With Gaya, the playground is everywhere. This mobile application, developed by the Montpellier studio Atlantide, which specializes in the creation of geolocated treasure hunts, allows users to invent their own adventures in the world around them. No need to be a seasoned developer: Gaya allows anyone to create their game, and share it with friends, or all other users, so that they can test it, a smartphone in hand, while strolling around the scope that has been defined.
Just set a route, on a map. For example, from the Place de la Comédie to the Peyrou gardens in Montpellier. To create a story. For example, an investigation around the Mikvé, the ritual bath, discovered by chance in 1985, in the rue de la Barralerie. All that remains is to create characters, various culture or observation tests, to provide players with any documents, and that’s it.
A game “in 10 to 15 minutes”
“It’s very simple to learn, you can create a game in 10 to 15 minutes, explains to 20 minutes Romain Aymard, co-creator of Gaya. You can also, of course, spend hours there! Once you have finished creating your game, to make it available to all other users, simply submit it for validation by the Gaya team. We’re just going to make sure there’s nothing dangerous or problematic. We don’t judge the creative part. This is the role of the players: after having tested a treasure hunt, users can rate them, to increase their popularity. As in Super Mario Makerwhere community-created levels collect hearts.
“Editing your own games has always existed, says Romain Aymard. When I was in college, I remember, I was playing RPGMaker, which allows you to create your own role-playing games. More recently, the concept has become popular, with Roblox Or Minecraft. It is, I think, a basic need that we have. We learned, accumulated experience, as a player, through games created from start to finish by studios. The next step is to give players the opportunity to create their own content. And often, you realize that they have innovative ideas that a studio might never have had. »
A “free to play” by the beginning of the year 2024
For now, Gaya is only available in closed beta. Those who wish can register for free, to test the application, and create games. About 400 players, all over France, are currently testing this location-based adventure editor. The full version, a “free to play” (free, but offering in-app purchases), should be available at the end of the year, or at the beginning of 2024. On the other hand, for those who do not have the soul of a developer, but who hesitate to test these quests, it is possible now, by downloading the Gaya Player application.
Gaya’s team is currently working on the possibility of rewarding with gifts, or perhaps even paying, as on YouTube or Twitch, game creators who are successful with their journeys. The Gaya application will also be offered to professionals, in particular companies wishing to imagine their own adventures, during a team building event, for example.