Category: Lightseekers

Posted on

BAFTA Appoints PlayFusion’s CEO to VR Advisory Group

PlayFusion, the British technology company behind augmented reality (AR) collectable game Lightseekers has announced that it has been selected by BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, to become an Official Partner. 

PlayFusion's CEO and CTO, Mark Gerhard

In addition to the partnership, PlayFusion CEO and CTO Mark Gerhard was elected to the BAFTA VR Advisory Group. As a member, Gerhard will collaborate closely with some of Britain’s top visionaries and thought leaders in the technology and videogame industries.

“We’re honoured to partner with BAFTA, the hallmark for eminence within the creative industries,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO and CTO of PlayFusion in a statement. “BAFTA has always celebrated innovation and excellence within the entertainment universe and our union with BAFTA will help accelerate the awareness and adoption of new technologies and innovations available to consumers.”

Gerhard will provide insights and leadership to the Advisory Group, helping ensure shared knowledge opportunities for the association and UK’s emerging digital technology sector. “Augmented and virtual reality content creators are playing a key role in the games and entertainment industries,” said Emma Baehr, Director of Awards & Membership, BAFTA. “At BAFTA we envision a world where everyone’s life is creatively enriched through excellent work in film, games and television. Our partnership with PlayFusion, a leader in enhanced reality, ensures we’re working towards this vision.”

lightseekers_cards

“PlayFusion pioneered the veritable engine bridging leading-edge creativity with seemingly magical technical innovation,” Gerhard went on to say. “Our mission is to enhance the way people enjoy entertainment and to empower storytellers to seamlessly weave their narrative into the world around us. We look forward to joining forces with BAFTA to help make this more of a reality for fans throughout the UK.”

It was in early 2017 that PlayFusion announced the Lightseekers Trading Card Game, featuring more than 350 printed cards that can be brought to life using the Lightseekers companion mobile app. The game launched in the UK in June 2017 before seeing a wider distribution deal thanks to Toys”R”Us. VRFocus will continue its coverage of PlayFusion and BAFTA, reporting back with any further VR/AR updates.

Posted on

TOMY and PlayFusion Announce Lightseekers Now Available At Toys’R’Us

PlayFusion, creators of augmented reality (AR) collectable game Lightseekers along with its major toy licensee TOMY International have announced that Lightseekers toys, trading cards and accessories will now be available in Toys’R’Us stores.

Toys’R’Us are one of the biggest toy stores in the US and Europe, and soon customers visiting Toys’R’Us stores will be able to scan interactive posters and Lightseeker’s packaging to get special AR effects. The Lightseekers app is available to download from the Apple Appstore, the Google Play Store and the Amazon App store and allows users to connect 7” Lightseeker’s action figures to the Lightseeker’s card game. The figures come with their own miniature embedded computers, so NFC portals such as those used for Amiibos are not needed.

Lightseekers action figure

“It has been an incredible journey with our partners at TOMY and Toys”R”Us as we all worked tirelessly to make Lightseekers a reality,” said Mark Gerhard, CEO and Co-Founder of PlayFusion. “Having the Lightseekers product available now at Toys”R”Us stores is the culmination of two and half years of hard work, but it’s just the beginning. We have many more innovations coming over the next few months to Lightseekers, so get ready for the future of connected play.”

“All of us at TOMY and PlayFusion have been looking forward to this day for a long time, and we are thrilled to have Toys”R”Us bring this truly innovative line into its stores. From a very successful Kickstarter campaign to garnering rave early reviews to a successful BETA test that built an actively engaged community, the Lightseekers momentum has led us to this day that we have all been eagerly anticipating for several years now,” said Peter Henseler, President of TOMY International. “We’re looking forward to giving Toys”R”Us customers the chance to experience the innovation behind the game play and see for themselves what sets Lightseekers apart.”

VRFocus will bring you further information on the Lightseekers AR game as it becomes available.

Posted on

Lightseekers AR Trading Card Game Comes to UK

Toy maker TOMY have teamed up with UK table-top, card game and toy distributor Esdevium Games to launch the new Lightseekers augmented reality (AR) trading card game in the UK.

The AR trading card game can be played as a simple physical card game or gameplay can be enhanced by activating the Lightseekers companion mobile app, which allows for a connected gameplay experience. Lightseekers will feature more than 350 printer cards at launch and will allow players to use spells, creatures, items and locations to battle against their opponents. Each card can be scanned by the Lightseekers mobile app to unlock in-game effects such as new spells, ability boosts or new followers.

Esdevium are a well-known name in the UK board game and card game scenes, where their staff are often fixtures at conventions and industry events, demonstrating various products to attendees. Esdevium are planning on launching Lightseekers in the UK at the UK Games Expo, which is taking place from 2nd-4th June, 2017 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham. Attendees at UK Games Expo, the largest hobby gaming event in the UK, will be some of the first in the UK to try out the game.

lightseekers_cards

The creators of Lightseekers, PlayFusion, are also planning on offering ‘smart’ action figures and other accessories to go with the trading card game at some point later in 2017, though it is not presently known how the action figures would integrate into the main game.

The Lightseekers mobile app is already available for download through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the UK, US and Canada. The cards can be found at Toys “R” Us and specialist board game and card game retailers.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Lightseekers and other AR products as it becomes available.

Posted on

PlayFusion’s Lightseekers Mixes Toys, Trading Cards and AR into one

With the interactive/interconnected world we live in toys are no longer solitary items for kids to play with. There can be layers upon layers of different gameplay elements to learn and collect like Skylanders and Nintendo’s Amiibos. The latest comes from British game and robotics company PlayFusion, in collaboration with toy giant TOMY, with Lightseekers, a trading card game that’s also a videogame with augmented reality (AR) elements.

The Lightseekers Trading Card Game will arrive with more than 350 printed cards at launch allowing players to use a hero and an arsenal of cards, featuring spells, creatures, items, and locations, to defeat their opponents. There’s also a free mobile videogame for iOS and Android that can utilise the cards. This is where the AR functionality comes into play, scanning the cards will bring up 3D models of whatever item or character that particular card featured, which then unlocks in the videogame.

 

lightseekers_cards

Cards are available for purchase online at Toys”R”Us and Amazon in the US and UK. At launch customers will be able to buy the Intro Pack for $29.99 USD, that includes: two intro decks (one Storm and one Tech), each deck includes one hero card, five combo cards, and 30 action cards; one Booster Pack; two play mats; two health counters; the full game rules; two deck storage boxes; a trading shield; and a Tribute Card.

After that there’s the Starter Decks for $19.99. Each of these includes: one hero card, five combo cards, and 30 action cards;
5 exclusive cards that can only be found in these Starter Deck packs; one Booster Pack containing another nine random cards that can be used to start building your own custom deck; one play mat; one health counter; the full game rules; a deck storage box; a trading shield; and a Tribute Card. Additionally, $3.99 booster packs are available containing one hero card, one rare card, two uncommon, five common cards, and a possible rare “shiny” card.

While Lightseekers may feature an AR element videogames such as Pokemon GO and Hologrid: Monster Battle do actually feature AR gameplay.

VRFocus will continue its coverage relating to the latest AR use cases, reporting back as further announcements are made.