Yesterday saw the release of Apple’s iOS 11 operating system for its mobile devices, bringing with it compatibility for augmented reality (AR) and ARKit. Today, Climax Studios – the team behind Lola and the Giant and the Bandit Six series – has announced its first AR app made with ARKit, a puzzle adventure called ARise.
Built as a result of a game jam the company ran to inspire creative and innovative concepts for AR videogames, in ARise players lead a pint-sized adventurer up the stony flanks of a vast petrified monster, using perspective to cross chasms and scale sheer cliff faces.
The goal is to reach the top and awaken the monster. To do this players must utilise the core strengths of AR – being able to move around and look at a scene from any angle – to guide the trepid adventurer past the obstacles that lay in wait.
“By using perspective, exploration, angles and almost no controls, we hope we have created a fresh game play experience that will develop over time,” said Simon Gardner, CEO of Climax Studios. “With ARKit we were able to leverage the power of the iPhone and iPad’s built-in camera, processors and motion sensors, to easily build ARise, which is a highly detailed and compelling virtual game that sits on top of the real world.”
The first three levels of ARise are available to download today from the App Store for $2.99 USD / £2.99 GBP / €3.49 EUR. In the coming months Climax Studios will be releasing further content for ARise, all for free.
Check out the gameplay trailer below to see what ARise is all about. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.