Coming out this April for the iPhone and iPod Touch:
The gun has two triggers, left and right. The left trigger fires normal guns at the aliens who appear on the screen and the right trigger fires stun bombs. The camera on the front of the iPhone shows the real world through your viewfinder so the aliens seem to come at you as you aim down the sights.
Call me old fashioned, but why would I prefer 2nd trigger to fire a “stun bomb” over a simple button on the forend of the gun?
The side profile of the gun, as shown below just makes it look down right confusing:
And what’s with the configuration? Is it a bullpup? Is it not a bullpup? These are the kind of things that keep me up at night. :P
If they were going for a non realistic looking gun design then they definitely succeeded. I guess it’s less threatening especially when you are dealing with augmented reality. I’d duck and find cover, then punch someone in the face if I saw them playing an augmented reality game on a realistic looking AR-15 in public.
It’s interesting how the triggers control those little arms which actually push the touch screen, rather than interfacing with the iDevice directly through the dock port (which I assume they could have done). Probably a lot cheaper this way though.
Hat tip: ActiveDad
Comments
6 responses to “AppGun – Augmented Reality Shooting”
Just an FYI… To actually interface through the dock port is a HUGE PITA. You have to send Apple all sorts of design documents and prototypes when you apply. If your application gets accepted, you then are “allowed” to purchase a special chip which has some sort of encryption keys on it. Any “authorized” application that utilizes the dock port MUST incorporate one of these chips into their design, which adds cost to both the hardware and to the software development.
So, I can totally relate with why they chose to do it the way that they did.
Keep up the great blog!
Brent
Ah! That whole “special chip” thing you mentioned would likely be the reason why my sister’s 2 old FM transmitters don’t work her new iPod. What a pain!
Glad you like the blog! Thanks for following it.
Don’t play this at the airport…or within 1000 feet of a politician…lol
Actually that looks like a truly innovative weapon design — why, you’ve got all the benefits of a snubnose-length barrel with the increased accuracy from a shoulder stock!
Also with the screen buttons you can play with out the gun assy
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