Tag: augmented reality gaming

Blippar demos ar game on Google’s wearable tech.

The augmented reality company has dedicated itself to finding a way to combine the digital world with the physical world and recently took another step forward toward its goal by running one of its AR games on Google Glass for the first time.

A simple game using Glass demonstrates the first steps of gesture interaction.

According to The Next Web (TNW), Blippar used Kung Food for the test. A pretty basic game that is not unlike the popular mobile game, Fruit Ninja, Kung Food revealed what playing a game on Glass could be like one day. To play, all that is required is the Blippar Glass app and a poster that is used for the game. Players use the “mouse” button on the side of Google Glass as the blasters controller. The object of the game is for players to slash at food that flies at them in 3D space to stop it from “splattering” their face.

Since the game is played with Glass, both of the player’s hands are free, which is a key point for playing the game and illustrates the start of gesturing interaction using this head mounted wearable device. Blippar CEO Ambarish Mitra said that the augmented reality gaming technology is still in its beginning stages. In the company’s short demo, the Glass device overheated within a matter of minutes of continuous use.

Although earlier this year, in February, Blippar demonstrated its AR app using Glass at Mobile World Congress, this is the first time that is has been demoed as a gaming platform.

Blippar is not limiting its augmented reality technology to gaming.

“Our ambition is to build a browser where you just look at things and you get spontaneous information, whether that’s some [sort of] utility or something entertaining… When we think of mobile we don’t define mobility and restrict it to your mobile device itself. Mobility is a lifestyle choice,” Mitra said.

The company’s vision extends beyond augmented reality mobile entertainment. It wants users of mobile devices to have an optional layer of information available to them whenever they need or want it, whether it is looking at products to obtain additional information or to play a game when they are looking to amuse themselves for a few minutes.

This state of the art technology is makes these games available on smartphones and tablets.

Fitness games have become very popular on consoles, but now the concept is available through mobile gaming because of the addition of augmented reality into the field.

Now, fitness apps are available to be played on smartphones and tablets in addition to PCs.

Until now, console games have required physical controllers or the Kinect motion sensor equipment, for example, in order to detect movements. However, through the use of augmented reality apps, the camera features in smartphones and tablets have made it possible for mobile gaming to offer this same type of fitness opportunity.

The device cameras include the player into the augmented reality environment for a similar experience.

The very first app to take advantage of the augmented reality mobile gaming alternative to fitness console games is an application called BallStrike. This app is available at the Windows 8 store for devices that run on that operating system. It is also now available for Android and iOS devices. This game requires the player to punch and explode a number of balls that appear on the screen around a live image of the player. The premise is to encourage the player to move around so that he or she will become more fit over time. The application displays an estimated number of calories burned throughout the game.

To make sure that the augmented reality experience is as accurate as possible, the player must stand about 1.5 meters (5 feet) away from the device camera. The distance needs to be judged so that the entire person can fit on the screen. At that point, the “boxing” session starts. It starts off at a fun and easy learning level, but as the player progresses, the difficulty increases.

Another addition to the augmented reality fitness mobile gaming marketplace is Fuego’s River Adventure. This is currently available for iPad users, only. It is a combination of a fitness app and an arcade game in which the player floats down a river on a raft, and the user has to avoid obstacles. This requires the user to jump around in front of the device and, presumably, burn calories in so doing.