Augmented reality game using open-source software

[carlfoxmarten]

Somebody (or a small group of individuals) is in the process of creating a maze game with an interesting twist: To control your character, you move a physical cube around in front of a webcam.

The project is called "levelHead", and uses a well-known branch of Computing Science called Augmented Reality (which, strangely enough, I've never heard of), and a demo video of the system in action is actually available on YouTube and also as a higher-quality ogg-theora file on the project page.

The point of the game is to escape from a set of six cubical rooms within the space of two minutes, with each room having exits to other rooms, some of which are actually traps that send you back to the starting room, causing you to waste precious time looking for the correct doors.

After looking at this project for awhile, I finally managed to get my webcam working (one of those really cheap ones that doesn't have a manufacturer or brand anywhere on the box or unit), so I'm going to see just how far I get with something along these lines.

(yes, I know this project will be released as open source once it's more-or-less finished, but I want to know how it works and this would be one way to do that)

Comments

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Awright. I should show this to the LJer by that name.

[carlfoxmarten]

I also thought of him when I saw this, despite the fact that I don't know him and have only heard of him...

[level-head.livejournal.com]

*chuckle*

Well, I am amused. But I've had a bit of exposure to "augmented reality" work in the medical imaging field.

Perhaps the cube itself is being thought of as the "head" to direct the character from level to level; I don't yet quite see the name source there.

And there's a band by that name, too.

Ah, but my own moniker is separated into two words; perhaps that underscores the difference. ];-)

Good luck with your explorations! And, belatedly, Hello; I too have heard of you, and know that it takes a lot of balls to produce the effect of your recent artwork. And we share a taste in a number of comic strips, though I haven't been active in the forums for some years now.

===|==============/ Level Head

[level-head.livejournal.com]

Thanks, by the way, for the introduction.

===|==============/ Level Head