By scanning quick response codes, gamers will be able to unlock more loot and features.
While Borderlands 2 is hardly a new entry to the mobile gaming world, having been released back on September 18, 2012, it remains an extremely popular experience and it has just received a new element in the form of QR codes, on top of the release of its third and last Headhunter DLC pack that occurred on Tuesday.
Players who have camera enabled smartphones will unlock a massive amount of new game through barcode scans.
This Gearbox Software mobile gaming experience has undergone a tremendous amount of experimentation in order to bring in new content. The most recent version of that is the LootTheWorld app, which has recently made its way into availability. It is essentially a revved up reader for QR codes that integrates with the player’s Gearbox Shift account. Whenever a quick response code is spotted in the real world – it doesn’t matter which one or where it is – a scan will allow some kind of item such as a grenade, shield, weapon, or class mod to be unlocked.
Scanning QR codes can also win mobile gaming stamps for players, which can be redeemed for loot.
The stamps can be sent into the Borderlands 2 save (once the player has signed in to his or her Shift account). Though the post that Gearbox has made regarding the app has said that traditional barcodes can also be scanned in order to gain these loot rewards, as of the writing of this article, there have been many comments left by players saying that they have been unsuccessful in doing this, so far. While the app is able to detect them, it provides only an error when a scan is actually attempted.
Players have also pointed out that while they appreciate that they can earn extra stamps through scans of QR codes, the mobile gaming experience would be considerably enhanced if there were some way to actually view the tally of stamps that have been collected (or if there is a way, if it was easier to find).
These quick response codes can help items to find their way back to their owners.
A startup company called My Lost Property has now been created by the parents of a boy who needed a way to find items that had gone missing, using inexpensive QR codes to make sure that belongings didn’t have to be replaced.
The last straw occurred when the son of the creators – the Sheedy family – lost his school blazer that cost $250.
Spencer Sheedy and his wife Rita recognized that while it is frustrating that their own two kids always had their possessions go missing, their children were far from the only ones who had this happen. It was this realization that encouraged the couple to create My Lost Property. Though the concept is quite simple as it is based on the use of QR codes, it is more innovative than simply using stickers and iron-on labels.
These QR codes are each unique and are registered on a website so that when the item is found it can be returned.
A missing item’s quick response code can be scanned by someone who finds it. They can then enter the location of the item, which will be automatically texted to the parents so that a pick-up can be arranged. The original concept had involved only stickers for the Sheedy kids. However, it didn’t take long before they found themselves creating labels, keyrings, stickers, and other barcodes for friends. Soon, it became evident that they had a business.
Since then, Mr. Sheedy had brought his barcodes and My Lost Property idea to the local schools. He has managed to create a sponsorship arrangement through Schoolzine, which is an online company that produces bulk school newsletters. According to Sheedy, “Schools have been really responsive. They like the simplicity of it, and lost property is such a problem for them.” He explained that he just wants parents to be able to find out about it.
The Sheedy’s knew that they could solve a very expensive problem for many parents and children with the simplicity and ease of QR codes. “When that $250 blazer went missing, we thought we needed to do something more than just the hit-and-miss putting a name on there and hoping it will come back. This just gives you a bit more of a chance of it coming back,” said Mr. Sheedy.
