D&C Release
This week sees the release of Tricky Temple – Draw & Code’s unique take on the tower defence genre that utilises the Merge Cube AR (augmented reality) toy and game system. Following on from our previous releases with Merge VR, this is another familiar game-mechanic that has been turned on its head and placed into the hands of the player.
With over a million units sold since the Merge Cube’s launch in summer 2017, this accessible AR toy and game system is aimed at families, putting the burgeoning technology into the hands of a wide audience. The toy and its associated apps have featured in several Christmas must-have lists and is aimed at families rather than solely hardcore tech-enthusiasts. In fact, you can glimpse Tricky Temple in the latest TV advert for the Merge Cube. How cool is that?
Having already provided two of the Merge Cube’s launch titles – Defuse and Snake Attack – the team at Draw & Code set about using the six-sided Cube to create a game that make the most of this deceptively simple platform.
Tricky Temple shifts the tower defence format from a flat plane to a three dimensional world that is held in the player’s hand. Using gaze-controls, the player has to secure the riches of the temple by building one of four types of weapon before customising them. It’s your job to halt the ‘raiders’ before they take all your gold.
The game is part of the family-friendly array of mini-games and educational experiences, produced using Merge’s SDK, that are available to download from the Merge Miniverse store. Compatible with a broad swathe of Apple and Android mobile devices, the current range of titles are the result of a $1 million fund for developers from Merge VR.
AR Game
Back in the summer, Merge VR founder Franklin Lyons said that; “The Draw & Code team is on the forefront of creating amazing AR experiences—we’re happy and excited to be working with them to bring these new forms of play to people around the world.”
Since then the Merge Cube has been a hit with a largely US-centric launch that has brought in more than a million sales and is expected to climb further as Christmas approaches. Aiming to blend the latest high-tech mixed reality techniques with the accessibility of mobile apps, the Merge Cube is ideally paired with the Merge VR/AR Goggles. You can pick up both the Cube and the Goggles at Walmart, Amazon and Target.
“The Merge Cube is one of the early success stories in augmented reality and hopefully Tricky Temple will help keep that momentum going,” says Draw & Code’s John Keefe, “It’s exciting to be contributing to this product that promises to put the latest tech quite literally into the hands of the next generation.”
In early 2018 you can expect Draw & Code to continue their successful partnership with Merge VR as we bring more titles to their platforms. First up will be Boom Boom Galaxy Master – a multiplayer game that promises to take the Merge Cube to new places.
