cARds: A series of augmented reality card games

Almost everyone knows a few card games. The simplicity and flexibility of 52 pieces of numbered card stock is unrivaled. How could one take what's best about "analog" card games, and add a digital layer of flexibility?

The project began with the idea that through AR integration, one physical card could represent countless virtual realities. This mechanic lets several players use the same "controller" but can hide what one player is seeing from another – to collaborative, or competitive ends. Sound interesting? Check out the demo. 

Games created

Classic

This game replicates the functionality of standard playing cards, placing 52 images of playing cards on top of the target objects. The cards can simulate shuffling by switching the assignment of AR trackers and trackable objects.

classic_allscreens

Numbers

Numbers replaces the images of playing cards with.. well, numbers. The game’s intent is for two players to use the same set of 5 cards – but each player views 5 different numbers.

Cards-flow

Players attempt to place the cards in ascending numerical order and can move one card per turn. The numbers fade from the player’s view after 5 seconds, forcing the player to remember the order of their cards. Players get 3 lives that restore the view of the cards for 5 seconds each. The first player to place their cards in order wins.

numbers_allscreens

2D puzzle

This game has three separate puzzles within it. Each splits a photograph into several parts and puts each part on a separate AR target card. The user attempts to piece the images together into a whole picture.

2dpuzzle_allscreens

3D puzzle

Essentially, this game is similar to a physical “wooden block” game, where several interlocking pieces create a cube when arranged in a specific way. Each piece is mapped to a single AR target card.

3dpuzzle_allimages

Application features

Show / hide functionality

Reveals or hides all game objects within a specific scene. In the numbers game, the show functionality has a script attached to only reveal an object for a set number of seconds before hiding it again.

Onboarding / tutorial

Within numbers, a tutorial explains the rules of gameplay step by step. A light version of this can be found before entering the puzzle games as well.

Life counter

Numbers contains a very simple life counter, essentially created out of layered buttons. Each time “show” is pressed, one life vanishes from the count.

Player / scene switch

Most games include an element that switches up the object / augmented layer relationship, whether that means switching player modes, or between different games.

Menu button

Found in every game, this allows players to navigate back to the main menu.

Application flow

scene

Technology & takeaways

Unity is a flexible application, with use cases outside games

This was the first non-tutorial project I completed in Unity, and it opened my mind to what was possible. From physics applications to animation, to UI design, to VR / AR integration, Unity is one of the most open-ended applications I've played with.

 

A better tracking / trackable object solution is needed for this application to really work.

 One of the biggest downfalls of my approach was how easily confused my trackable objects were. I worked around it and found a reasonably reliable solution, but it's nowhere near "consumer-ready".

 

With AR glasses, this concept could be great.

Holding up a phone is awkward. A few of these concepts (Numbers, for example) consider this constraint in the gameplay mechanic. But, even there, it doesn't feel quite like "it just works" yet. AR glasses seem like the most likely innovation to give this a natural feeling.

 

tech_stack