Waka Abel Tasman as it appears in the new downloadable destination within Minecraft. Photo: Supplied/ Tourism NZ.
Gamers will soon be able to explore some of NZ's most popular tourism destinations - walk part of the Abel Tasman and gaze at the night sky from Lake Tekapo - in the cube-shaped world of Minecraft.
Six locations can be downloaded from the Minecraft store this week as part of an initiative with Tourism New Zealand, that will introduce New Zealand and Te Ao Māori to millions of players around the world, in the hope some will turn the virtual visit into a real one.
It is the first time playable destinations have been on offer within the game and it comes ahead of the release of the live-action film A Minecraft Movie, which was filmed in New Zealand and is set to be released next month.
Waka Abel Tasman co-director Lee-Anne Jago did not know much about the popular adventure game when the business was approached about featuring in the new downloadable content.
Waka Abel Tasman co-director Lee-Anne Jago. Photo: Supplied / Oliver Weber
"I'd heard about Minecraft, but I'd never played it and I had no idea just how huge it was globally."
One of the world's most popular computer games, more than 300 million copies of Minecraft have been sold and there are more than 100 million active users each month. It was created in 2011 by Mojang Studios and acquired by Microsoft three years later.
It allows players to explore an infinite three-dimensional world and uncover raw materials and build tools, structures and machines out of virtual blocks, known as voxels.
Jago (Ngāti Māhuta, Ngāti Pou, Ngāti Raukawa) and her husband Todd (Ngāti Raukawa) founded Waka Abel Tasman in 2016, and lead tours that teach people how to paddle waka, while also delivering cultural education.
She has now been immortalised as a Minecraft character, paddling in the double-hulled waka which regularly traverses the Abel Tasman coastline, something she said was both thrilling and humbling.
The double-hulled waka at Split Apple Rock, near the Abel Tasman National Park. Photo: Supplied / Oliver Weber
Jago said waka tours were popular with New Zealanders and overseas tourists, who often wanted to interact with Māori culture but found it difficult to find ways to do so, outside of Rotorua.
She said the engagement with iwi had been "incredible" and from a cultural point of view, everyone involved had been very respectful around tikanga Māori.
"The tribal groups from here Ngāti Rārua, Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Tama also have a presence and a voice and generally that doesn't happen and it just feels like a wonderful turning point and a big mihi (thanks) to Minecraft, Tourism New Zealand and the other businesses that collaborated to create this, because it was exceptional interaction and engagement."
Jago said the new playable destinations had the capacity to further educate people about Aotearoa and tikanga Māori.
"There's definitely learning in there, learning in connection with te taiao (the outdoor environment), creatures in te taiao,
the tribal people and some of the stories from here,so as far as video games, the gaming world, it seems like this has potential to do good things in that space."
Kāpiti Island, as it appears in Minecraft. Photo: Supplied/ Tourism NZ.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive René de Monchy said with the release of the movie it had the opportunity to work with game developer Mojang Studios and Warner Brothers to re-create New Zealand locations that could be downloaded and explored within the game, in the aesthetic Minecraft is known for.
He said it had been tough to choose six destinations and they selected places that were "iconically New Zealand", incorporated Māori culture and had sustainable values.
The locations include the Waitomo Caves, Rotorua, Kāpiti Island, the Abel Tasman National Park, Lake Tekapo and Doubtful Sound.
"We did research a couple of years ago that found that of the people actively playing the game, there was quite a large overlap of people who were also considering a holiday to New Zealand. In fact, 70 million people in our major market so we saw a real opportunity to work with them and that platform to market New Zealand."
Te Puia in Rotorua also features as a downloadable destination in Minecraft. Photo: Stephen Parker
He said Minecraft players were aged between 18 and 65 and tens of millions of them lived in NZ's three biggest visitor markets - Australia, China, the US - with many more in other markets like the UK and India.
Players would be able to go blackwater rafting at Waitomo, visit the Te Puia geothermal park in Rotorua, interact with native fauna on Kāpiti Island, walk part of the Abel Tasman Coast Track, experience the dark sky reserve at Lake Tekapo and the glacially-carved Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland.
"Ultimately what we want them to do is to come and play for real in New Zealand with a holiday."
It was the first time a destination marketing organisation had pitched the idea of recreating popular locations to be downloaded for use within the Minecraft world and the agency had worked closely with mana whenua.
John Barrett. Photo: Supplied: John Barrett
Kāpiti Island Nature Tours co-founder John Barrett (Ngāti Raukawa, Te Ati Awa and Ngāti Toa Rangatira) said he had been interested to hear about the proposal from Tourism New Zealand to recreate the nature reserve within the game.
He said iwi had considered the positive and negative impacts of featuring in the game and were satisfied that the island, which is a significant conservation site that is culturally important to iwi, had been treated sensitively by the developers and would be accurately portrayed.
Barrett himself has a strong connection to Kāpiti Island, which he said had played a significant part in the settlement of the lower North Island and the top of the South Island.
Kapiti Island Photo: 123rf
"Our people arrived here in 1820 and been here ever since...we've occupied the place, we've farmed the place, we've been part of the development of the nature reserve and the restoration and regeneration of the flora and fauna and the development of the marine reserve around the island."
Of those that visit the island, Barrett said 70 per cent were New Zealanders and the remaining 30 per cent came from across the world but particularly Europe and the UK, with increasing numbers from Australia and the US.
He was interested to see how the inclusion of Kāpiti Island in the gaming world would translate into visitor numbers.
"We think that this Minecraft engagement will enable that story to be told to a whole new audience."
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