Game Loop

With iOS 11 available at last, Brianna wu is excited about its augmented reality potential.

- Brianna Wu

Gamers, it’s time to get excited. Thanks to iOS 11 and ARK, games are about to enter an entire new realm: The real world. Apple’s tools are cutting edge, they work, and indie game developers are putting together fascinating concepts.

ARK is Apple’s development framework for augmented reality. The idea is to add to what is in physical space by graphically overlaying elements on it. Pokémon Go was a very rough prototype of the idea, having you hunt Pokémon in the real world; it’d detect the ground, plot out the space around you, and enable you to walk around the Pokémon as if it were physically there.

Soon, you’ll be able to take family portraits with Pikachu. We promise not to judge.

All this sounds like science fiction, but it’s really happening. Apple announced ARK at WWDC this year with iOS 11. Now that developers have had a chance to experiment with this exciting new technology, apps are coming out. So far they are quirky and more experimental than practical - but they do show the possibilities.