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Keita Takahashi, the developer behind cult PlayStation titles Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy, is to bring his quirky sensibilities to the world of AR.
Takahashi is working alongside the rest of his team at studio Funomena on a new game built around Google’s augmented reality technology Project Tango.
The in-development platform combines 3D motion tracking with depth sensing in order to track a mobile device’s position within physical space, adding another layer of spatial response to AR.
Funomena’s new game is called Woorld (with two ‘o’s) and is said to capitalise on Tango’s ability to “mix digital and physical play”.
Players will be able to use the camera and display on a compatible smartphone or tablet to overlay the title’s environments and characters onto real life, before interacting with them.
The single GIF released of the game shows a similar visual style to that of Takahashi’s past games, with the player seemingly equipped with a pair of toy-like gripper arms that extend from their mobile device.
“Designed to be accessible, open-ended and full of surprises, Woorld is just the beginning of the magical things we hope to do with AR and VR technologies,” Funomena co-founder and CEO Robin Hunicke said.
More details are planned for reveal later this week at Google’s I/O conference.
