Category: directive games

Posted on

‘Super Kaiju’ Studio Unveils ‘Galaga AR’ Multiplayer Game, ‘AR Arcade’ Series Coming in 2019

Apple’s ‘Gather Round’ product event took place today, and while the company is predictably heavy on the new hardware iterations, including Apple Watch Series 4, the A12 Bionic chip, and new iPhone X versions, the company is still plugging its AR capabilities with two featured ARKit 2.0 apps. Taking the stage was NEX Team, which showed off an updated version of their HomeCourt basketball app, and Directive Games, which debuted Galaga AR, an upcoming augmented reality multiplayer version of the classic arcade game.

Directive Games is a Shanghai-based AR/VR studio behind Super Kaiju (2018) for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and The Machines, a PvP multiplayer AR game announced during the Apple iPhone X event last year.

Atli Mar, CEO of Directive Games, took the stage at the Steve Jobs Theatre to show off Galaga AR in a live demonstration. Built with ARKit 2.0, which puts multiplayer AR at its core, Galaga AR lets at least three other people play in what looks like an absolute sensory explosion of lights and action.

Image courtesy Apple

Busting out of a classic arcade cabinet placed on a table, players duke it out for max points by shooting down laser drones and even going against a level boss. While it seems a bit busy visually, it’s one of the highest quality multiplayer AR experiences we’ve seen to date—no small part played by Apple’s new A12 Bionic chipset.

Image courtesy Apple

Directive Games’ Atli Mar further announced that more classic arcade games would be getting the AR treatment in the future, although he made no specific mention of which games are yet to come.

The so-called ‘AR Arcade Series’ is slated to hit the App Store later this year, although no specific dates have been announced at this time. At the time of this writing, it’s unclear exactly which AR-capable iOS devices will see support.

The post ‘Super Kaiju’ Studio Unveils ‘Galaga AR’ Multiplayer Game, ‘AR Arcade’ Series Coming in 2019 appeared first on Road to VR.

Posted on

The Machines Is A Tabletop War Game Powered By Apple’s ARKit

The Machines Is A Tabletop War Game Powered By Apple’s ARKit

I know I can’t be the only person that loves playing tabletop games but hates the setup, cleanup, and organizational headache they often cause. I’ve loved playing Dungeons & Dragons for years, but it’s a hassle lugging my literal treasure chest full of gear and supplies around. Playing online is great, but it lacks the physicality of playing in person. With the power of AR, a lot of that could start to change soon.

The Machines is an upcoming concept from Directive Games that was made using Apple’s ARKit and Unreal Engine 4. In the video below you can see a table transform into a war-torn battlefield with units spawning at opposite ends of the map. It’s nowhere near as complex of a game as something like D&D or Warhammer 40K, but it represents a big step forward for tabletop gaming all the same.

It reminds us of HoloGrid: Monster Battle, a decent tactics game that uses rudimentary AR mechanics from existing smartphones and tablet devices. We even saw a prototype of HoloGrid running on a Microsoft HoloLens that works similarly to what we’re seeing with The Machines here — in fact, they just recently launched it on HoloLens as well.

Mechanically The Machine appears to be a relatively simple game. You spawn units, they run forward and attack enemy units, until one side destroys the other’s base. Each unit also appears to have a special ability that can be activated when it’s not cooling down. We don’t know if there are other game modes or not, but Directive Games did tell us that player-vs-player combat (PvP) will be supported.

What do you think of The Machines? You can find out more on the official website here. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Tagged with: , ,

Posted on

The Machines Is A Tabletop War Game Powered By Apple’s ARKit

The Machines Is A Tabletop War Game Powered By Apple’s ARKit

I know I can’t be the only person that loves playing tabletop games but hates the setup, cleanup, and organizational headache they often cause. I’ve loved playing Dungeons & Dragons for years, but it’s a hassle lugging my literal treasure chest full of gear and supplies around. Playing online is great, but it lacks the physicality of playing in person. With the power of AR, a lot of that could start to change soon.

The Machines is an upcoming concept from Directive Games that was made using Apple’s ARKit and Unreal Engine 4. In the video below you can see a table transform into a war-torn battlefield with units spawning at opposite ends of the map. It’s nowhere near as complex of a game as something like D&D or Warhammer 40K, but it represents a big step forward for tabletop gaming all the same.

It reminds us of HoloGrid: Monster Battle, a decent tactics game that uses rudimentary AR mechanics from existing smartphones and tablet devices. We even saw a prototype of HoloGrid running on a Microsoft HoloLens that works similarly to what we’re seeing with The Machines here — in fact, they just recently launched it on HoloLens as well.

Mechanically The Machine appears to be a relatively simple game. You spawn units, they run forward and attack enemy units, until one side destroys the other’s base. Each unit also appears to have a special ability that can be activated when it’s not cooling down. We don’t know if there are other game modes or not, but Directive Games did tell us that player-vs-player combat (PvP) will be supported.

What do you think of The Machines? You can find out more on the official website here. Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!

Tagged with: , ,