Pokémon GO meets environmental awareness in Kazakhstan

    Augmented reality gaming just got green in Kazakhstan.
    The app-based game Urban Corners: Green Energy in Astana, has much in common with Pokémon GO and introduces gamers to the idea of environmentally-friendly energy.
    Developed by Goethe Institut Kazakhstan and The Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), Urban Corners was presented in Astana ahead of Expo-2017.
    “This game is about two students, grandparents, five guards, a magic river, ancient artefacts, five forms of energy, but also about a wolf, magpie, Astana's sights and green energy,” said Irina Hech, the head of the Urban Corners project in Astana, during the app's presentation. Sounds hectic.
    ‘Don’t be under the impression, however, that the game took its inspiration from wildly popular gaming sensation Pokémon GO’.
    “As for the similarity with the world famous game Pokémon GO, I can say that we were first who came up with this idea. It was born in Kazakhstan in 2011,” Director of Goethe Institut in Almaty, Barbara von Münchhausen explained, according to the Calvert Journal.