AR Outdoor Games

Pretty much any outdoor game imaginable can be enhanced by augmented reality. Digital 3D markers could show objectives, scores, and other player’s positions. How this would work is highly dependent on the game, but it can be implemented in almost all of them.

Benefits

It encourages sports and going outdoors. Augmented reality can spice up the games usually played, which makes them more interesting and worth playing again. Outdoor AR games could help motivate kids and adults equally to be more active outside by gamifying sports and activities.

Challenges

Again, depending on the game, but constantly needing to hold a phone while running doesn’t sound like a very immersive experience. Of course, AR goggles would change that. 

Apart from that, the immersiveness could also suffer from inaccurate tracking that may be caused by rapid camera movements when running or through bad lighting.

Take Away

AR doesn’t always mean object tracking through a camera though. While that could be suitable for some, perhaps more calm outdoor games, it is only one possible approach. Reality could also be augmented by a live game-map on smartphones. That would eliminate all the mentioned challenges and actually make for some really fun experiences. 

Examples

Virtual Outdoor Marble Game

Source: Epic Marble Run

Neyon Clash

Developed by a startup from Berlin, Germany, Neyon Clash offers a outdoor game that takes advantage of a GPS-Powered live map on the smartphone. 

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Pokemon GO

Probably one of the most hyped games of the last few years, Pokemon GO uses Augmented Reality to let users catch Pokemon that "sit" wherever they point their camera.

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Jurassic World Alive