Taking the Gaming Experience to the Next Level With AR

In 2016, Pokemon Go took the world by storm and showed the growing demand for AR gaming. The hype around Pokemon Go showed that augmented reality could be of interest to a wider audience, including those who usually do not play mobile games. Other companies tried to repeat the success of Pokemon Go and release similar games with location, such as Jurassic World Alive or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. But consumers were no longer surprised. Augmented reality aroused great interest, intrigue, and high expectations among people, but there was still something lacking in the service offering that people were looking for. 

In this article, we will answer questions like what does AR mean in games? How can AR be used to enhance the gaming experience? What are the benefits of AR games for the businesses that create them and many other things?  

What are AR Games?

Let’s start with the basics i.e., what does ar stand for in games? AR stands for augmented reality, which is a digital layer on top of the physical world that is expressed in computer graphics and with which you can interact in real-time. And the interface is a portable device or a special headset. The scenario for an augmented reality game can be pretty primitive. For example, a user sees one virtual object in their familiar environment.

Remember the holographic chess from Star Wars? In one of the AR games, a chessboard is projected onto your desk, on which you move virtual chess pieces. But the gameplay can be more complex. For example, in augmented reality shooters, you are the main character interacting with elements and complex layers on top of the physical environment. This means that your enemies will jump out of the closet or hide under the sofa.

Basically, this is the true AR game meaning because it blurs the line between the physical and digital worlds. This way, you have an experience unlike anything else and the full effect of immersion. Forget wires and controllers, and AR gives you even more leeway. Top-quality AR games development service can create a game that offers the users the immersive and intuitive experience that they are looking for. 

Why Do Users Love AR Games? 

There are many reasons why so many people love AR games: 

• Captive experience – With the changing time, the gaming sector has come into demand, and with this, users’ demand has increased to captive experience. This experience does not allow its users to differentiate between the real and virtual environments, which will act as a key feature for the success of any game in today’s time. To bring forth a successful gaming situation, developers need to establish an ideal gaming situation in which gamers could also play in the user’s avatar.
• Real-time interaction – AR technology is best known to bring together the real and virtual that causes the creation of dreamlike mid-path for the users. The capacity to add digital information and real-time in one will turn up to be the game-changer for game manufacturers. Real-time interaction will enhance gamers’ perception all across the world and will even boost the creation of better engaging levels.
• Creative content – AR only stands out in the race for its ultimate experience but even for its versatile and engaging content that game developers code well. To best suit the targeted market, developers offer customized content of a higher degree.

AR has brought a revolution globally, especially in the gaming sector. These technologies help create a realistic image and sound and other sensations to offer an imaginary setting that stimulates a gamer’s physical presence in the environment. Users will discover a complete virtual world replacing the real world, which their body movement would control. Thus, it proves that it is a remarkable beginning of AR technology. Gamers have a lot more to see with the advent of time.

What are the Business Benefits of AR Games? 

Gaming studios need to focus on developing AR games because AR significantly improves the user’s experience, which will help your game(s) stand out. Simply put, AR offers a more meaningful experience than traditional games. One of the reasons for this is that players can immerse themselves in fictional worlds and impact events within that world. A sense of meaning in games can also be connected to, for example, players’ ability to identify with characters and experience positive and negative emotions from their decisions within the game world. While the AR technology itself will provide such capabilities, you will still need the help of AR development companies to make sure you are delivering exactly the type of experience you want. 

You can also combine your AR game with social media to give players even more freedom and better experiences. Multiplayer, voice commands, geolocation – these are just some of what we will see in the next 2-3 years. Gradually, AR games will acquire new features. Instagram is currently developing methods for voice recognition in filters. With this function, it will be possible to make a quiz that would read the user’s answer and check it for correctness. With the advent of online multiplayer, the number of ideas will grow dozens of times! If you use the front camera and surface tracking, you can imagine a fighting game or race with the participation of several people right on the floor of a room or in the central square of a city.

Also, mini AR games are actively used by “self-brands” – famous artists, musicians, artists, and media companies. This allowed them to attract additional attention from the audience and the media, to give away promotions, etc. For “self-brands, mini-games have become a new method of promoting their products and services.

If you add geolocation tracking to this, you can get a whole quest around the city with the search for hidden valuables, completing tasks with NPCs or PvP-firefights. The last step will be monetization. When AR filters can serve as a tool for promotion and as a tool for collaboration. For example, partners will be able to place virtual banners with promotions of a new product or brand inside the game space or embed separate thematic quests.

Is AR Gaming the Future? 

AR technology seems well suited to mobile gaming, creating entirely new environments and leveraging existing ones to create a more immersive and integrated gaming experience with the best of both worlds.

This flexibility is critical to shaping the AR / VR gaming industry and bringing about a revolution in the gaming industry. While many other categories will cope with the ever-changing trends in gaming, AR will compete intensely with other games and develop creative ideas. Game development must constantly push the boundaries of possibilities and bring new innovations and creativity to the market. This helps to develop attractive games, grow the entire gaming market and keep game development on track to expand boundaries and opportunities. 

Because of all these reasons, many experts predict that AR will soon become the preferred choice for gamers worldwide. 

Start Creating Your AR Game Today

Consumer media habits are constantly evolving. New devices and services enable consumers to shift their expectations and behaviors rapidly. The way entertainment is accessed, consumed, and purchased has changed dramatically in a short period. This report looks closely at video gaming and how augmented reality (AR) could enable the next level of immersive gaming.

We explored the AR meaning gaming and the various benefits AR offers game creators and users, respectively. However, creating the type of game and delivering amazing experiences requires partnering with a trusted vendor in the AR development area. Skywell Software has extensive expertise in developing AR products for some of the world’s leading brands. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.