Quarantine is the one word that has been ruling us since the past 30 days. Sure, the free time allows you to explore new things and out of boredom and that’s how I started searching for video games that are different from the rest. I stumbled upon Sparx, an interactive game which can be installed on Play Store. Sparx was developed by the comapany Metia Interactive, established by Maru Nihoniho in 2003.
Metia Interactive is a New Zealand based company that is making a difference among the gaming world. All of their games are unique and ultimately help the player in one way or the other. The first game that Metia Interactive came up with was Cube™ a puzzle game for the PlayStation Portable. Later in 2007, Cube was published to the world by D3Publisher of America.
The founder Nihoniho dropped out from school in 6th grade and her decision was frowned upon by her parents and friends. She went through a myriad of jobs for 15 years until it her one day that she had to start developing games. While volunteering at a place, Nihoniho found a drive to help the people around her. Also, she was concerned about representing her Maori culture. One fine day, in a Los Angeles hotel, she burst into tears because of running away from her dream for so long. She then decided to start a gaming company and incorporated themes and values of her own life into the games.
“It didn’t take me very long to figure out what was bothering me, I knew it was games and gaming. I had been playing since I was a kid and that’s how I knew; it was driving my curiosity and desire to explore. The decision happened overnight, and I knew it was time for a change. I had to do something about it – I didn’t want to be a waitress all my life” says Nihoniho.
Metia also developed many games throughout the years like Count my Cube which aims at improving the spatial awareness and rotational dynamics of young minds, Guardian Maia which improves decision making skills and Takaro 3D puzzle that teaches coding and its importance. Guardian Maia uses fantasy setting and lets others have a peek at Māori culture.
Takaro aims at helping the students to have a smooth transition into STEM courses. Out of them all, SPARX is a true gem that serves as a tool that uses cognitive therapy techniques to tackle depression and anxiety. The particular game received numerous accolades and is available for free on the Play Store through the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project.
“I really did enjoy technical drawing, computers and science at school, I was hands-on and so curious. Everything I enjoyed back then makes perfect sense now that I’m making games. I’ve turned making games into something more meaningful, where I can put educational themes or learning objectives through the games I develop now. That’s my purpose within this business” says Maru.
Metia has received many awards including United Nations World Summit Award for ‘Cube’ in 2009, the United Nations World Summit Award for ‘SPARX’ in 2011 and another international award for ‘SPARX’ the UNESCO Netexplo award in 2013.
In addition, Maru has her own set of accolades that include the United Nations World Summit Award in the e-Health and Environment category, the MCV Pacific Women in Games Awards from Microsoft Xbox and New Zealand Order of Merit in 2016. Nihoniho was also named in the Forbes Top 50 Women under Technology in 2018 and Māori Entrepreneur of the Year also in 2018.
During this quarantine, reach out to the people that are subjected to self-isolation and suggest them games like SPARX which can help with their anxiety and depression. And even if you are bored, try some Metia games at www.metia.co.nz to enhance your existing skills!
