What if invaders from outer space arrive? Take them down and that obviously needs some practice. Google and Taito — the company that released the original version of Space Invaders in 1978 — have brought a new version of the game, powered by augmented reality, for the mobile. The two companies had announced Space Invaders: World Defense at Google I/O in May.
Augmented reality is a technology that has been promoted for years and while we wait for Apple’s Vision Pro headset to arrive, there have been quite a few AR success stories, one the biggest being Niantic’s Pokémon Go which remains a popular mobile game. Google is hoping to make a hit out of its partnership with Taito.
In the game, Space Invaders appear from rooftops, hide behind structures and hover in the sky. “Through global immersive gameplay, players from all over the world have to work together to save the planet. Players explore their neighbourhoods to discover new Space Invaders and score points by taking them down. They can unlock special power-ups, compete with friends for the top score near their location and share their achievements on social media with an AR selfie,” said Steven Silva, senior product manager, Google, about the game that’s rolling out on Android and iOS.
The game is powered by ARCore and Geospatial API and the immersive gameplay adapts to the player’s real world, including location, time and local weather.
In 1977, Tomohiro Nishikado, a Japanese game designer, started working on a game often cited as the first in the shoot-’em-up genre and the following year, the first version of Space Invaders was released.
But it’s not the best of times for AR games. Niantic has shut down games from big brands like Harry Potter, Transformers, and the NBA and laid off employees. Microsoft shut down a Minecraft AR game in 2021 and CD Projekt Red has shut down its The Witcher AR game.
Mathures Paul