WELLINGTON, Today: Te Aro-based video production company Wrestler has transformed “the world’s most liveable city into a rich, interactive virtual reality experience, the first of its kind globally” – called WellTown.
This project was creatively developed and built by Wrestler, named NZ’s most innovative company in VR and AR by Idealog in 2018.
It was commissioned by regional tourism promoter Wreda “to encourage holidaymakers with a sense of adventure and whimsy to visit, while also nudging expat talent to hurry up and return”.
Wrestler comms manager Anna Calver said: “Welltown is about immersing people in Wellington’s atmosphere for a moment, letting them experience its magic and showcasing our creativity and lifestyle through new technologies that are being developed right here in the city.
“It’s an immensely fun five-minute holiday exploring a place that you might not know much about. But you should!”
“We geeked out on this one. We believe entirely in the city’s ability to pioneer in the tech industry. So we gave it everything.”
“Wrestler organised the gaming element around Wellington’s tourism hook as a liberating destination where people discover new sides of themselves. A flamboyant, fabulous, fully-realised Wellingtonian guides you and your relatively underdeveloped avatar through a series of quintessential Wellington experiences.
“The interactive experiences span a wonderful spectrum, from action-packed to sensory, from self-effacing to sacred. They include the observation of Matariki (Maori New Year).”
Kat Lintott, Wrestler’s head of VR/AR, says they geeked out on this one. “We love Wellington, our hometown, and believe entirely in the city’s ability to pioneer in the tech industry. So we gave it everything, to make this as innovative and fun as possible, while staying true to the essence of this place and its people.
“We combined our local instincts and storytelling background,with a wide range of brilliant new technologies in the fields of photogrammetry, 360 video, motion capture, animation and CG to bring WellTown to life.”
Lead VR developer Jeff Jones said: “We built WellTown as a platform, using city-wide data supplied by Wellington City Council.”
Virtual Wellington is free to download from the Steam and Oculus VR stores and can be viewed on YouTube. An Android and iOS version are in the works.
- Behind the scenes video
- More here: www.wrestler.nz/welltown
- And here: www.wellingtonnz.com
CREDITS
Head of VR/AR / Creative: Kat Lintott
GM / Account Director: Ray Gazley
Creative Director / Script Writer: Glen Puklowski
Lead Developer: Jeff Jones
Producer: Claire Barilla
CEO: Ben Forman
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