Now out for the Sony PSP, (For Europe and Australia), a monster collector game that makes Pokemon look "so last year". Invizimals uses your PSP camera , equipped with a Go!Cam, you can hunt , trap, and battle creatures in Augmented Reality. (Who says you need a smartphone to experience AR?)
Sony isn't new at AR, either. Remember Eye of Judgment? "Oh yeah...that game!" High quality is a Sony tradition, imo, and it seems to hold true here, as well.
Check out this Gamespot video. Sure, the interviewee is awkward, but the video gives you a really good feel for how the game flows..Expected NA release is Q3 2010 (in roughly 50 days).
I like the fact that good AR isn't being confined to "smartphones". Given the power, (and number) of PSP's out there, hooking the young gamers of today is seeding the AR-competent consumers of tomorrow. For as long as there's a market, the technology can only increase, and we all win.
Ahoy, there! I loves me a good piratey-themed game, and this one looks fun. This one takes the augmented reality to an interesting place. First, you download the app to your iPhone/iPad, Then, you go to the game website, and sync your app to the game. To play, you utilize the accelerometers in your phone to "row" your way to viscory. Just think, your umpteen dollar iPhone/iPad can now act as a Wii remote!
Not new, (came out in April), but it's a slow news day, but we haven't at least glossed over it, so we'll give the Iron Man 2 AR a little love. Hopefully, you've seen the movie, so the visuals will make sense.This is less about the product and more about the art of it all.
Take this video, for example. While the augmented helmet is a fun little app, take a thoughtful look at the 'heads up' simulation:
Although it's "just" high budget viral marketing, (like Stark Expo 2010 ), some of the visuals presented represent a pretty solid artistic view of augmented reality, as it may (eventually) be incorporated. Give me a pair of Vuzix Wrap920AR's, and a HUD app like that, and I'll be a happy witch. But the vision extends past the theoretical product, and even visualizes the theoretical advertising. Take thes (fake) ads, for example, (and tell me the 'cordco' tab doesn't smack of TED talks) :
Tell me you won't see advertising like this, one AR becomes "mainstream" for the masses. You betcha, you will. Even though it's all fictional at the moment, ( remember, 'men on the moon' was once fictional), I think the visual representation, (of the visual representation) may be a driving factor. Like the oft-mentioned "minority report interface", which has become more real HERE and HERE, or like the Old Star Trek Tri-corders (iPhone, anyone?), the fictional tech of yesterday becomes the 'everyday' tech of tommorow.
Although I doubt we'll have flying combat suits anytime soon, the slicker, data-rich augmented reality views of IronMan 2 are much more feasible, and honestly quite appealing.
For those who have been haven't been following, the Parrot AR Drone quadricopter, a wi-fi controlled flying vehicle with multiple cameras is now available for pre-order via Brookstone. ($300)
Normally, this kind of device would fall more into the 'telepresence' category, but it does have augmented reality features, in the form of AR games.
Here's a smaple of the Augmented Gaming:
Want to see how cluttered you gutters are? Now you can, without the ladder. This thing has as much tech as a new smartphone. Accelerometers, gyrometers, *2* cameras, sonar, and an ARM9 processor.
It's a "fun" little device, that you can control with your iPhone , iPod Touch, or iPad. And it's a helluvalot less expensive than buying a Draganfly. And you can co-op with multiple players.
Don't have the $300? You can try to win one (until 31 December 2010 ), at the uber-slick Pilot Test site.
Either way, you'll be seeing these around. SkyNet, anyone?
British Telecom company "o2" has released a free augmented reality app to increase it's brand awareness , following in the wake of it's Facebook game. These "niggles" are all broadband connectivity issues, personified. (Think Saatchi for Denno Coil) .
Remember, all these Seuss-like creatures are anthropomorphic representations of all the technical (and human) issues we deal with in our dail connectivity.
"Niggles are all around you. They're where you live, where you work, they're on the streets, in the parks, they're everywhere you go. By downloading the free augmented reality iPhone app, the first app of its kind, you can help O2 nobble broadband niggles wherever you are."
The iPhone game completely immerses the player in a fun, unique and unexpected way. Using the phone compass and GPS we could plot the players postion. Then when they held up their phone they could see the niggles lurking around them Augmented Reality using the phones camera. "
The AR app lets you roam around (the U.K.), interracting with these whimsical characters.
It seems to me that the U.K. is fast becoming the "Tokyo of Augmented Reality". More often than not, "if it's ar, it can be traced to the U.K.". Hear that, "other countries"? Step up your game.
To promote the release of Aragorn's Quest, a console game focusing on the Tolkien's famous Middle Earth King of Gondor, there is an augmented reality video contest
(click the link for the AR demo)
Participants need only print out a AR tag, and video themselves utilizing the AR fireball to be entered for a plethora of prizes. Contest ends September 28th.
Although there is no augmented reality in the game itself, this is yet another example of creative, and interactive advertising using AR as a "gee whiz" technology to garner interest. (And hey, the game looks pretty good, too.)
Will we see more AR utilization in the future? You bet.
Thanks to Optricks Media , Ltd, Those of you with Nokia, Sony-Ericsson and Samsung Smartphones running Symbian OS can now let the lead fly, anywhere, at any scale. AR! Pirates. :
"Use your phone’s camera and screen to shoot and sink virtual ships that appear integrated to the real world via augmented reality. (Ed:But there's no Johnny Depp....) Play at any scale! Use coins as markers for small ships on your desk or play with gigantic ships in the park using three flying discs (or paper plates from your picnic lunch). But be careful–the larger the markers, the more active you have to be when playing the game!"
Okay, had to add this, 'cuz it's just so cool. Andreas Heikaus, a student at the Hannover University of Applied Science and Art has come up with a really neat presentation, using the cinema technique of "Match Moving" has brought Old Skool to the Great Outdoors, in a very visually compelling way.
Says Andreas "This video was part of my Bachelor thesis at the University of Applied science and art Hannover. The Super Mario Bros. game, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is not longer bound to the television size and get interactive with a new environment. The emphasis of my thesis is on the matchmoving work. It is the process of matching CG elements into live-action footage."
Althoug I'd hesitate to call it "true AR", it's a darn impressive piece of work, and could easily be confused for high-end AR. (and it's fun to watch). Nicely done, Andreas!
"Makes no difference who you are." That is, of course, *if* you're at a Disney Theme Park, have an iPhone, and Disney's new app: Wishing Stars.
Now, the Magical Kingdom has a Digital layer. Hunt for clues, and quest your way across the Kingdom (and even in waiting lines ), Here's a video review from The Orange County Register write up:
Now you can pretend you're playing a U.S. version of Kingdom Hearts Mobile irl.(okay, maybe not)
"The hidden "Wishing Stars" are recorded as secret GPS coordinates that your iPhone will uncover during your search. Clues lead to more clues, which lead to discovery of the Wishing Stars. Along the way, you'll unlock more Quests that will test your knowledge of Disneyland to its limit!"
This is a great example of Mobile AR, and creating connected geospatial digital content.
Thanks to Gamepocalypse Now for the tip!
