QuasAR Arena Is Laser Tag For Augmented Reality

QuasAR Arena Is Laser Tag For Augmented Reality

Forget VR wave shooting; this AR game will let you play laser tag pretty much wherever you want.

AR developer HappyGiant, which previous worked on the Star Wars-style HoloGrid game, this month revealed QuasAR Arena, a multiplayer smartphone game that allows two players to face off in virtual battles in the real world.

Developed in partnership with Jido Maps, the game uses a new technology created by the latter company that allows players to quickly sync up their phones for AR combat without the need to scan their surroundings. While passersby might see two people just running around with their phones looking like they want to kill each other, players will be able to fire projectiles through their devices and summon shields to block incoming attacks. It looks like a goofy bit of fun, as the trailer above shows.

Still, as much as we’d like to shoot our friends, we can’t help but question how many people are willing to run around an open space with their smartphone out looking like they’re fighting thin air. Still, if you have no shame, then the world is now your battleground. Imagine this concept applied to some of our favorite franchises, like wizard duelling in Harry Potter, for blaster-based shoot outs in Star Wars. Now that’s exciting.

The app is currently in beta testing, though will launch for free on iOS soon. Going forward, the studio plans to add four player support and new modes. We’d hope that an Android version is on the cards, too.

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HappyGiant Announces New Multiplayer AR Title

Augmented reality (AR) has become very popular recently, with a number of new smartphone apps and videogames taking advantage of the technology. Developer HappyGiant have announced that they have partnered with Jido Maps to create a new AR title called QuasAR Arena.

Jido Maps recently came to prominence when it announced its ‘persistent AR’ software development kit (SDK) which was created to allow the creation of multiplayer AR videogames to be easier and simpler.

HappyGiant and Jido Maps have been working closely together to implement this technology into QuasAR Arena, which means players can quickly enter into matches without needing to scan the surrounding area, which enables a ‘one-click’ entry into AR multiplayer experiences.

“We’re excited to be working with Jido and to be unveiling QuasAR Arena, our first title using Jido’s SDK,” said Mike Levine, HappyGiant CEO. “At HappyGiant, we’ve been solely dedicated to AR for the last five years, focused on pushing the boundaries of the tech to find the fun factor. In Jido, we’ve found a company that not only has amazing tech but understands the real-world hurdles we developers are trying to overcome. Jido listened to our needs and it was great working with them. We look at this app as the first of several that could use their tech.”

“HappyGiant designs on the cutting edge of augmented reality experiences, and possesses an unsurpassed understanding of the space,” said Mark Stauber, Jido Maps CEO. “Jido worked side-by-side with HappyGiant on this game, evolving our comprehension of how to capture the right UX for multiplayer AR, and pushing the capabilities of our tech to places we couldn’t imagine. We look forward to future collaborations.”

QuasAR Arena is currently in beta testing, and will be available as a free download from the Apple App Store soon. VRFocus will be sure to provide further details on this title as they become available.