Aotea Stories: Historical Adventure

Jun 1
2 min read

Updated: Jun 2

Historical street scene with four people near a banner reading Aotea Stories, warm sunset glow, nostalgic mood.

Auckland City, New Zealand

Aotea Stories is a location-based AR adventure in Auckland’s Aotea Square. Travel back to 1901, meet characters from the past, and see long-lost buildings rise again.

Aotea Stories makes cultural heritage tangible and accessible, turning a city square into an immersive stage where history can be seen, heard, and explored by anyone.

Deployments: New Zealand

Model: Augmented Reality Availability: Free · All devices · Location based

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXoxCndhuY

How do we pull the past out of the history books and make it something people could step into?

Cities never stand still. Skyscrapers rise, old buildings fall, and with them entire chapters of history risk being forgotten. Today, Aotea Square is the heart of Auckland city, but in 1901 it was alive with markets, hotels, a bustling bathhouse, and cobblers shaping the city’s character.

Historic street parade with marching crowds and horses, lined by spectators and storefronts in Auckland; text reads J.H. Kirkwood. — "Looking north along Queen Street, Auckland, from the corner of Wellesley Street East, showing crowds in the vicinity of Smith and Caughey's, gathered to watch a parade of Imperial Troops on their way up Queen Street to a reception in the Auckland Domain (during the South African War), with the Forty Second Royal Highlanders (The Black Watch) leading the parade." 1901. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 898-0050

A City Square Becomes a Time Machine

Geo A.R. Games created Aotea Stories, a location-based AR adventure that turns Aotea Square into a living time machine. Guided by eccentric time traveller Dr Magnus, players are thrown into a crisis where the timeline is breaking apart. To set history right, they explore the square, interact with 3D characters from 1901, hunt for time anomalies, and recover stolen pocket watches. As they move, vanished buildings like the Market, Bathhouse, Hotel, and Cobbler reappear in their original positions, overlaying today’s cityscape.

A time traveller faces three purple ghostly figures in a plaza; text says I saw them when Mr Myers lost his watch.

A New Way to Meet Your City's Past

Aotea Stories let Aucklanders and visitors see their city in a whole new way. By stepping into 1901, players met characters from the past and saw long-lost buildings rise again on the square. The game made Aotea Square a living stage where the past and present collide, and heritage became something you can see, hear, and almost touch.