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Minecraft augmented reality app announced for iOS

72 points| jipumarino | 13 years ago |mojang.com | reply

41 comments

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[+] josteink|13 years ago|reply
So creater of Minecraft rejects Microsoft's platform (Windows RT/8) because it's closed, moves on to develop for iOS.

Yes, I remember the idea, being that Windows used to be an open platform, so closing it down is bad. But so was Mac OS.

This is still hypocritical as heck.

[+] alanfalcon|13 years ago|reply
PCs need to be open, cell phones less so. PCs have ever been so, cell phones have not. That's not actually hypocritical however dischordant it may sound to some.
[+] jbackus|13 years ago|reply
I'm fairly certain the Minecraft community (especially the most involved subset that would buy an augmented reality Minecraft iPhone app) holds a lot of value to the game and Notch for not being profit driven (in their minds)[1][2][3]. Explaining this decision to the community bodes much better if they cite some set of developer ideals than if they were honest and said what we all know: a popular Minecraft iOS app will no doubt generate more revenue than pushing to the Microsoft equivalent would.

When it comes to heavily community dependent ventures like Minecraft or Reddit, there's no doubt that appearing to prioritize the community and product over profit, while holding more weight to profit behind the scenes, is a crucial for maintaining a positive company image.

1. https://twitter.com/carlmanneh/status/174987868786270209

2. http://www.minecraftforum.net/news/422-notch-gives-3-million...

3. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/mojang-employees-split-notch-...

[+] ihuman|13 years ago|reply
This isn't by Mojang, this is by 13th Lab.
[+] jbranchaud|13 years ago|reply
"You could put an exploding creeper in your school..."

I am not sure the placement of an explosive thing in a school was the best example they could have come up with. It's not that big of a deal, but it is just generally better to stay away from it.

[+] dyeje|13 years ago|reply
Interesting observation, I didn't even notice that.
[+] geuis|13 years ago|reply
Been using this on iPhone 5 for a few minutes. It works really well. The UI is well put together. 3d tracking is pretty spot on. I'm in a low-light room and it works fine. They seem to be having some server load issues at the moment, as I frequently am getting network connection errors from the app when it's looking for new models. That's a minor issue that I'm sure they'll get fixed.
[+] braco_alva|13 years ago|reply
I have a group of friends that were thinking about doing something similar, unfortunately for them, they were just starting to shape the idea, while Mojang seems very ahead in development.
[+] alanfalcon|13 years ago|reply
Plenty of room for more alternate/augmented reality worlds. See Gibson's Zero History for more examples (though not actually live and available, as in this case).
[+] Groxx|13 years ago|reply
Wow, anyone have the app? Is the tracking that good? That's way better than I tend to see.

That said, can't you define precise hardware requirements for apps? Why don't they restrict the sale of the app to exclude iPod 4th gen users, if it won't work on it?

[+] andrewfelix|13 years ago|reply
Seems suspiciously good, especially the lighting. One shot in particular where the plane reaches out of the laptop screen is unimaginably impressive.
[+] jellyksong|13 years ago|reply
The actual iOS app seems pretty buggy at the moment. Many of the ratings are exceedingly negative.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/minecraft-reality/id57799155...

[+] Maxious|13 years ago|reply
"Note: Not supported for iPod Touch 4G or earlier. Most functionality is not available on iPhone 4."

... with many negative comments from iPhone 4 users who ignored that note. The video looked so good compared to Layar on Android - is the hardware in the iPhone 5 "better" for AR somehow? Or is the video just picking the best case scenarios?

[+] sukuriant|13 years ago|reply
I'm hoping there's some sort of flagging models as unacceptable. If anyone can put anything anywhere, then I expect a large number of trolling images like penises and schwasticas to be ... everywhere.
[+] jbackus|13 years ago|reply
Kind of funny that Microsoft, Sony, and Mojang all attempted to solve their market saturation based profit deceleration (Xbox 360, PS3, and Minecraft respectively) issues with computer vision supplements (Kinect, PlayStation Move, augmented reality app respectively). Any doubt that further integrating and improving computer vision in gaming will be the dominant industry move over the next few years?
[+] NathanKP|13 years ago|reply
In the demo video the augmented elements seem to blend very well into the surrounding dynamic lighting. In the real world it never looks that good, especially in an outdoor setting where the lighting changes throughout the day.
[+] popopje|13 years ago|reply
anyone curious what similar apps were available for android, http://www.augmentedev.com/home.php seems quite nice - i'm not entirely convinced by the process, it could use some streamlining.. but it is reasonably easy to upload your own 3d model and use a qr code to view/share and the result is pretty good.

I assume this mojang app uses markers too?

[+] mendocino|13 years ago|reply
> I assume this mojang app uses markers too?

No! That's what makes it so awesome. It analyses the scenery and infers your position as you walk around.

[+] dmauro|13 years ago|reply
Word of warning, this definitely did NOT work as well as in the video for me. I can not get any models to lay flat on my hardwood floor, or anywhere for that matter. Pretty disappointing.
[+] phil|13 years ago|reply
This is genius. It's like the art from William Gibson's Spook Country come to life, but made practical and tied to a huge fan base.
[+] djisjke|13 years ago|reply
There really is not much more to say about this than that it is very, very cool.