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By striking the right cords of harmony between digital and conventional aspects, board games are coming up with winning combinations, to help create more compelling and immersive experiences for their players.
Believe it or not, board games have been around for nearly 5,000 years. They have changed greatly over time and the market currently comprises a wide variety of them. Types of game options range anywhere from traditional, strategic or those that are just for fun. No matter which kind you play, advanced technology is not something one thinks of when discussing or playing board games.
Exciting special effects, such as fog, were not possible to create or integrate in to traditional board games. However, through technological advancements and the introduction of AR and VR, or augmented reality and virtual reality, the inconceivable is now becoming the conceivable.
Major players in the digital and tech markets, such as, Google and Apple are taking notice of this emerging trend, and have now made tools like Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit, accessible to developers.
But how can the introduction of augmented reality or virtual reality integrate into the progression of tabletop games?
In order to stay relevant in this ever changing world that focuses an absorbent amount of time on mobile devices, tangible board games will have to undergo some major modifications. The latest in AR technology incorporates both, the fundamentals of mobile gaming, with that of palpable board games. Merging AR technology with conventional board games, helping to enrich the gaming experience, is exactly what Oracles Game has accomplished.
Oracles Game is a Toronto tech company started in 2017, by entrepreneur and founder, Sean Toussi. Sean came up with the idea for a hybrid board game while playing with his friends at a board game café. He found enjoyment in the socially engaging experience that was created by human interactions, while taking place in a physical environment. With Toussi’s background in mobile applications development, however, he felt that something was missing, and that the limitations of tabletop games could be solved through the use of augmented reality. Thus, began the creation of Oracles Game.
Oracles is a hybrid strategy type board game, that accommodates two to ten players, and combines the cutting edge technology of augmented reality with tangible elements of the conventional tabletop games.
The augmented reality mobile application is compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems, while the physical board game functions no differently than any other traditional tabletop game.
Players are divided into two teams and given three different game mode options.
While playing in the first mode the leader chosen for each team will be known as The Oracles, and they will be the only ones with the ability to use the AR mobile application. This permits them to observe each of the special characters and their assigned elements, in order to best strategize and lead their teams victoriously.
The second mode will benefit all game players, not just the leaders, by allowing everyone to view the characters and features on a projected screen, through the use of AR. This will elevate game play and truly create an immersive playing experience.
The last selection of play removes the augmented reality component entirely, giving Oracles players total flexibility and convenience.
Sean, and his team of more than 30 members, have been diligently working around the clock to help bring Oracles to life. The games entirety, from creating each character’s expansion, to the games mechanics, all the way to the marketing of the brand, has been meticulously developed. The integration and progressive work has already begun on the distinct characters and elements, as has the AR advancement for the character cards that will be bringing each character to full animation.
Although, some of the problematic tasks have already been finished on this project, funds are still needed for the completion of their augmented reality component. So Sean, along with his amazing team, is taking Oracles Game to Kickstarter.
The board game community is already reeling with excitement and anticipation for the arrival of Oracles, as it is sure to elevate board games to a whole new level.
