ARKit is one of the most exciting AR frameworks developed by Apple. With this new AR platform comes very high expectations. We are already seeing some new AR teasers for upcoming Apple AR titles and one of those titles that really caught my attention was a game called ARrived, a new ARKit augmented reality game developed by Luden.io.
ARrived is Luden.io's first Apple AR title. The developer has already shown some early alpha footage from this upcoming title. I have to admit that I was really thrilled with everything I've seen so far. One of the reasons I am really looking forward to this game is because it comes from the same developer who brought us the amazing InMind VR and VRobot VR titles. If you played one of these games, you can see that Luden.io is defeintely put strong focus on developing unique, engaging and immersive titles.
I visited their official website, and although there isn't any information about this title on the main domain, there is plenty on their twitter page (@luden_io) and on their blog at blog.luden.io. The company seems to be very excited about developing games very early on for this platform and sees this platform as a large canvas to publish its creative ideas.
ARrived is a god simulation quest where you assume the role of a patron who is job is to guide his virtual tribe and make it prosper in the augmented reality world it resides in. The tribe and its surrounding world reside in the physical space you decide to play the game at. It can be on a desk, couch, table, on the floor, etc. This virtual world is then viewable and comes alive through your iPhone or iPad's display. ARrived supports all the devices that ARKit is compatible with, starting with iPhone 6s and up, iPad Pro and iPad (2017)—actually all the iOS devices with A9 or A10 chip.
What really caight my attention was how adorable the characters are in this game. You can check out the gameplay trailer or visit their twitch and check it out yourself. It's amazing to watch how the characters interact with the environment and seeing how their funny animations come to live inside the physical space you decide to play the game in.
In one of the demo animated GIFs on Twitter, you can see how the player manipulates clouds to make the weather better for his tribe. There will be many other interactions, of course, and your decisions will have a direct impact on those people lives and you can even see how they react to those changes using a smiley face above their heads.
From what I've read so far about the game on other websites. it seems that it's going to be a simple game, without too many strategy gameplay mechanics complexities and deep progression system. I think that simplicity is an important aspect of games, especially if you want to appeal to a very large player base. We've already seen how a game like Pokeom Go captured the mobile gaming world by storm, and it was a very simplistic yet addictive game. Of course we'll know more about this game as new game updates are share publicky.
ARRived features beautiful cartoony art-style design which perfectly fits his funny and entertaining gameplay aspect. I was also very impressed with the Light Estimation (which is part of the ARKit framework) that applied the accurate lighting effects to make the characters, objects, and the environment itself seamlessly blend in with the physical world that it is projected on and virtually resides in.
We in vrgamesfor.com will continue to follow the development of this project and post more new and updates as it's revealed by the developer. I highly recommend visiting their twitter page where you can stay up-to-date with the latest development progression and see some cool gameplay videos from within the game itself.
Image credit: Luden.io