Entertainment+review+_+AR+Mini-Games


 * Entertainment Video Game Review: AR Games **

For my entertainment review I decided to pick a new style of game. I recently purchased the Nintendo 3DS. It is a system that displays its games in 3D without any glasses. It also is capable of presenting AR (augmented reality) games. My review is of the collection of AR mini-games that comes packed in with the 3ds. Here is a brief description of the main mini-games in the collection: · Archery: This game has you shooting targets on your own table top. Using augmented reality tricks your table top is given trees, targets, mountains, wholes, and even a dragon. During each level you have to locate the targets, shoot them and avoid attacks from the dragon. · AR Shot: this is like a 3d pool game, where you are trying to shoot the Q-Ball into a pocket on your table. Using AR trickery, you table grows hills, valleys, lava, water and a dragon. · Fishing: This simple fishing game gives you a fishing pole and makes the surface of your table into the surface of a fishing pond. · Face raiders: this is a simple shoot ‘m up game but your living room is the back ground and the enemies are based on the faces of you are your friends. · Star Picks & Mii Picks & 3D graffiti: These aren’t really games but they allow you to play with augmented reality in some interesting ways. Here is a movie of the Archery mini-game: media type="youtube" key="lKS0caNPR4o" height="390" width="640"

Here is a video of the fishing game: media type="youtube" key="tO1BFht3fYI" height="390" width="640"

Kinds of learning involved: These mini games use mechanics and ideas that are so basic that they don’t need any instructions. When a targeting reticle appears on the screen and 4 targets appear on the table in front of you, no explanation is necessary. This very simple game design is good because these AR games put you in a different kind of gaming environment that does require some new learning. When you first start playing the 3DS give a little direct instruction on how you need to use the system. After you get past these brief introductions, everything else is taught through new challenges that require exploration and experimentation. Here are a few ideas that these games teach: You must maintain certain requirements for the AR to work: · You must keep 3ds pointing at the AR card on the table · You must keep 3DS lined up straight with your face (or turn the 3D off) during play · You must keep within a certain distance of AR card on the table

After playing for a bit the game starts to introduce you to some different gaming ideas: · AR games take place in real actual space. You must move yourself around in order to find the targets, dodge enemies and explore the AR environments. · Different AR cards can be assigned different virtual elements. By putting different AR cards on the table, different virtual characters are added to the environment. Then those characters can be moved off the cards and move around the table. The AR cards do two different things: they can act as triggers that bring new things into the AR environment or they can act as an “anchor” that connects the AR environment to your table. By experimenting with the AR games, some other interesting learning takes place: · You can manipulate and explore the AR environments not only by moving yourself around the AR card, you can also do it by moving the AR card itself. By carefully picking up the AR card, you can actually pick up the AR environment and manipulate it. It feels like you are picking up the virtual environment.

In the past video games have taken place in a separate and removed environment. The biggest idea that Nintendo introduces with these AR mini-games is that the video game world and our own are starting to blend together in some new and interesting ways. Nintendo blurs these lines with a couple of interesting game modes: · In friend mode, you can unlock more of the game if you show the Face-Raider game to a lot of different people. The game takes pictures of your friend’s faces and the more different faces it detects the more you unlock. · You can also unlock more stuff by taking the 3DS with you. If the system is in sleep mode it acts as a pedometer and will track you walking. You earn virtual money by taking the 3DS with you. · If you pass another 3DS on the street, the systems will exchange info and you may gain new content. These AR games are very new and there aren’t many web sites or online communities about them. There is a online technical community that is focused on creating AR games. This new field has a lot of garage programmers hacking the Xbox 360 Kenect and the 3DS, to create their own AR experiences.

I have watched at least a dozen different people play through these AR games and none of them have ever asked me any questions about how to play. Considering how different these games are, this is pretty impressive. These AR games are rudimentary and basic but they are also the first step in blurring some well-defined lines. I love explore new and innovative games and I think these AR mini-games to a great job of introducing a new type of gaming.

-G. Kitterman