Everybody who has tried laser tag will testify to the ridiculous amounts of fun you can have in a game, but that is usually restricted to really expensive birthday parties and laser tag sessions on a weekend. You can’t just up-and-go “I want some laser tag action right now”, unless of course, this new game called “father.io” comes to life. The idea is an MMO game with a laser tag-like experience and augmented reality (AR) elements. It’s certainly ambitious, and it wants your money to fund its launch.
The idea is, you strap a small module – called the “Inceptor” and will cost you USD$25 – to your smartphone and connect to it via Bluetooth. This module will use infrared to “shoot” other players of the game, as far as 50 meters away. The makers of the game says that the beam is focused enough so that it can be used to hit a specific hitbox.
Any game of laser tag will need a good map or maze – this game uses your surroundings via AR. Father.io will use data from OpenStreetMap and uses over 12 million locations in the real world as game elements. This means that shops, grocery stores, and even gas stations can become bases and supply depots for gameplay. A hospital might serve as a health recovery area. Pretty cool.
The AR part will be boosted by a faction vs. faction story, very much like the wildly successful “Ingress”. The app will be free to download, but you will have to pony up for the USD$25 Inceptor module. But even if you don’t buy the module, you can still join the game by taking on some non-shooting roles, like a medic or a repair guy. But where’s the fun in that, right? Check out the game’s Indiegogo campaign at the source link.
SOURCE: Indiegogo
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