Games on Google Maps

= Real playable games =

Placespotting.com: Create and solve map riddles
This game is simple but addicting... You get a satellite picture and some tips and have to find the place on a google map. The riddles can be created by the community and it's possible to send a new riddle to your friends. The site had more than 50'000 pageviews in the first two weeks...

Homepage: http://www.placespotting.com

Some riddles: Riddle 1 Riddle 2 Riddle 3 Riddle 4 Riddle 5 Riddle 6

Brewster Jennings Protects America: The global spy hunt game.
http://www.brewsterjennings.com/

Brewster Jennings Protects America: The global spy hunt game.

Remember playing "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" as a kid? Well now the new game Brewster Jennings Protects America brings this classic adventure into the 21st century by merging the game play with Google maps technology*. In the web-based Brewster Jennings Protects America game you race around the globe as a government agent trying to stop a deadly terror attack from taking place....

The story so far: You are an undercover CIA agent claiming to work for the fictitious "Brewster Jennings & Associates" company. You were just awoken at three in the morning by a phone call from The Chief telling you to report to your office immediately. From what he told you it looks like a terrorist is set to attack today and you are the country's last and only hope. Click "Start New Game". It's time to save America.

Risk like
GREAT! http://www.ashotoforangejuice.com/gmrisk.html

Endgame : World War on Google Maps http://www.gmworldwar.com - This is a Real Time Strategy game on Google Maps. 2-25 players can play on the same map, at the same time.

Wings - a google maps explorer
Take to the skies as an eagle in the flash google maps explorer game. Pre populated with some 2000 cities! Fly under clouds to catch thermals. http://www.markfennell.com/flash/wings

fly over google maps
control your airplane!!

http://kharkoma.homelinux.com/gmaps/planemap.html

99 baloons
invaders ... but on google maps!!!

http://www.tlprod.de/99balloons.php

Tripods, multiplayer Google Maps game
http://www.thomasscott.net/tripods/

How To Play

Your job is to battle invading Google Maps tripod markers that are invading Manhattan!

GmapGolf.com Google Maps Golf game
http://www.gmapgolf.com/

How To Play

People can layout golf courses on Google Maps, and soon will be able to play a round of golf on those layouts.

Battleship:GoogleEarth (a 1st Life/2nd Life mashup)
http://research.techkwondo.com/blog/julian/240

Scavengeroogle
http://www.bloglander.com/scavengeroogle/

Scavengeroogle is a scavenger hunt game where you use Google maps to find the location of a particular graphical clue.

Find the Landmark
http://heyletsgo.com/gmapsgame.php

Unleash disasters on GMaps
http://www.netdisaster.com/go.php?mode=god&url=http://www.luminicbox.com/personal/map_argentina.htm

http://www.netdisaster.com/go.php?mode=snail&url=http://www.luminicbox.com/personal/map_argentina.htm

= Ideas for games you might want to implement ;-) =

Risk
playing Risk on the real world map (with the ability to zoom in/out to combat at different scales). Extend Jrisk or JavaRisk (code available on SourceForge).

we need a method that answer "is point(-122.34,34.12) in Italy? Yes/no". So we can draw the countries over maps and we can know when a country can attack another country (if they have a border in common). There is such a method? Maybe oncpan?

GREAT! http://www.ashotoforangejuice.com/gmrisk.html

Civilization-like
playing FreeCiv on real world maps. Modify FreeCiv source code.

WarCraft-like
There was a Free version of WarCraft, called FreeCraft. But freecraft.org was [http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/06/21/1323249&mode=thread&tid=127&tid=186&tid=210 shut down by Blizzard]. Possibly stratagus is the new FreeCraft project.

Driving a car race on streets of the real world
Which free software project on Sourceforge can we extend?

Virtual Marathon of New York
After seeing the gmapPedometer I wrote this message to the author:

''I think that it would be cool to have an additional button showing an animated icon (possibly representing yourself) running over the path you just created on the map. If you let the user/runner define also her speed, you could also show how long does it take to complete the tour and show the runner icon running over the tour at a certain speed.

It is very easy to move icon around the map. I created this animation over google map. http://sra.itc.it/people/massa/private/gmaps/gmaps_hack.html Look at the code if you like.

Of course you can imagine more interesting stuff, can't you? Like having more than one user on the same map. Maybe running together, maybe competing on which is faster, maybe having a certain amount of breath points, maybe having morale points as well (if you are in front, your morale is high; if you are reducing distances, your morale is high, ... ;-)

Or maybe you want to go directly to create a virtual marathon game on Google Maps ;-) In that case, you might want to do in on this wiki page http://moloko.itc.it/trustmetricswiki/moin.cgi/GamesOnGoogleMaps

Great hack!

P.''

Let's see if he/she likes the idea ;-)

Tic-Tac-Toe
http://www.myconcertdates.com/map/tic_tac_toe.htm

Very funny! ;-)

from http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/8037c3d2180e0a5c/87fbbab67aea76df?q=games&rnum=2#87fbbab67aea76df That is pretty cool, I would have never thought of that.. I wonder what other games you could make? Maybe dots and boxes on top of new york city blocks. if you have never played dots and boxes (not sure if it is the name or not) you have a bunch of dots setup in a matrix 10x10 and each player takes turns connecting a dot, when a box is created the player connecting the last dot to form the box gets the box, the person with the most boxes at the end wins. It is a pretty basic game, but it can be lots of fun, when you are tired with tic tac toe.

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
from http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/a54aa3bdfb7ebd8e/cbe43bc8564bb726?q=games&rnum=1#cbe43bc8564bb726

from the.natalie@gmail.com 	  Jul 5, 9:31 am     show options Okay, I am dating myself, here, but does anyone remember the game "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" or one of its various off shoots. Well, here's the perfect chance to implement that game with a combo of Google Maps and their new Earth stuff. :)

From: "J. Shirley"  - Find messages by this author That is an awesome idea!! I absolutely loved the Carmen Sandiego games, and you are dead on -- Google Maps is a perfect platform for that. My time is pretty strapped but I can maybe provide some resources for it. What other interest is there in doing this?

From "Richard Kagerer"  - Find messages by this author Hah! Sorry, I couldn't help but chuckle at the coincidence.. you're using a search engine to find Carmen Sandiego ;-)

Oregon-Trail
from http://groups-beta.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/a54aa3bdfb7ebd8e/cbe43bc8564bb726?q=games&rnum=1#cbe43bc8564bb726

From: "J. Shirley"  - Find messages by this author Oh, another game idea: Oregon Trail! That would be pretty fun, but I'm not sure how to really do the hunting (the first thing that pops into my head is "Punch the monkey and get tuberculosis!")

Gps-based games
It would be possible to interact with real people and see them thanks to their gps-devices?

Multiplayer geolocated gaming IS social software (some players are in the real world with gps devices, other players plays virtually, on the maps and see the real players. and viceversa?) http://www.corante.com/many/archives/2004/02/26/taking_it_to_the_streets.php

Each game overlays a virtual <91>gaming grid<92> onto the physical layout of the city, and tracks the players<92> location within that grid using the built-in GPS of their cellphones. In these games, cellphone-toting urban warriors take to the streets of their city to search for clues, complete missions, and engage in battle (and conversation) with their fellow players.

http://www.in-duce.net/archives/mogi_item_hunt.php

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/02/0113231 (Mogi Location-Based Mobile Gaming Hits Japan)

Flight simulator with streaming scenery
How cool would that be? An X-Plane or MSFS-style flight simulator with real photographic scenery, streamed directly from Google's servers. This would work excellently, especially when more of the 3D building data is added (you can find what they have currently via Google Earth). Shouldn't be too difficult to (even crudely) map the photo imagery as a texture to the 3D counterparts, and voila!

Even without the 3D building data, the first step could be a FLYING sim with maybe a 1000' AGL restriction - just to fly over the photographic scenery and terrain (since the terrain's complete). Shouldn't be too hard to implement, and it'd be a beautiful way to explore.

Human Pac-Man
A la Pac-Manhattan: http://www.engadget.com/entry/7278632439785164/

Tron lightcycle sim
Good for motorcycles or regular old non-powered bikes, for the slightly less adventurous approach. ;) A la GPS::Tron: http://www.engadget.com/entry/7278632439785164/

The World of Kingdom of Loathing
from http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/ : I'm not entirely sure what "The Kingdom of Loathing" *is*, but this mashup has some really cool features to it. First, latitude and longitude is constantly displayed as you roll the mouse along, and second, an additional map shows up in the push-pin pop-ups giving you another zoomed in view to work with.

http://www.lysator.liu.se/~jhs/KoL/map.rxml

GhostBusters
in comments to http://moloko.itc.it/paoloblog/archives/2005/07/01/animated_invasion_over_google_map.html

What about a GhostBusters type game? Like the old one on the C64.

Watching the Gnus and Mozillas slowly work their way to the center reminded me of GhostBusters and the ghosts working their way to the center.

Other ideas
http://simblob.blogspot.com/2005/07/games-in-javascript.html

I hadn't been considering using Google Maps itself, because a SimCityish game where you can't actually modify the city would be boring. I think it might be feasible to build a war or transportation game on top of Google Maps, but the game would need some notion of what the objects on the map are, and that might take some image recognition heuristics. It's unlikely I'll actually implement a real game this way, but I might try a little demo game.

from a blog post
http://dove-lane.com/?p=66

Here are some of the ideas that jumped out at me:


 * 1) Scavengeroogle — in some ways obvious: a global treasure hunt where you could find various landmarks or information in notes you find using clues. You could make it competitive/multiplayer using timers or a live competition. I can see this being extended into small, customizable versions that, for example, people planning family reunions could create and use for their personal events (”Find the 10 locations where the Alvin Johnson family lived before 1955 and then bring the tokens back to the reunion home page and register them for a chance to win a prize at the reunion picnic.”)
 * 2) Live Mogi-Style GPS Games — Connect players using GoogleMaps on the PC with other live players using GPS devices like cell phones and Palm pilots who are tracked and plotted as they participate in the game. Engage in real time voice conversations with team members using VoIP, have roaming collaborators find locations and complete missions or gather clues. Have the PC-based players logging data, doing research, and coordinating the teams. When mobile players approach others on the map grid, they will come face to face with the live players in the real world location. Lots of opportunities for advertising placements and sponsor tie-ins, and competitors could play for real world prizes. This would be a good adjunct for Alternate Reality Games.
 * 3) Unleash Disasters — Lay geophysical and demographic maps on top of GoogleMaps and then play out scenarios for the impacts of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, bioterrorism, nuclear incidents or ecological change. Games with this theme could be competitive (e.g., find the best escape route before time runs out), educational (e.g., how health care workers should respond to a disaster), or fantasy (e.g., you are “The Penguin” or “Batman” and you want to destroy/save the world). Businesses could launch mock attacks on competitors, like this one of Mozilla browser lizards and Gnu Operating System gnus invading Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. You could use animations walking across the map to indicate the path of the destruction, for example, this snail leaving a trail of destruction behind.
 * 4) Street Races — On the streets of real cities. Cars, bikes, motorcycles, foot — doesn’t matter what type. The point is to be running through actual streets of actual cities, dodging actual road construction and bridge outages and holiday traffic that would change over time as the satellite images updated. Could be along the lines of CBS-TV’s The Amazing Race program, a virtual Boston marathon, or simply like a Google Grand Prix, player vs. the environment or player vs. player. GoogleMaps is already like a flight simulator, in that you can zoom in and zoom out and zoom across the world, but there may be some possibilities to use the map images in a flight simulation game, too.
 * 5) Civilization — Design an interface like this example that places a fog over the GoogleMap location of your choice, and provide game elements for various resources (wood, oil, minerals), groups of characters (priest, ruler, soldier, architect, diplomat, sailor, academic, chef, worker), and types of activities (hunting, learning, walking, meditating, negotiating, building) . Use a timer or other competing civilizations to create a competitive element, and try to uncover and claim the map territory and/or the additional resources that are hidden there before your people stage a revolution.
 * 6) Golf Game — Lay out golf courses across the entire world and use a randomizer built into an interface to let balls be hit and scores tallied. Factor in cross wind speeds and rain showers or snow. Here’s an example.
 * 7) Travel Planner – Especially good for armchair travelers or people confined for health/disability reasons. Design a fantasy or dream trip around the world, or create a bridal game or a retirement in a Winnebago game. Plant graphic clues or instructional notes in key locations and even hyperlink from each location to a web site with details and/or reservation capabilities. Provide advertising tie-ins for sponsors. Get local artists’ photographs or art to show details about the location. Lots of possibilities. Everyone loves to travel. It could be a collaborative or competitive game as well — bride and groom, grandparents and grandchildren, invalids, people in remote locations.
 * 8) Update January 24: Here’s another fun idea tying Fox TV’s popular series 24 to Google. Gridskipper has set up a site that tracks Jack Bauer’s movements all over Los Angeles weekly during the series. TV does seem to be more and more tightly related to gaming, doesn’t it?

'''Ideas for Games On Google Maps: add your idea! (and don't forget to implement it ;-)'''

paolo created an Animated Invasion over Google Map: some Mozillas and some Gnus are invading Microsoft office in Redmond. Using Google Maps API it was very easy to add animation. In fact, in the blog post I was pondering how easy would be to create Games on Google Maps and throwing some simple ideas in the wild. This page is for improving, extending, implementing and proposing new ideas.

http://moloko.itc.it/paoloblog/images/redmond-attack.jpg

There are currently 11097 projects of games (with source code) in the category "games" on sourceforge. Find inspiration there and add you ideas below!