Month: October 2013

Mark Skwarek @ the Mobile AR Lab showing Play AR about halfway through the TV interview-

Play AR lets you create and publish augmented reality video game apps in the real world, no programming required!support here>>>
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1153369046/play-ar

Play AR [augmented reality] is the world’s easiest augmented reality video game creation software in a mobile app. Play AR was designed to let people with no programming experience create highly interactive augmented reality [AR] video games with just a few clicks. Best of all you can publish your creations as stand alone apps for smart phones and tablets!

With the release of Play AR, we will launch the augmented reality multi-user combat game call “AR Battlefield”. AR Battlefield turns the entire planet into a futuristic, editable, multi-user online game. You can play against your friends or team up and play against neighboring towns, states and or even countries! AR Battlefield will overlay the real world with your AR creations. You can upload your own crazy weapons, fortifications, robots, vehicles and body armor. Your creations level up the longer you play. You can also download free models from a library of 1000s of creations. Turn your house into a impenetrable fortress or team up with neighborhood friends to fortify your entire city and defend against outside invaders! You can also create custom coded scripts for special animations and interactivity.

Play AR takes traditional video gaming out of the TV and turns into a physical experience that surrounds you in 3D. To play across a level, you will actually have to walk or run from one side to the other. Play AR gives users the power to transform public space into a virtual playground. Create games and experiences that interact with reality. The physical world becomes an editable level letting you create experiences once thought unimaginable. Knock over skyscrapers like dominoes with a giant sling shot. Play against neighboring towns or countries halfway around the world!

Simply download the app. Type the desired object or character into the creation text field. [We have a library of over 1000 free objects to choose from and you can upload your own.] Press the “Create Button” and it will appear in front of you. Drag the object to where you want it with our multi touch interface. Resize and rotate it by clicking and dragging.

To make your game, first create or download a 3D or 2D model. Open our free action / animation editor software. Choose the action you want from the action list [example – “auto target”]. Drag and drop your model onto the the editor and it will be applied to the model the next time you create it. You can also create custom interaction or AI scripts and use them with your creation.

Play AR will use the Unity Game Engine. Unity has a large and very active user group for Play AR users to tap into. Large amounts of Unity code is freely available and there are extensive tutorials ranging from beginner to advanced.  Even though Play AR requires no programming experience, advanced users can challenge themselves with Unity.

Play AR is a globally networked game development environment. Games you create have a specific location on the face of the earth. Our AR technology will incorporate GPS and computer vision technology to position your models at specific locations of your choosing. For the future, we are planning on incorporating depth sensing technology like the Structure Sensor [now on Kickstarter] to enhance game play.

Play AR will have an account system that gives you control over who sees and can edit your creations. This makes it  easy to work with friends on large scale collaborations. You can work on a game in private and then make it public at any point by changing the privacy settings. Best of all, once you have made the perfect AR video game you can export it as a stand alone smart phone / tablet app. You can also share or sell your creation on the Play AR Store. Other people will be able to play and edit your game depending on your privacy settings.

There will be 2 types of accounts “The Basic [Free]” and “The Pro Account”.

The Basic [Free] Account will let anyone with a smartphone or tablet use Play AR to make AR video games anywhere. AR Battlefield will also be free on the basic account. Users can upload their own creations and add interactivity with the Play AR interactive software. Adds will support the free versions.

The Pro Account will be a paid for subscription that has the same features as the Basic Account but it will let users publish their creations as a stand alone apps. No adds, and the ability to save there creations [fortifications, weapons, robots, etc.].

We are also developing wearable clothing that will allow you to become your avatar. Wear AR armor that protects you during game play. Walk across the local park as your avatar or a giant dinosaur. We realize this technology is not perfect but it’s still great fun to play with and we are continuing to develop it as new approaches become possible. See the rewards section and get your own for Halloween!

Play AR encourages users to share or sell their creations in the Play AR Store. The Play AR store will be loaded with 1000’s of free models and coded scripts for users to create games with. Users can also sell their creations for real world money. Users can give away or sell models, entire games, parts of games and code on the Play AR Store.

Out of the box Play AR can create incredible and interactive experiences other than video games. Play AR is great for augmented sports [games and training], education, interactive experiences [art projects, tours, interactive mock-ups for clients] and architecture, etc. Use Play AR to prototype and publish whatever type of interactive AR experience you need in a snap.

We are developing Play AR as a sports trainer and simulator. Soon you will be able to study complex sporting techniques such as throwing a curve ball. You will be able to watch professional athletes in 3D as they perform different sporting maneuvers. You will have the ability to stop, pause, fast forward, slow motion and rewind the players movements. And you can walk around it in 3D to study it from all angles!

For education, Play AR can turn classroom learning into an out of the world adventure! Turn the playground into the surface of the moon with 2 clicks. Now students can actually explore a scale copy of the lunar surface in 3D. All the while learning has become a physical experience getting the students physically active!

Most smart phones and tablets will be supported from the kickstarter funding. All iphones 3gs or newer will be supported. Almost all android phones will be supported. In the very near future we plan to port Play AR to AR glasses like Google Glass andMETA’s Space Glasses (a product funded by kickstarter), and so on. We already have collaborations going with these companies.

Our goal is to let you make the most immersive and creative gameplay experience possible. If you are interested in helping us code, model or market Play AR, please contact us.

With Play AR, we will liberate gamers from their TVs and turn gaming into a real experience.