Could Six Engineering Students Change The Augmented Reality Gaming World?
Have you ever gone to a laser tag place? Paintball? Have you heard of LARP? These are all types of games that simulate a war experience. And although technology has been developing quite well in the recent decade we still have to wait and hope for a good augmented reality experience, which takes the MMO aspect of computer games and applies it to real-world stimulated war experiences such as laser tag, paitball or even LARP. Could a project for such a game already be in motion?
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The simple answer is ‘yes’ and it is called The Athár Project. But what exactly is Athár?
In the minds of its creators Athár is a multiplayer massive online augmented reality game and if everything turns out as expected it could very well change the gaming world.
Athár is quite an interesting combination of game features. It is a game with a story, leveling up, shooting people (in a simulated way, of course), capturing territories, unlocking achievements, creating or joining a team and getting into rivalries and probably way more.
The game will feature a lot of fictional historical events and the creators are hoping it will quickly become the base for an e-sport. Moreover, everything you need in order to play pay-wise is purchasing the Athár device that makes everything possible.
After you put the device on your wrist you are already in the game. You will become a part of the underground war. You and your friends will be able to create a team or join even a bigger one and capture (in-game) different real-world locations, which will bring different bonuses to your team. If a territory is already captured by another team, they will be notified that you want to capture it and the real augmented battle can start.
If you do not want to wait or go capturing, you may enter or create a game via the matchmaking system, where you will basically specify a location and time and wait for others to join.
As you level up your character you will also be unlocking different weapons and abilities. They will help you in the game by letting you deceive the enemy, raise fallen comrades and more.
Everything will be tracked by the companion app, which will be released on both iOS and Android devices (Windows Phone is under consideration). The device, which will hold your phone, will be your augmented reality weapon.
Developers of the Athár project have promised the release of new information as soon as 30th December hits. If you are interested you can help the developers by backing them up on their Kickstarter page, which could grant you an early beta access. You can also visit their official website and Facebook page.
What do you think about the Athár project? Would you like to play a Massive Multiplayer Real-Life Experience? Let us know what you think in the comments below.