During the Christmas season of 2006 all I wanted was a Nintendo Wii. It felt like the future had arrived, and I couldn’t miss it. As a kid, I didn’t know the concept of motion sensor gaming had been something people have been working on for years previously. Other than that one scene from the The Wizard, the gaming technology from the Wii was a foreign concept to me, and I couldn’t be more excited to get my hands on it.
I knew from the jump that I would love it, but I didn’t expect that everyone in my family would too. Growing up I was the only kid my age in the family. I spent a lot of time with aunts, uncles, and grandparents who didn’t have the same passion for games as I did. So it was quite a change of events, when a month into the Nintendo Wii’s launch, my entire family was in front of the TV throwing virtual bowling balls and knocking homers.
Despite being an unfamiliar technology to most of my family, everyone was excited to get involved. And being the fierce competitors we are, there was plenty of friendly trash talk being thrown around. Over the course of the Wii’s lifespan, I’ve created memories with family and friends that will last forever. There’s something about sharing an experience with people you care about, that when you look back at those moments, they hold a special place in your heart.
And this is where Snapchat comes in. Or maybe I should say, Snapchat and Augmented Reality. Snapchat is the leader in showing your average social media user what is possible with Augmented Reality. Their Lens Studio provides creator with a myriad of impressive tools to bring AR content to people’s phones. And even though Instagram has done great with Spark AR, I don’t think they are as far as Snapchat is when it comes to the development of features that show off the best of AR. I’m also part of a creative team that focuses specifically on the development of Snapchat Lenses, so you can say I have an invested interest in what the future of the platform holds.
Everyone is wondering what the future of AR is going to look like. What will it be its primary use, what devices will it live on, and what’s going to be that killer app? All questions consumers and tech savvy entrepreneurs are pondering. I’m not sure what the answer is. Most of the highly technical AR stuff goes right over my head. But I do have a feel like something is missing.
And that something is the experience the Nintendo Wii gave us years ago. A new technology, largely foreign to the people playing with it, but yet everyone is given the opportunity to enjoy it together. With AR on Snapchat, we’re stuck in our own little bubbles. Throw on some doggy ears and send it to your friends. Or transform the world around to you something exotic and walk around your living room for a bit. All of these experiences are short lived and forgettable. They usually begin with you and end with you. And yes, there are games on Snapchat, but they suck and I’ve never seen anyone play them. I believe that if Snapchat introduces more experiences that invite others around you to jump in front of the camera and have fun, there will be an increase in people who don’t know much about AR engaging with it a higher level than before. People will make unforgettable memories with a new, strange technology like they did with the Nintendo Wii years ago. And because of that, AR will have a new place in people’s hearts.
Yeah, I know. Just my imagination running away with me. But, I do have some ideas that have been spinning in my head for a truly multiplayer AR experience on Snapchat. I’m not sure when any of these will be technically feasible, or even if Snapchat is interested in becoming the next Nintendo Wii. But fuck it, here are some mockups of Snapchat Lenses I have thought up in my head. All of which are designed by the great Steve Snygin. Follow him here Steve Snygin.
You and a friend are in a room together. One of you is looking through the Snap camera on your phone. A number of treasure chests are placed in the room that only the person holding the phone sees. The other friend will be looking for the chests. When the timer starts, the camera holder will tell the person on the other side of the camera where the treasure chests are. The person will have to bend down and “open” the treasure chest by doing a “lifting motion”. The goal is to find the treasure chest with the treasure before time runs out. You and your friends can break up into teams and compete to see who gets the best score.
You and your friend are at a park. You want to have a race to see whose the fastest. First someone finds a nearby bench to place their phone on. Obviously Snapchat is open. You then use the lens to place a virtual finish line somewhere in space. Then you and your friend will walk backwards from the phone to a place where you want to start. When you begin running, the Lens will notice the movement and begin a timer. You and your friend race, and the winner will be determined by whoever the Lens saw cross the finish line first. You and your friend will be able to watch and share the replay of the race.
This Lens lets you and your friends play out a scene from one of your favorite movies inside any room. Like the idea above, you will place your phone on some object where it can record your room. The Lens will transform your room into a popular movie scene. You and your friends will be able to reenact the scene however you want. When it stops recording, you can share the new scene with others.
So there it is! Thanks for reading and I hope some of these ideas helped you spark some ideas of your own. Hopefully in the near future Snapchat will be a major part in introducing AR to the masses. And if not, nobody can say we didn’t think about it!
If you’re interested in what we’ve been up to on Snapchat, check us out at whatifbelief.com. Also, follow me on Twitter @David_O_J . Stay winning!
