Augmented Reality has come a long way in recent years. As the technology matures, it becomes more and more impressive what can be achieved. This cutting edge tech demonstration developed for GAME Store’s Mall of Africa launch is part of a new generation of AR apps capable of running on a mobile device in a browser.
When you think of web design, the well-known technologies come to mind – HTML, CSS and Javascript. As web applications mature, so too is the ability to now build complete 3D experiences directly in the browser. Advances with modern javascript and libraries such as 8th Wall, a-frame and three.js now makes it possible to construct phenomenal experiences for web browsers on mobile devices.
I had the opportunity to build the AR experience for the GAME Store’s Mall of Africa launch in collaboration with Fuzzy Logic. Together with a small team, we created a little bit of magic. The app features 8 products in a virtual space. Once the user selects one of these objects, they have an opportunity to place them through Augmented Reality, in a real-world environment. In a way, this is “try before you buy”. You can get a pretty good idea what the object will look like in your home space, especially since the experience is scale matched. If you like it, link directly to the GAME online store to purchase.
The team that helped to bring this to life is Dylan Atkins, acting as the Lead 3D artist, alongside Devon Kirchner as a fellow 3D artist under the careful watch of Luan Joubert. My responsibility in this project is to bring these resources together into a virtual experience as lead Developer.
Well done to everyone involved! Be sure to give the app a go while it’s still available, at storeofthefuture.game.co.za