Building Community and Social Interaction in AR Gaming

As technology evolves, our lives tend to evolve with it. Our options for the way we work, our healthcare, and our entertainment are much different than they were just a decade ago. One of those developments is the emergence of augmented reality, or AR, gaming.

AR gaming overlays digital content onto the player’s view of the real world, allowing players to interact with virtual elements as if they could reach out and touch them in their immediate environment. Through smartphones, tablets, or specialized AR glasses, these games bring new, whimsical elements to gaming by turning parks, city streets, and even rooms of the player’s own home into stages for adventure, exploration, and connection. You might recognize the most well-known augmented reality gaming app: Niantic’s Pokemon Go. 

AR Gaming: New Ways to Interact with the World

Unlike gaming consoles, AR games often encourage users to physically move through, and interact with, the physical world. In the summer of 2016, city parks were overrun with Pokemon Go enthusiasts spending hours outside, walking around to catch all the digital Pokemon they could find. This led to a sense of community, and new friendships quickly began forming around shared interests. 

The social aspect of augmented reality entertainment extends beyond a flash-in-the-pan moment eight years ago. In many mixed reality games, players need to collaborate with others to achieve common goals, compete in friendly challenges, or simply share experiences within the game's framework, leading to a unique blend of digital and real-world community engagement.

Technological Advancements Fostering Social Bonds

Innovation in augmented reality development has propelled us beyond the side-by-side, but technically solo experience, that Pokemon Go offered. Now, friends from different cities, states, and even parts of the world can collaborate and play games together - even from different devices! Spatial computing devices with developer access to computer vision - from specialty headsets to smartphones - have come a long way. High-resolution, precise cameras allow devices to recognize and interpret the physical world in real-time. 

Defend Your Home from Zombies (with Your Friends!) 

One of our own AR gaming apps that empowers social connection, regardless of the users’ locations, is ARZombi. It’s a Life Scale FPS Survival Horror game that maps out your home during setup. First, the game identifies windows and doors in your home, then once you start playing the game, those points of entry become AR barricades that are vulnerable to zombie invasion. Augmented reality zombies even trip over your furniture and chase noises and sights just like zombies in post-apocalyptic TV shows.

Our Mixed Reality Developers Thrive with New Challenges

Do you have an idea for a new, collaborative AR game that could also help to build community and foster friendships? We’d love to discuss the project with you. Just request a free consultation to get started.