PlayFusion – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

March 22, 2018

PlayFusion To Bring New Features to Crytek’s CRYENGINE

At the Game Developer Conference this week PlayFusion, an emerging leader in enhanced augmented reality (AR) for use in entertainment and other interactive purposes has announced a strategic partnership with Crytek.

PlayFusion Logo

The partnership will see PlayFusion licensing its ground breaking Enhanced Reality Engine to Crytek in order to have it integrated into their CRYENGINE. This means that users of the CRYENGINE will be able to tap into the the powerful tools and features of the Enhanced Reality Engine and leverage it for creating AR content. The technology has already been used for a number of products including the collectible trading card game (TCG) Lightseekers which PlayFusion created in partnership with TOMY and is also being used for the newly revealed Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions, which will bring Games Workshops Warhammer universe to life in an AR TCG.

Avni Yerli, Crytek Founder and joint CEO commented on the announcement by stating: “PlayFusion’s visionary technology brings next-level multiplayer augmented reality capabilities to our already powerful game development platform CRYENGINE. Supplementing CRYENGINE with the industry’s most feature-rich and performant AR technology perfectly rounds out our ability to seamlessly immerse people in compelling virtual experiences with an incredible level of realism, the creative and technical strength of today’s global developer community makes this a great time to bring amazing new experiences to life—and these are the best tools for the job.”

lightseekers title

PlayFusion have been developing breakthrough artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies for some time now to enable immersive mixed reality (MR) experiences. Now, with the Enhanced Reality Engine, PlayFusion are able to leverage hardware, computer vision, audio recognition, machine learning and deep data to build new expertness all while delivering a compelling experience to the user that is seamlessly connected. Now with the partnership with Crytek, seeing this technology added to the CRYENGINE, more developers will be able to make use of the Enhanced Reality Engine opening the doors to exciting new possibilities.

Mark Gerhard, CEO and CTO of PlayFusion also added: “It’s a great honour to be selected as Enhanced Reality technology partner by the company that not only defined how modern game engines work, but who are the undisputed standard bearer for photorealistic, real-time 3D, we really look forward to working with them to advance the state of the art and to establish the new standard in Enhanced Reality for the industry.”

Elsewhere, Crytek recently announced the latest version of the CRYENGINE, versions 5.5.

VRFocus will be bring you all the latest throughout the week as the Game Developer Conference continues to stay tuned for more.

March 22, 2018

PlayFusion To Bring New Features to Crytek’s CRYENGINE

PlayFusion Logo

lightseekers title

Elsewhere, Crytek recently announced the latest version of the CRYENGINE, versions 5.5.

VRFocus will be bring you all the latest throughout the week as the Game Developer Conference continues to stay tuned for more.

March 20, 2018

AR Card Game Warhammer Age of Sigma Champions Announced

Today at the Game Developer Conference (GDC), PlayFusion and Games Workshop announced a partnership to bring the Warhammer universe to live through augmented reality (AR)

PlayFusion Logo

The partnership between the two companies will be the development of an all-new-way for tabletop war gaming and trading card game (TGC) fans to experience the Warhammer Age of Sigmar universe. Known as Warhammer Age of Sigma Champions, players will be able to collect, play and experience the title with both physical trading cards and a fully digital trading card videogame that will be accompanied by a completely immersive AR experience built using PlayFusion’s proprietary computer vision and augmented reality technology, the Enhanced Reality Engine.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions Game Logo

Mark Gerhard, CEO and Co-Founder of PlayFusion commented on the announcement saying: “Partnering with Games Workshop fulfills a lifelong dream of contributing to the Warhammer universe. The majority of our team and I grew up part of the Warhammer community, so it’s a huge honour for all of us to not only partner with such an iconic British company but also to contribute to one of the original and best fantasy IPs in the world, we are really passionate about developing a rich and innovative new way for the community and beyond to experience the Age of Sigmar.”

PlayFusion have worked on a number of different projects over the years including Lightseekers, another TCG that was made in partnership with TOMY and released last year. For Warhammer Age of Sigma Champions, PlayFusion will be bring hundreds of collectible cards to market that players will be able to use to build their own decks, finding strategies and tactics that work for them. The physical cards will also come to life when viewed through PlayFusion’s Enhanced Reality Engine allowing players to unlock various enhanced gameplay options all while experience the Warhammer Age of Sigmar universe in stunning AR.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions will also feature a unique physical-to-digital experience, allowing players to import their physical cards into the digital title and play online with those very cards. This will give players a whole new way to experience the title and take their decks into battle both online and offline.

Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing for Games Workshop commented saying: “Working with such a talented and accomplished group like PlayFusion is an absolute privilege. Their passion, technological expertise, and just sheer ‘can do’ attitude has been seriously impressive, taking the richness of Warhammer Age of Sigmar and merging it with their innovative hybrid physical/digital trading card game makes for a winning combination anyway, but add in the cool AR functionality and this game really is something special.”

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions is set to release for iOS, Android and PC in July 2018.

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on this story as updates are released so keep reading for more.

February 21, 2018

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.”

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“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.

July 6, 2017

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.

June 2, 2017

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.

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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.

May 8, 2017

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.

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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.

October 5, 2016

Lightseekers Kickstarter aims to turn your toys into true game controllers

Bringing toys to life in video games seems to be a big trend these days, however most of the time the toys do not do much. Lightseekers hopes to change that, allowing you to use your figurines as in-game controllers.

The post Lightseekers Kickstarter aims to turn your toys into true game controllers appeared first on Digital Trends.