Augmented reality is one of the main features of iOS 11, Apple confirmed at its WWDC event last month. The iPhone maker already released the tools developers need to come up with various AR apps that will work on a variety of supported devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and we already saw a bunch of impressive demos of ARKit apps. A short video shows us what it’ll be possible for games when AR is included, and the iPhone 8 might offer us a gaming experience that’ll have no rivals.
Posted on Twitter, the following video shows us a game built on the Unreal Engine platform, and adapted to work with Apple’s ARKit:
The Machines running on #ARKit powered by #UE4! https://t.co/xC4hum7dhk @EpicGames @UnrealEngine #ar #AugmentedReality @Apple pic.twitter.com/5rOpUIlDuA
— Directive Games (@DirectiveGames) July 21, 2017
The app uses ARKit to overlay game graphics over an object in the real world, turning the entire game into an unparalleled experience.
Moving around the table or getting closer to the action will change the whole perspective, far beyond the zoom in and zoom out features that would be available in a traditional non-AR game.
These experiences should be available on a variety of devices, not just the iPhone 8. But Apple’s 2017 iPhones will feature faster chips and better graphics, which should turn them into devices that are even better suited to consume graphics-intensive AR content like the game above.
The only downside to the whole experience is that you still have to hold the iPhone in front of you and touch the screen to interact with objects. But even so, AR gaming already looks incredible in these demos.
