Taking Video Games to the Streets - The Future of Realistic Gaming
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Interest in urban games seems to be growing, which may promise that some future game consoles may separate from TV screens. Of course, the examples we have of the most complex AR are independent projects, since making these games commercial could be detrimentally expensive. If sold to consumers, they might be hard to customize for a player’s surroundings.
Regardless, AR games look pretty cool, and it might only be a matter of years before this technology is somewhat affordable. Lazertag arenas might soon have to compete with AR Arenas, where players could pay $20 an hour to shoot monsters and eat power pellets with their friends. Live action role playing could be revolutionized, allowing people to superimpose 3D models of their characters on top of themselves which respond to their body movement. The environment could be re-colored and retextured to look like a caste or some industrial sci-fi space ship.
The researchers that designed ARQuake have formed a spin-off company, A-Rage (official website). The company is currently refining their AR technology and designing games in hopes that they can turn it into a console gaming system for the consumer market. If all goes well, they hope to have a product by the end of 2006 that costs roughly AUD$500 (US$385). The system would ideally come with a 5 game bundle and be open for other game developers to release games for.
Even now, those who live near an established one may be able to participate. ARQuake isn’t available for public use, but Pac Manhattan’s website invites people to join them. The geocache website gives locations of geocaches all over if you evter your zip code. If you have the equipment, why not give it a try? These evolving games may be the next step in video games, combining electronics with socializing and physical activity.
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