Virtual reality game allows people to explore Wellington

Wellington has been turned into a virtual reality game where players can dive with whales, play drums on Cuba Street, and admire the night sky at Matariki.

The WellTown game, has been created to attract people to come and live in the capital from all over the world using what is considered to be a world-first: the recreation of the city in virtual reality.

The game was developed by the Wellington Regional Development Agency (WREDA) and was designed to help Wellington stand out - as cities around the world aim to attract people to help their economy grow.

WREDA General Manager Anna Calver explained "Wellington, in comparison ... to most of those places is pretty small. If we want to stand out we've got to do things differently, and we thought why not use this incredible immersive virtual reality technology that's been developed here, right now, in order to do that."

Data from the city council was used to make the 3D version of Wellington, and new motion capture technology was created in building the game, lead developer Jeff Jones said.

Using a headset, users can visit Mt Victoria, where they have a 360 degree view of the city, the harbour, Hutt Valley and the hills.

With the click of their control, they can also go into the bush, be surrounded by the sound of native birds singing, dive deep beneath the ocean, or play the drums on Cuba Mall with a local band.

An "explore more" option also allows them to visit Te Papa, see the Treaty of Waitangi up close, and stand next to the All Blacks while the anthem plays at Westpac Stadium.

The game would be released on gaming platforms, for people with virtual reality headsets to use, then WREDA and Wellington organisations could use it "in places like events offshore, exhibitions, trade shows".

Calver said it cost $300,000 to create, and would be available for use by anyone who needed to promote Wellington. The virtual version of the capital city was built by Wrestler, a Wellington-based video production agency.

It was 18 months in the making, the agency's co-owner Kat Lintott said, and the idea was to capture the heart of Wellington. They channelled as much local talent into making virtual Wellington as they could, using the tech and creative industry, and a local band and street artist.

Images supplied by WREDA