Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
(this is suitable for war games). Additionally, doors or hatchways can be used as if
they were on asurface. Games with ascience-fiction background mayutilize ameta-
phor about space portals.
Another interesting idea is special, flying transportation vehicles that land troops who
thendisappearfromthecamera'sviewsothatplayerscannoteasilytrackwherethey
went.
By its appearance, the concept of the pole AR game is very appropriate for various
types of board games. As a rule, they are played sitting at a table, so seasoned play-
ers will be familiar with the requirement that a tabletop is needed for the process. In
AR, you can create a fully virtual game board or add some additional functionality to
traditional game pieces made of paper or plastic. For example, special playing cards
can have fiducial markers so by placing them on a game board, players can interact
with a virtual elements of the game. Mixed reality is very suitable for various race
games, in particular those where flying vehicles are presented, as long as such a
concept does not require very accurate tracking of the surface where the game is
transpiring. It is better to use aircraft with propellers to animate the scene further.
Some strategy-based games are good as well; a tabletop with a lot of tiny units and
real-time combat makes a great scene!
You could imagine an AR game concept where some scroll effects are used since
the fiducial marker cannot be left behind, the realistic movement of characters in
space is replaced with a treadmill-like solution. A character is fixed at one position,
but obstacles (or enemies) are moving on a virtual conveyor belt toward him; for
instance, in a simple
SteepleChase
game. Such mechanics are called AR-projec-
ted scrolling, and are not very realistic since they simulate a moving surface on
something that is stood still. Nevertheless, that can be resolved using various cre-
ative tricks. For example, the game may use very minimalistic artwork and the
obstacles may be designed as simple geometric shapes, so the behavior of such
obstacles won't appear that unnatural.
