Future of AR in mobile gaming
“Pikachu!! I choose you!!!!!”
Ever heard this iconic statement, you bet! If you have watched cartoon network during the 90s then I am quite sure that you're familiar with that line too.
But why I mentioned Pokemon in this article regarding AR or Augmented Reality?
The answer lies in the year 2016 when a game rose to height like anything. The game name was Pokemon go which was related to pokemon and uses AR for its core gameplay.
The game was very simple. You need to catch pokemon using your mobile. You simply need to see through your camera and they're on the screen you will see a pokemon and then you need to catch em all!!
Pokemon go can be called a revolution in terms of AR mobile gaming for common people. The game enables people to walk all around town and cities alike while catching different pokemon. The game was a massive hit. People were playing it like crazy. Although the whole trend reduced quickly thanks to the hype going down. But the game provided a lesson to every game developer that what a great AR game can do to a market and what great power AR games hold if executed correctly.
With cloud computing becoming advanced day by day and with the arrival of 5G technology, the whole concept of AR gaming for mobile will change for sure. With 5G, there will be no lagging while playing AR games with your friends and teammates. Cloud computing will do the majority of computing work and with help of 5G technology, the whole data can be seamlessly transferred between servers and using mobile. This will enable the user to play high processing powered required games seamlessly on their mobile phones.
The future of AR is very bright. We can hope for some serious revolution in AR technology with the advancement of AR glasses and software which will enable the developers to create AR-based content more easily and quickly.
The biggest hindrance for developing AR-based games is the processing power of mobile which can be solved in two ways i.e. advancement in mobile processor chip technology or by introducing cloud computing into the play. However, both options have certain disadvantages too. In the case of advancement related mobile chip processor, the R&D cost will be very time consuming due to its scientific and technological nature. It will take years and rapid technological advancement to develop a very high-power processor that can take the AR to next level. In the case of cloud computing, the price of server usage in such heavy AR-based computing can be exorbitant for companies as server computing depends on many factors, and the more the computing power requires, the more money you need to spend. So we can see that both of these options required some time before they become viable to take the AR gaming to next level.
However, it doesn’t mean that good AR games cannot be developed with current technology. We still have great scope and potential in the AR gaming field. AR games can be used especially in the case of horror and mystery games. Both these segments are very likable by the general populace and can offer a real deal to people.
AR when mixes with VR or Virtual Reality becomes MR which is known as Mixed reality.
Multinational companies like NVIDIA are working continuously to make high graphics AR/VR games in mobile as reality by introducing there cutting edge server farm. These server farms when combined with 5G internet connectivity will reduce AR games latency by a great margin.
NVIDIA can pack 40 of its NVIDIA Turing GPUs into an 8U blade form factor and this is a game-changer innovation. This server farm can support the streaming and rendering of the heaviest and demanding games at a level of NVIDIA RTX 2080 performance level. Isn’t it awesome!!
Do you know, what’s the best part? With the launching of Starlink satellites, everyone will get high-speed internet connectivity throughout the world via the satellite itself. With the Starlink system and 5G, the concept of AR gaming will surely take a new form and enable the player to render extremely high-quality models using their mobiles. Just think, by using AR your mobile can create a real-life talking avatar of your favorite characters like Darth Vader or Captain America. Not only that, but you can also play AR games with extremely powerful graphics within your mobile phone.
In China and Japan, there is a very different going on in single people and that is Virtual Girlfriends. This concept is pretty famous in China and Japan. There are different AI-powered virtual partners for users which makes them feel like they are dating someone. With the rapid advancement in AI, the virtual partner apps are getting more and more advanced. Now with the development of AR technology, this whole concept of virtual partner can be brought into real life. The AR technology combined with high tech servers and seamless connectivity will create real-life like girlfriend and boyfriend for users. The user will feel like his virtual partner is standing in front of his/her. This can be a game-changer move for those people who are going through loneliness throughout their life. With the rapid pace of modernization and urbanization, more and more young students and working-class are studying or working in the cities, which results in isolation due to their tight schedule. So an AR virtual partner combined with cutting edge server capability can change the whole scenario. People will pay for features like this which can make them feel happy again and help them to come out from loneliness.
After reading all the examples and cases, we can say that AR will play a huge role in the human future either in the game or in many different fields like education, medicines, and virtual assistant. There is a very huge opportunity for upcoming start-ups in this field. Whoever can leverage AR technology for mobile in the right way can have a very great chance to succeed in the market by a huge margin. It will change the way of how we perceive our world by using mobile phones for sure.