Augmented reality dinosaurs are here thanks to 'Jurassic World Alive'
Universal just announced Jurassic World Alive, a Pokémon Go-like game that lets players create their own dinosaur collections using augmented reality. Set to launch this spring, the game will be available on iOS and Android, and users can pre-register now.
The basics will sound familiar to Pokémon Go fans: it's a location-based game that allows players to discover dinosaurs by exploring the world around them. Dinosaurs in your surrounding area will appear on an in-game map, and certain types of dinosaurs will be unique to specific locations.
But one important difference between Jurassic World Alive and Pokémon Go is that players don't have to get out and walk around to nab the dinosaurs.
Instead, they can deploy an in-game drone to collect a nearby dinosaur's "DNA." Once you have the DNA, you can unlock the creature or use the DNA to create your own "hybrid" creature (yes, you can basically become a dinosaur-creating mad scientist).
"There's definitely that element of discovery, but we wanted to make it a little more flexible and also give you something to do at home," says Chris Heatherly, Universal's executive vice president of games.
As your collection grows, you can take your dinosaurs into battle to square off against other players, or show off your creations with life-sized dinosaur selfies.
A collaboration between Universal and game developer Ludia, the goal is to regularly refresh Jurassic World Alive with more dinosaurs for players to unlock. At launch, the game will have a little more than 100 dinosaurs, but the companies say it will be updated regularly with more creatures from the movie, as well as special "hybrid" and "super hybrid" animals that have more advanced capabilities.
"There's a major focus in this game on the hybrids and super hybrids to create this almost infinite matrix of possibilities," says Ludia CEO Alex Thabet.
And because the game uses augmented reality, the dinosaurs can scale to massive proportions, ranging from a couple feet tall to the size of two-story buildings.
"We really see this game as the future of the Jurassic World franchise on mobile," says Heatherly. "This is really the first time that we have allowed you to take the dinosaurs off the island and out of our storytelling world, and into your real world."
Topics Augmented Reality Gaming
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
