Map-based augmented reality app Pokémon Go took the mobile gaming market by storm in 2016, quickly surpassing 30 million downloads during its first week on the App Store.
Map-based augmented reality app Pokémon Go took the mobile gaming market by storm in 2016, quickly surpassing 30 million downloads during its first week on the App Store.
Though the app’s user numbers have died down since its release, developer Niantic’s ongoing efforts to improve the game have allowed the app to retain a sizable, loyal userbase over time.
However, despite Pokémon Go’s success drawing attention to the AR genre, there aren’t many other similar titles worth mentioning — except, perhaps, Niantic’s upcoming Harry Potter-themed AR game set to release sometime in 2018 .
As Engadget notes, one of the potential reasons there aren’t many good map-based AR games out there could be the difficulty associated with developing them. To develop such a game, developers usually need to rely on semi-closed map frameworks that aren’t typically intended for game development.
This forces developers to jump through numerous technical hoops to turn their project into a reality, likely leading many to abandon their ideas entirely.
Fortunately for developers, that could be changing soon. According to a video recently published by Google web developer George Portillo, the search giant will soon offer developers the ability to take advantage of a Google Maps API to obtain real-time Maps data.
The Google Maps API will integrate into the Unity game engine, allowing developers to transform real-world buildings, roads and more into custom objects tailored to their game’s theme.
The Google Maps API will integrate into the Unity game engine, allowing developers to transform real-world buildings, roads and more into custom objects tailored to their game’s theme. For example, if a developer was creating a medieval-themed AR title, they could convert real-world hotels into «restorative inns.»
So far, three games are taking advantage of the Maps API: Jurassic World Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and Ghostbusters World .
«With Google Maps, we can count on providing the most up-to-date location data, meaning that when new buildings or roads are built, we’ll have them in our game,» Walking Dead developer Next’s CEO Teemu Huuhtanen said in a statement. «This enables us to create an immersive experience, tied to the players’ location.»
