Frederik Maucksch & Matthias Wolff work at xymatic, an interdisciplinary research & design practice. They developed ‘reflow’, an augmented reality game that works with the real-time camera image feed. Read abstract & bio…
Abstract:
‘Reflow’: The world is your level
Classic computer games usually build a virtual world forming the context of game-play, thus placing the game “inside of” the computer. We wanted to explore the space of interaction without the classic constraints. Reality based interaction has recently become very popular with the advent of devices like Wii and Kinect for example. Yet these devices exploit only one part of the potential by acting merely as a controller replacement on a spatially fixed console.
We wanted to pursue a different approach on the same matter. The dogma is: The world is your level. Levels in our game ‘reflow’ are only solvable if you change your surroundings, be it by building something, changing light conditions, finding a fitting perspective, asking someone for help – or just flexing your own body. As a result people using reflow are encouraged to actively explore their environment in search for aesthetic yet practical solutions.
This different concept of mobile gaming posed us with a number of interesting game design questions. We want to share our experiences on that matter by giving insights into the process of making right and wrong decisions on the way.
Additional Information & Resources:
Frederik Maucksch & Matthias Wolff work at xymatic, an interdisciplinary research & design practice. They developed ‘reflow’, an augmented reality game that works with the real-time camera image.
Visit xymatic’s website
Take a look at the ‘reflow’ promo video below:
