During the recently concluded Coachella weekends, hip-hop artist Childish Gambino had a pretty cool art installation where fans were able to experience a tour of a hallway with lights and mirrors. There was a sneak peek into an upcoming AR app that they were able to use with the Pixel 3 and enhanced the trippy art and AR installation. Now the app called Pharos AR, built using Google’s ARCore features, is now available for Android devices that support augmented reality features.
Pharos AR is not really a game but more of a multiplayer augmented reality experience (although you can also choose a single player version). The simple explanation is that you will be able to “travel” through Childish Gambino’s universe, which is apparently a cave with dancing, hidden glyphs. You can interact with these glyphs while still actually seeing and being in the real world.
Once you’ve found all the hidden glyphs in the first level, you will then be able to go deeper into the other worlds that he has created in the app. And of course you get to have some of his beats while you’re at it. The app recommends that you use headphones when playing around especially if you’re exploring by yourself.
While the app itself isn’t really made by Google, it was created through their developer’s platform for augmented reality called ARCore. The developers also used Unity, a 3D platform and through these two, they were able to create an app that brings the digital world into the physical world. Whether you’re a fan of Childish Gambino or you just like playing around with AR stuff, the app is a joy to experience.
You can download the Pharos AR app from the Google Play Store for free. Take note that some phones may not be able to run it because of some hardware requirements.
