If you bought your first mobile
phone in the early-to-mid-2000s, there's a good chance that it was a Nokia and
it had the game Snake preinstalled. While mobile gaming has moved on to bigger
things, those who still yearn for simple games with a dose of the future can
now play a Snake-like in AR via ARSnake for iPhone and iPad. For the youngsters
out there, Snake is simple: guide your snake within a square grid towards food,
which increases the snake's length, while avoiding the walls or your own tail.
The game has enjoyed a revival in recent years as a multiplayer online version
of the game called Slither.io (iOS | Android). That smartphone version adds a
survival element, where you must also avoid running into other snakes.
ARSnake takes the Slither.io
aesthetic and adds a third dimension to the gameplay. AR ends up being the
ideal environment to navigate the game's dynamic. In ARSnake, you swipe left
and right to move horizontally, and up and down to dive or ascend the
aquarium-like space, collecting coins, stars, and food along the way. Players
can opt for manual or auto tracking of their reptilian avatars, with a speed
boost available for those who feel the need. While it does require iOS 11, the
game doesn't appear to run on ARKit, as it is compatible with older iPhone and
iPad models that do not meet the hardware requirements for the platform. This
is evident after a few minutes of gameplay, as the AR elements don't anchor to
surfaces.
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