Project: AR Race

Concept

The concept of this project is a spacecraft racing game, where the player can navigate a spaceship using a joystick, gamepad, keyboard, mouse or via “marker-navigation and -interaction”. Goal of the game is to fly through a preset number of gates in a certain time limit. There are additional features such as animated and moving gates, items to pick up and enemies disturbing your flight and competing against you.
The key feature of this project is the idea that the user can grab a number of paper markers and distribute them in the (real) room at free will. Afterwards the virtual gates and the spaceship will appear on these markers, so that the player can freely change the course every time he/she plays. The focal point of this study is an easy-to-use input-device: which kind of interaction suits the augmented system best? - See shots and videos below to get an impression.

Media

AR Race level

An early screenshot of AR Race, showing distributed markers and augmented level objects.

AR Race marker menu

One way to interact with the game menu: pointing a marker that is connected to an arrow. We mounted the menu markers onto the palms of the hands, that during regular game play (markers not visible) you race your track and once you twist your wrists and the menu markers appear the game will pause.

AR Race collision with real world

Collision detection with the real world (unknown geometry) objects was realized by putting up reference markers and by assuming planes below horizontal put markers, etc. Additionally, cast shadows were possible outside of marker’s geometry surfaces.

Marker based tracking: first we start building our level by spreading the markers across the room or a table, etc. Then we set up an Head Mounted Display or a camera. In our demo we only use a single webcam, as seen in the video. The player grabs the joystick and can start immediately… (see last video)

A new method to control and manipulate the objects is shown below: special markers (with wrenches appearing as tools) can resize the objects or exchange the models.

The final game. Starting off alone, racing against the time. Later, enemies will get in your way and you have to dodge or shoot them.