The Med Gaims project conducts a hackaton to deploy two gamified touristic experiences in Vilanova i la Geltrú

08/10/2020

The i2CAT Foundation organized the two-day competition last weekend, which gathered teams of gaming developers and awarded two grants to the best digital and analogical ideas

 

The European project Med Gaims, focused on promoting gamification to create memorable tourist experiences, organized a hackathon on the 3rd and 4th of October in Vilanova i la Geltrú. The competition, which was coordinated by the i2CAT Foundation in collaboration with Neàpolis, consisted of two days of teamwork, mentoring sessions, pitches, and presentations where each team worked on its proposal to gamify a touristic experience. The seven participating teams worked on a proposal related to interesting elements of the city, like museums. The hackathon aimed to find two projects for further development and deployment. 

 

On Sunday, a jury selected the two winners, a digital game that obtained a 15.000 € grant, and an analogical game that obtained a 10.000 € grant. The two selected ideas were: 

– “The grandfather” (digital): a tour based on the artistic project Stolpersteine, based on concrete stones, placed on roads, that remember and pay tribute to people deported to Nazi camps.

– “Layers” (analogical): a game to discover signs of the past in the streets and buildings of Vilanova’s Old Town.

 

The Med Gaims project aims to increase the attraction of tourist destinations, and, at the same time, generate workstations associated with technology, gamification, heritage, and services. 

Merging game experiences with tourist experiences “responds to the touristic familiar mode that Vilanova i la Geltrú is willing to develop, and represents innovation and creativity, two core values of Neàpolis” explains Conxi Martínez, councilor of Innovation for Vilanova’s City Council.