AR RISING
A bird’s-eye view
Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs
As with the iconic original, the goal of Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs is to toss birds to bust buildings, retrieve stolen eggs and knock those green pigs down a few pegs.
But this time you’ll be flinging the feathered heroes at elaborate fortresses standing right in the middle of your living room. Isle of Pigs uses augmented reality (AR) to bring the famous avians into your world.
After a simple setup – just point your iPhone or iPad camera at a flat surface to establish an AR game world in yours – strongholds appear on remote islands dotted across your play space.
Then, heroes like Red, Chuck and Bomb hop into your slingshot. When you’re ready to shoot, tap the screen – or flick your device back for a more immersive experience.
“We really want to make it feel like each level lives on your table,” says Rovio’s extended-reality creative director Sami Ronkainen. “We hope it will encourage people to get up and walk around each level, lean in closer and just look at all the details.”
Indeed, there’s a lot to take in. If you hesitate to fire one of your feathery fellows, it might turn around and hurry you up; lean in near your lineup of birds and they’ll give you a wave. On a more practical level, you can even scope out the strongholds by examining them from every angle to find hidden items and weak points to attack.
“Space is a big element in this game, and we’ve really created new types of puzzles that weren’t possible before,” adds Ronkainen.