place any Gems in rivers, lakes, sea, roads, steep locations or any place that might lead to any dangerous situation when tracking down the Gems outdoors.
Quick usage tutorial:
1. In the main menu, pimp your troll as you like. Tick "Difficulty for big kids" to make it harder to get the gems from the troll. When done, hit the troll to go to the map.
PS: Ticking "Troll only for video REC", sends you straight to the AR troll session, skipping the gem game. Now you can use the built in iPhone recording/still functions to capture a "Troll moment".
2. Place up to 10 gems on the map by double tapping on the disired location. If you are zoomed too far out, the map will automatically zoom in to make the placement of the gems more accurate. When done, hit the green button to go to track mode.
3. In track mode, you can start walking to where you have placed the gems. When close enough, the phone will start to vibrate. Hit the green button, and the app will switch to AR mode.
4. In AR mode, you first scan the ground to find the ground plane. Blue rectangles will mark that ground is found. Doble tapp the position of a rectangle to make the troll appear - it might be smart to back up a bit before you doble tapp, as you loose points if you are too close to the troll.
5. Inspecting the upper left arrows on top of your screen, try to get them in the right position and close enough to the gem - without being hit by the troll. They will turn green if ok. Now tap the gem as many times you can. If you succeed, the troll falls, and you can continue tracking the rest of the gems. Good luck!
THIS APP ONLY WORKS ON IPHONE 6S OR NEWER. iPAD CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTED.