Yesterday Apple took the tech spotlight – as if you didn’t know – with a special event to mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. The company unveiled a new iWatch, iPhone 8 and 8s, plus the iPhone X. Hardware aside, on the software front – more importantly augmented reality (AR) – Apple showcased several apps and videogames built using ARKit that consumers would see once iOS 11 launches next week. While VRFocus knows of a few AR apps being created using ARKit, Unity Technologies has now revealed several more, one of them being PlayStation VR puzzler GNOG by KO_OP.
At present the studio hasn’t announced plans to bring the virtual reality (VR) version of GNOG to other headsets, so it’s surprising to see it go in the direction of AR. GNOG levels are designed as a type of puzzle box, where each one is self contained. Players can spin the box around to find all sorts of brightly coloured components that are linked with various levers and switches. With the AR version, players will now be able to put these puzzle boxes on a table in front of them.
Unity has only given sneak peek into GNOG’s AR development so it’s unclear if it’s an AR port of the VR version or something entirely fresh.
GNOG isn’t the only AR videogame being made with Unity that’ll be coming to Apple’s mobile devices. Cabbibo and Viacom Next have created ARQUA! an AR aquarium creation tool where players can add fish, kelp, coral, crystals and other rainbow objects to their world.
Then there’s The Walking Dead: Our World AR videogame being made by Finnish developers Next Games – which VRFocus reported on last month. Or how about RAC7 Games’ puzzle title Splitter Critters – currently available as a non-AR videogame for iOS and Android – which will have AR exclusive levels. Or lastly Mammoth Mini Golf from Ezone.com, a caveman-themed world of mini-golf.
None of these videogames have a confirmed released date just yet, but Unity expects to see them arrive this fall.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Apple and ARKit, reporting back with the latest AR projects.