Fair Worlds + Niantic Spatial: A Space-Time Journey

Fair Worlds has announced the latest installment of its Space-Time Adventure Tour, an immersive, comedy audio tour series launching in New York City this summer. This unique experience guides participants through iconic parts of Central Park and is made possible by augmented reality technology powered by Niantic Spatial.

The collaboration between Fair Worlds and Niantic Spatial has been years in the making. The original concept for Space-Time Adventure Tours emerged during the pandemic, as the Fair Worlds team sought safe and engaging ways for people to explore the outdoors. That initial idea led them to experiment with interactive walking tours.

Seattle was selected as the site of the first tour due to its proximity to one of Fair Worlds’ offices and its historical significance as the host of the 1962 World’s Fair. That connection wasn’t coincidental as the name "Fair Worlds" itself is a play on “World’s Fair,” reflecting the team’s appreciation for the optimism and creativity these events inspired.

The Seattle tour was both a creative and educational endeavor for the team. It helped shape their design philosophy: storytelling that blends whimsy and humor with accessible gameplay. Accessibility was a central focus throughout development. Andy Slater, the tour’s audio designer who is legally blind, played a key role in ensuring the experience was inclusive. One result was the integration of spatial audio cues that help users navigate from one point to the next.

As the project evolved, Fair Worlds adopted Niantic’s Lightship SDK (now Niantic SDK), drawn to its alignment with their own mission of creating fun, outdoor, real-world experiences. The Seattle tour launched during the 60th anniversary of the World’s Fair and even garnered a visit from the Mayor of Seattle.

Following the tour’s success, Fair Worlds began work on a new chapter: a Central Park experience. Designed mostly remotely, with only one team member conducting on-site field testing, the tour begins at Inventor’s Gate and guides visitors to Bethesda Fountain, the Alice in Wonderland statue, and ends at Cleopatra’s Needle behind the Met Museum.

The addition of Niantic’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) brought new precision to the project. Unlike the Seattle tour where users could place AR content freely, VPS enabled centimeter-accurate placement of 3D objects tied to real-world landmarks. One standout moment involves the Alice in Wonderland statue where scanning the scene reveals a mischievous Jabberwock perched on the Mad Hatter’s hat.

By leveraging Niantic Spatial’s technology, the tours invite participants not just to observe, but to actively engage with their surroundings. The experiences are carefully designed to alternate between passive listening and interactive participation, creating a more immersive and dynamic journey.

Fair Worlds is thrilled to debut the Central Park tour this summer. Looking ahead, the team plans to expand on what they’ve built by developing a scalable tour-building framework that empowers both themselves and other creators. With Niantic Studio’s no-code/low-code tools and new capabilities for shared AR group experiences, Fair Worlds is paving the way for the next generation of interactive, location-based storytelling. The partnership with Niantic Spatial will continue to play a key role in that journey, today and in the future.