Meta Quest 2: AR game turns the apartment into a death trap
In the free AR game Dungeon Maker for Meta Quest 2, you build all sorts of "deadly" traps - right in the middle of your apartment.
Although the Meta Quest 2 only has black-and-white cameras, hobby developers are already creating amazing AR experiments with it. The free app Dungeon Maker lets you place deadly traps in your home: A deep pit of spikes suddenly appears on the floor or an axe swings above the sofa.
Dungeon Maker: Nasty traps in the apartment
The AR app from the developer "Field of Vision" makes use of the video view in Meta's VR headset. While you see the apartment through the cameras, the software inserts all the building blocks and nasty torture tools from the editor into the apartment in perspective.
With a simple circle menu you can equip your home with various "dungeon building blocks". They range from crawl tunnels to doors and keys to animated lava.
Walls, furniture and edges of the playing field can be covered with easily placed and scalable stone blocks. Or you can place a camouflage box to make traps set up behind it invisible. Augmented reality does the trick: The swinging virtual spiked club can finally be hidden easily.
After the setup, you can save all the mean traps in different slots.
Successful preview of future AR games
The result looks surprisingly believable. Perhaps the somewhat coarse black-and-white representation contributes to the fact that I question the existence of a deep pit in my living room less than I would with high-resolution color cameras. It's a fascinating feeling to stare into the depths and then cross them on a narrow board.
However, this is not yet a full-fledged AR game in the style of Dungeon Keeper. Instead, it's a very early version that doesn't even come with sound yet. The falling boulder from the ceiling should definitely get an angry scream: "Whomp" from Super Mario says hello!
When you sneak through the traps in your living room, there are also still no motivational factors or penalties to warn you to be careful. Developer "Field of Vision" already announced that they are working on collision detection, which in turn will make playful elements like damage points possible.
In the coming updates, additions like a lock, collisions, damage, sound and multiple lives per round are planned. Of course, you will get many more nasty traps in your torture box.
Decorating your home with deadly blocks and gadgets is nevertheless fascinating. The app already gives a glimpse of what the future of augmented reality might look like with future glasses. Such video AR glasses include the Meta Cambria or the Lynx R-1, and Apple and Google are also likely working on similar glasses.
Mixed Reality with the Meta Quest 2
"Dungeon Maker" is available on SideQuest. You need to install it via so-called Sideloading.
If you want to cover your apartment completely with textures, try the AR shooter Room Jam. All the furniture will turn into coffins or tombstones that will be overrun by zombies. Space Pirate Trainer DX uses a similar principle, but is more suitable for shooter duels in large halls or open spaces.
Read more about Meta Quest 2:
- Meta Quest (2): Arkio is a powerful tool for architecture & design
- Meta Quest 2: The best VR games
- Meta Quest 2: Learn to play the piano in mixed reality with Pianovision
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