Pokemon GO’s melding of AR sprites with real-world locations caused a sensation two years ago. Now Google threatens to revolutionize augmented reality gaming by offering developers the opportunity to build their games on Google Maps. This could be huge.
FourThirtyThree Inc. used Google Maps APIs to create their upcoming Ghostbusters game. Similar to Pokemon GO, Ghostbusters lets players hunt ghosts in real-world locations. However, adding sprites à la Pokemon GO is just the tip of the iceberg of what can be done with Google Maps APIs.
Developers can now use Google Maps and the Unity game engine to do what they will with the real world. Google turned Maps features like buildings, streets and parks into GameObjects in Unity that developers can manipulate as they wish. Buildings can be made larger, smaller or completely reskinned, textures can be added, cities or towns of any kind can be built on real-world street networks.
Imagine what kind of games can be made with Google Maps and Unity. Your favorite game world could be recreated in your neighborhood. Flash-mob-like gaming days could be created by turning public spaces such as New York’s Central Park into cyberpunk cities or fantasy worlds for the weekend. Your smartphone could become your most important gaming peripheral.
Google’s meld of Maps with Unity is a literal game changer for games, but it could be much more. Consider some other possibilities.
- Cities could promote tourism with augmented reality tours of historically interesting locations. Imagine seeing Jack the Ripper’s Victorian-era Whitechapel on your mobile device as you walk down the same streets in London today. Visit the street and see the wall that gave Wall Street its name. The municipality pays to have the augmented reality app built, and then benefits from increased tourisn without any further investment.
- Small towns or villages could let visitors wander their streets and see what the town looked like 200, 500, or 1,000 years ago. Europe’s dilapidated castles, churches and manor houses could be recreated for modern visitors.
- The kind of seasonal events that are common in persistent online gaming worlds could be brought to real cities. Washington DC’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival could be turned into a city-wide celebration of spring. Downtown LA could be turned into a winter wonderland for a week in December for people who miss snow on Christmas.
- Visitors to the Vatican could stand in the Sistine Chapel and watch Michelangelo paint the ceiling. Visitors to Gettysburg could walk the fields in the midst of Picket's charge or stand in Soldier's National Cemetery while Lincoln delivers his famous address.
You could walk up the Champs-Élysées and see a fire-breathing dragon roaring atop the Arc de Triomphe, or stand on 5th Avenue and watch King Kong climb the Empire State Building, or stand outside the gates and watch a troll come out of the White House. Google provides the world, software engineers provide the content, and imagination is the only limit. This could be huge.
