If you’re not aware of AR games, do not worry - they’re not rocket science. It’s a technology that superimposes digital material on top of the actual world, allowing you to get immersed in a game that interacts with your surroundings. Sounds cool, right?
In case you are curious, the idea of augmented reality, AR, is not particularly a new concept. It emerged in the 1960s as a head-mounted display system, resembling a combination of a helmet and glasses. However, its intended use was not for entertainment purposes. The original application of this technology was in military and aviation, where the helmet enabled wearers to superimpose geological data onto their visual field.
Moving closer, AR was introduced in the entertainment world in the early 2000s and it was used in a commercial. 2000, was the year when the first AR game was ever launched. AR games are a type of AR entertainment and one of those immersive games was called AR Quake. When playing this game you were required to don a backpack that housed a computer and gyroscopes, move around in the real world, and find monsters to destroy. And, as you can imagine, it was revolutionary for the gaming industry, offering an immersive experience.
And by that, we mean Pokémon GO, of course. If you’ve felt the excitement of capturing a virtual Pikachu hidden in your local park, then you have already dipped your toes into the thrilling world of AR entertainment. Pokémon GO was everywhere, and even if you didn’t play it - you know what it is and the grasp it had on the world. That summer was something else!
Here’s the deal. While the status of AR games is still in its infancy, they show great promise. Numerous gaming giants have entered the industry, Niantic and Apple being some of them. Consider AR games as a magical veil that transforms your everyday surroundings into a fantastical wonderland. Imagine walking on the street, but instead of seeing ordinary buildings and streets, you see a virtual world full of creatures, treasures, and adventures waiting for you. That’s what the companies we mentioned earlier strive for! And it’s exciting.
One thing’s certain: the ability to create an immersive gaming experience that merges the virtual and actual worlds is one of the most mind-blowing advantages of AR gaming. It’s like discovering a hidden entrance to a fantastic planet in your garden.
And it not only improves the gaming experience! It also has real-world applications. Now you do not have to sit on your couch anymore for long periods to play a game. An AR game usually demands physician movement - therefore encouraging fitness and healthy behaviors.
And, we all know that one of the main concerns about gaming was sedentarism. However, with AR games, this is no longer the case.
We talk about the benefits of gaming a lot, and it has been a subject of discussion everywhere on the internet. AR games are way better for you than traditional gaming, at least physically. Not to mention that through AR games we can foster a gaming community.
Apps like Pokemon Go and Ingress have brought players from all over the world together, forming communities of players who explore and engage with one another in real life. Imagine going Pokemon hunting and meeting, like-minded individuals. Friendships can be born through this.
Let’s stick to Pokemon Go for a second. After all, is the game that started it all. When it came out in 2016, it immediately became a cultural phenomenon. But what made it so popular? It wasn’t just the nostalgia element or Pokemon’s appeal as a franchise. It was the game’s creation of a social experience that inspired players to explore their surroundings and engage with others in the real world.
And it’s not only Pokemon Go that attracted millions of players. We have another gargantuan franchise for you. And of course, we talk about Minecraft. What a development this game had - and against all odds, if you ask me. People wanted better graphics, and they got a sandbox-type game. But, the game’s popularity didn’t depend on its graphics. The way a game looks is not all - if it doesn’t have replayability values and it lacks community-building, it's unlikely to survive or succeed.
After years of being the top game worldwide, Minecraft decided it was time to shake things up a little bit. Enter Minecraft Earth. A game that allowed users to create structures and explore a virtual world in real-life situations. Minecraft Earth was a marker-based AR game that leveraged the surroundings around the user to create a one-of-a-kind gaming experience. You were able to bring your greatest house designs to reality with this game.
And sadly, we speak in the past tense, because Mojang (Minecraft’s parent company) shut down the game back in 2021. Why? Because of the COVID pandemic. And it made sense - as the game was at its peak when people were able to leave their houses.
However, the future of the gaming industry is built by AR games - we are sure of that. As people become more digitally engaged, they will want games that combine both real-world and virtual situations. It’s the way to go - and we are excited to see the future developments.
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