augmented reality game roadmap ismar09

8/9/2019 Augmented Reality Game Roadmap ISMAR09

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Games in AR: Types and Technologies

Andrea PhillipsNeogence, Inc.

ABSTRACT

To unlock its full potential, augmented reality

gaming will need to integrate several types of

technology, including RFID; motion, image and

face recognition; location awareness. Different

types of play mechanism enabled by integration

of each of these technologies are discussed.

1 INTRODUCTION

Augmented reality seems like the perfect

playground. In theory, it allows games of pretend

where the imaginary characters act of their own

accord, and new sports with complicated rules

and elaborate scoring systems handled invisibly

by computer. In practice, though, augmented

reality alone is not enough to bring these games

to life. The potential of AR gaming will be

unlocked when it is integrated with other

technology most of which already exists

including RFID, GPS, and motion detection. As

they are integrated, the potential for AR gaming

will explode.

2 STATIONARY AR GAMES

Stationary AR games based on marker

technology are the first and lowest hurdle we

expect to be leaped. In fact, several developers

are working on such games already, though none

have yet made it to market; they should between

Q4 2009 and Q3 2010. For the most part, these

games are very similar to existing board and

tabletop games.

2.1 Stationary Marker-Driven AR Games

These games may be very similar in feel and

execution to existing games. One might wonder

at whether its worthwhile to develop such a

game; but consider the success of solitaire card

games for the PC. Any implementation of a

popular game that allows some of the game-management overhead to be controlled by the

computer brings a value-add of low effort that

could boost the adoption of AR versions of

already familiar games.

2.1.1 Arena dueling games

These games are similar to Magic: The

Gathering, Pokmon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. The

players (generally two) conduct a battle by

gradually placing new markers (probably cardsindicating creatures, abilities, or other concepts)

into the field. The computer mediates the

markers' interactions with one another and keeps

track of score and other vital statistics.

2.1.2 Battle chess

This is a popular game concept, from Star Wars

to Harry Potter. It involves a traditional strategy

game, such as chess, in which the pieces perform

animations in AR that will vary depending ontheir relative position versus other pieces on the

board.

2.1.3 Tabletop strategy games

The non-AR analogue to this is Warhammer 40K.

In AR tabletop strategy games, markers are

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moved freely around on a table; the player inputs

actions such as attacks or building fortifications,

and the game computes damage and other

statistics.

3 MOBILE AR GAMES

The next step in the evolution of augmented

reality gaming will come when the AR device is

untethered. This requires a portable camera,

display, computer, and some interface

mechanism. While wearable computing devices

and AR headsets would be ideal, a smartphone

should be sufficient.

3.1 Mobile Marker-Driven Games

A mobile AR device relying on markers will still

be extremely limited, but mobility does open up

new genres of play. They should be possible even

under current technology; such games should

start to appear on the market between Q3 of 2009

and Q2 of 2011, depending on market saturation

of the devices for which development first

occurs.

3.1.1 Puzzle hunts

These are likely to be limited-adoption small-

scale pervasive games. A designer places markers

in predetermined locations. Upon view via the

mobile AR device, each marker displays a clue

toward the location of the next marker. This style

of puzzle hunt could be repurposed to serve as a

self-guided walking tour of a neighborhood,

theme park, or museum; or even to convey a

narrative, such as a mystery.

3.1.2 Set-collection games

Markers are interspersed into an environment,

and the player must seek out each marker. Upon

view, the marker would likely play a set

animation, possibly appearing to interact with

other elements in its environment. When each

marker is located, the computer adds it to an

online storehouse and adds points to the player's

score. We anticipate set-collection games run as

marketing efforts, with markers placed on

promotional materials such as posters, billboards,

and packaging.

3.1.3 Assassin/laser-tag style games

Players tag themselves, either with markers

printed on stickable labels, or by purchasing and

wearing items such as T-shirts and hats with pre-

printed markers. Players disperse into an

environment and then try to tag one another. A

tag would be complete when one player targets

and "shoots" another player's marker through the

viewfinder of the mobile AR device.

3.2 Mobile Markerless AR

While the games using AR markers will certainly

be entertaining in their own right, it is only when

the technology allows markerless AR that the

games designed will start to become native to

augmented reality, allowing completely new

mechanisms of play rather than mere adaptations

of existing ones.

In these games, a player would view his or her

surroundings through either a viewfinder on a

mobile device or a camera/display headset.Software would detect objects and perspective

and overlay AR information accordingly.

Some simple implementations of markerless

AR operating on a small scale should appear by

Q1 of 2010. First implementations are likely to

include simple arcade and puzzle games.

3.2.1 Shooting galleries

AR objects are displayed in the environment and

players must locate them in the AR viewfinder

and shoot them. The objects could be asteroids,

aliens, ghosts, or


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3.2.2 Whack-a-mole

Objects appear and disappear from the field of

view very quickly and the player must target

them or otherwise catch them before they

disappear. (This is only one in a nearly limitless

variety of possible fast-reflex games.)

3.2.3 Hidden object

Virtual objects are concealed in the detected

surroundings, and the player must locate them

(presumably in as little time as possible.) If local

object detection is sufficiently sophisticated, AR

objects may be "hidden" behind and under real,

physical objects.

3.3 Location Detection

Games using markerless AR and location

detection probably via a GPS-and-compass

combination should appear by Q4 2012 at the

outmost, and likely quite a bit sooner. Note that

two varieties of location detection are possible. In

one, the system relies on static maps of an area to

draw a playing field. These would likely be

implemented outdoors first, as the interior of any

given building would be highly unlikely to be

mapped. In dynamic mapping, the computer

would parse the environment for objects and

continue mapping on the fly as the player moves

and perspective and location both shift.

Ultimately, an efficient system will likely rely

on both techniques: Systems would access a

Google Maps-style datastore with size, perimeter

and location information for large static objects,

while dynamic mapping would account for the

presence of mobile objects such as vehicles and

people. It's unlikely that a completely integratedsystem will exist until sometime in 2013, and

possibly not for quite some time afterward.

3.3.1 Mobile first-person shooter

A single player both seeks out and hides from AR

opponents in the style of first-person shooter

games such as Quake or Halo. This game type

could easily become multiplayer if the AR

devices are communicating with one another; this

game then becomes similar to marker-driven

assassin/laser-tag games, but without the need for

a marker.

3.3.2 Mazes

The player must navigate AR constraints tethered

to real-world locations in order to navigate a

maze. The AR constraints could appear as shrubs,

walls, or simply lights in the air, and the path of

the maze could either correspond to existing

streets, or be entirely artificial and drawn within a

large open space such as a sports field or

gymnasium.

3.3.3 Mobile platformers

This is a close cousin to games such as Pac-Man

or Super Mario Brothers. The player navigates

challenges in an environment -- say, collecting

coins and avoiding ghosts -- to reach a specific

destination or a high score.

3.4 Other Technologies

Some of the possibilities of augmented reality

gaming rely more on input or data collection

interfaces than any other single technology.

Stationary games associated with a desktop or

laptop computer can rely on a full keyboard and

mouse/trackpad setup. Mobile devices can make

use of touchpads, or simply use a static point on

the viewfinder as the cursor point. Speech

recognition, particularly when integrated with a

mobile AR device, will allow for more complex

functions and games. But motion detection and

face or image recognition will allow the kinds ofgames that often come to mind when

augmented reality games are discussed.

3.5 Motion Detection

Games relying on physical motion on the part of

the player will open the avenue to entirely new


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categories of sport and exercise. To be sure, there

are larger uses for motion detection in AR,

including an interface based on a gesture

vocabulary or the ability to interact with a virtual

object in the same way as a physical one, but

these games are not easily tackled by existing

taxonomies.

3.5.1 Exergames

Motion detection allows just about any kind of

exergame that could be imagined; the concept of

a game like Kinetic for the PS2 and Eyetoy could

realize its full potential, as would boxing,

fencing, and dance games. The possibility is

strong that this technology could also be used to

teach real skills that require a high awareness of

proprioception: martial arts, yoga, golf, etc.

3.5.2 Quidditch and other fantasy sports

Obviously augmented reality won't let anybody

fly on a broomstick, but fantasy elements of a

game like Quidditch -- balls that move of their

own accord and with their own goals -- could

definitely be ported to an augmented reality

interface successfully. The best of these games

will be completely native to AR, and may not

have clear antecedents in traditional games orsports.

3.6 Face and Image Recognition

Identity recognition -- of people or of objects -- is

another technology that will significantly

advance the gaming possibilities of AR. RFID

chips embedded in everyday objects will allow

the AR game to detect the existence, location and

purpose of everyday items such as furniture,

vehicles, or clothing. Facial recognition willallow the AR environment to paint individuals

with clothing, accessories, or other personal

attributes in keeping with a game. Together, these

technologies would allow one of the most

ambitious goals of augmented reality gaming: the

pervasive mobile MMORPG.

3.6.1 Pervasive MMORPGs

These technologies together would allow role-

playing games to be played pervasively on a scale

never before seen. Networked AR devices could

alert players to others in close physical proximity,

and the ability to identify common objects would

allow the game to overlay them with a pervasive

environment consistent to the game world.

Pervasive MMORPGs will likely be a very long

time in development, due to the many

technologies required. We anticipate that one or

more will launch sometime between 2015 and

2020, depending on how quickly AR technology

saturates the market.

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