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How The Walking Dead: Our World Is Making AR Games More Social
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The Walking Dead is the newest franchise to enter the world of augmented reality games and just like the TV series and the comics, in the game, there is safety in numbers. Many augmented reality games are played as solitary experiences, walking around a map and engaging in activities. However, AMC's Clayton Neuman told me recently that was meant to be a much more social game. The social aspect of the game is enhanced by the addition of an in-game chat feature as well as the ability for players to permanently alter the map in ways that other players can take advantage of. According to Neuman...
If you build a safe house, now every single player playing the game in your area will be able to see that safehouse, will be able to use that safehouse, so it really gives you a better sense of community much more so than the genre has done to date. The genre can feel very, very solitary. We wanted to make sure the game felt very social. So encouraging you to join a group, having a strong chat feature, being able to work together to clear these mission, being able to see what other players have built in your world and interact with that and get rewards from that.
While many AR games, like Pokemon _GO_ have some community aspect to them, the vast majority of the game is played alone as you wanter the map capturing and fighting Pokemon. While players all join one of three teams, the opportunities for members of that team to actually work together are limited. Here, players are encouraged to not only join a group, but potentially set one up themselves, allowing their friends to join and play with them. Even if you aren't in a group, you can still take advantage of the work other players have done when you drop off a rescued survivor in a safe house that was placed somewhere on the map by some other player.
Games are always more fun when you have other people to play them with and it makes sense for a Walking Dead game to be more social. While other people are often the enemy on TV, it's clear that people trying to go it completely alone simply aren't going to make it. Whether The Walking Dead: Our World will ultimately prove more fun for mobile game fans than other AR entries may very well depend on these more social elements, at least for some. For others, simply the benefit of being able to blast walkers with a shotgun in their living room will likely be enough.
The social elements aren't the only wats that Our World is trying to improve AR gameplay. The title is also designed to give players plenty to do without leaving the house, so you won't need to go wandering all over your neighborhood to find stuff to do.
The Walking Dead: Our World is available on iOS and Android devices now.
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