Google has unveiled a new augmented reality game called “Space Invaders: World Defense,” developed in collaboration with Japanese game studio TAITO, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the original Space Invaders. In a blog post, Google announced that players will be able to use their smartphones to shoot virtual aliens in the real world.
Similar to the popular game Pokemon Go, Space Invaders: World Defense encourages players to venture out into the real world to combat aliens emerging from buildings and rooftops. Google emphasizes that the game offers a “global immersive gameplay” experience, enabling players from all over the world to collaborate in the fight against the invading aliens.
Players can accumulate points by defeating aliens and exploring their surroundings to discover additional extraterrestrial threats. The game also includes a leaderboard for friendly competition among nearby players, the ability to share achievements on social media using augmented reality (AR) selfies, and the opportunity to unlock special power-ups.
To create an engaging experience, the game utilizes ARCore and the Geospatial API. This enables the game to leverage the immediate surroundings, nearby buildings, landscapes, and other architectural elements to design captivating levels in the real world with both AR and 3D effects on the screen. Google emphasizes that the gameplay automatically adapts to the player’s real-world factors, such as their location, local weather conditions, and the time of day.
Space Invaders: World Defense was initially announced at this year’s Google I/O conference and is available for both iOS and Android devices, allowing users on both platforms to participate in the alien-fighting fun.
