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Handheld AR Games

Since 2006, the AEL has explored the potential of Augmented Reality as a platform for gaming. In our work, we are particularly interested in 3D registered AR games, and how tight integration between the physical and virtual worlds can be leveraged to create compelling game experiences.

In 2009, Qualcomm and the AEL have joined forces to establish the Qualcomm Augmented Reality Game Studio, a research and design center aimed at pioneering new advancements in mobile gaming and interactive media. The game studio will build upon Qualcomm’s augmented reality platform and related graphics technologies to produce new application concepts and prototypes. In collaboration with Professor Tony Tseng and his students from the Interactive Design and Game Development program at Savannah College of Art and Design, the Game Studio will combine the skills and creative insight of students with expertise in augmented reality technology, game development and the arts.

The goal of the studio is to explore the potential of handheld AR as a platform for new kinds of gaming and entertainment experiences.

AR Zen Game

Design space We wanted to create a game that could be played when the user is laying down in bed. Our goal was exploring the obstacles and affordances of having a poster for Natural Feature Tracking (NFT)on a handheld device placed on the ceiling, placed above the legs of a user laying down. Design principles …

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ARf: an Augmented Reality Virtual Pet on the iPhone

ARf is our first experiment with creating an AR game on the iPhone. Play with a virtual puppy on your desk: use the touch screen to tell him where to go, or to poke and pet him! Build up a world with multiple markers so he has room to run. Give him a water bowl …

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ARhrrrr!

ARhrrrr is an augmented reality shooter for mobile camera-phones. The phone provides a window into a 3d town overrun with zombies. Point the camera at our special game map to mix virtual and real world content. Civilians are trapped in the town, and must escape before the zombies eat them! From your vantage point in …

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Art of Defense

Recent advancements in mobile processors (CPUs and GPUs) have enabled researchers to explore 3D augmented reality applications on handheld devices. Art of Defense (AoD) is a novel AR game for a commodity phone (the Nokia N95). The goal of Art Of Defense is to explore game design and interaction techniques that are well suited to …

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BragFish

The project of BragFish is the starting point of AEL’s effort on exploring the space of hand-held AR games. Our design ideas was inspired by the affordance of augmented technology, which makes the shared physical and social space between families and friends become the game space. There are several interesting designs involved in the game, …

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BugJuice

BugJuice is a handheld Augmented Reality game designed and developed as part of the Handheld Augmented Reality (AR) Game Studio class (CS4803/8803HAR) at Georgia Tech. It was engineered using Qualcomm’s AR technology running on their Snapdragon platform for Android-powered smartphones. The game is played by looking at a milk carton through the smartphone (using its …

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NerdHerder

NerdHerder is a causal mobile game that involves motion-based puzzle solving. The game’s premise is that you are hired as an IT manager, and your job is to use “management skills” to get the unruly nerd employees back to work in their cubicles. The core game mechanic relies on the physical position and movement of the handheld device …

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