The popularity of gaming has been growing steadily over the last decade. As it continues to grow, so do new technologies being used to enhance the experience. One such technology is augmented reality (AR), which allows users to interact with their environments through their devices. This technology has been used in other industries, such as retail and entertainment, but it is not yet widely adopted by the gaming industry.
The prequel to the wildly successful “Game of Thrones” series, “House of Dragon,” will begin streaming on HBO on August 21. On August 21, the fantasy drama will make its Disney+ Hotstar debut. In contrast to the initial HBO Max release, the release on Disney+ Hotstar won’t be delayed. The show’s first season will consist of 10 episodes, each of which will air on Monday at 6:30 AM. On October 24, the first season will come to an end. Following the conclusion of the enormously successful “Game of Thrones” series in 2019, “House of the Dragon” is the first significant spin-off TV series.
Why Has This Partnership Opted?
Users will be able to access augmented reality experiences inside apps thanks to a collaboration between Snap and HBO Max in celebration of the release of the eagerly awaited HBO series Game of Thrones Prequel House of the Dragon. A new selfie and worldview lens, as well as Landmarker lenses, are being made available by Snap and HBO Max in time for the show’s August 21 launch.
These lenses allow you to fully immerse yourself in the show’s fantastical setting. The selfie lens transforms you into a dragon that can breathe fire. By releasing fire-breathing dragons to hover above you when in the world View mode, the lens allows you to simulate being a part of the Game of Thrones universe. Australia, Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa, North America, and other countries are among the places where Snap claims lens will be made available. Through the app’s lens carousel, you may access the lens.
Businesses across different industries have been finding a variety of Snapchat lenses as an efficient and innovative tool for boosting promotions. The use of these lenses has increased in popularity due to their ability to engage users and create a fun experience for them. Snapchat has made it easy for companies to create their own lenses, which means that companies can use the same tools that consumers use to make their own videos to create branded content. By creating unique lenses, you’re giving your audience something more than just an ad—it’s an interactive experience that is more likely to stick in their minds than most other forms of advertising.
What Will Landmarker Lenses Offer?
Snap and HBO Max have collaborated with lens manufacturers from all around the world to develop regional augmented reality (AR) experiences for Landmarker Lenses. Users will have additional ways to engage with the program thanks to landmarker glasses, which project an augmented reality depiction of the show’s dragons over local sites all over the world.
The first lenses will be made available for debuts in Prague at the Charles Bridge, Mumbai at CST, Rio de Janeiro at the Princess Isabella monument, Chennai at Sankagiri Fort, London on Tower Bridge, and Los Angeles on the Grand Canals of Venice Beach. When users are close to a Landmarker site, lenses can be unlocked via the lens carousel.
During the season, about 20 new Landmarker lenses from more than ten different nations will be introduced. According to Snap, there will be Landmarker Experiences showcasing new dragons as they become available during the season. The season finale, significant midseason episodes, and the series opener will all be the subject of lenses. The debut comes as Snap reports that, on average, more than 250 million people use the app’s augmented reality features each day and that Snapchat receives more than 6 billion daily plays of its AR lenses. Additionally, according to the business, its Lens Studio augmented reality creation tool has been used to generate 2.5 million lenses by more than 250,000 lens manufacturers. Additionally, according to Snap, over 300 developers’ lenses have had over a billion views, while community-made lenses have received over 5 trillion views.
In anticipation of the broadcast of the final season of Game of Thrones, Snap also released an augmented reality campaign with a dragon theme that focused on New York City’s Flatiron Building. According to the firm, there are presently over 347 million daily active users (DAU) of Snapchat, and more than 90% of those ages 13 to 24 worldwide use it.
About ‘House of the Dragon’
The series depicts the beginning of the Targaryen dynasty’s demise as the seven kingdoms of Westeros descend into a deadly civil war over who will rule them following the death of the current monarch. Leading the two sides in what would be known as “The Dance of The Dragons” in fiction decades later are two factions of Targaryens, with their allies, friends, advisers, and the entourage of fire-spewing dragons. Ryan J. Condal and George R. R. Martin are the show’s creators, and Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are their chief showrunners. Condal was not a part of the “Game of Thrones” series, although Sapochnik directed a number of episodes, notably the highly regarded “Hardome” Episode 8 of Season 5. The premiere, titled “The Heirs of the Dragon,” will be directed by Sapochnik once more.
Two hundred years have passed after the events of Game of Thrones during the time of House of the Dragon. As members of the House Targaryen family compete for the Iron Throne, the series will depict the beginning of the end for House Targaryn as the fabled Dance of the Dragons takes centre stage. The HBO series House of the Dragon has its own augmented reality companion app called DracARys, demonstrating the network’s commitment to the technology. On July 25, the app was made available everywhere. Fans are able to raise a virtual dragon on iOS and Android smartphones. In DracARys, users would be able to “hatch” and “raise” their individual virtual dragons, and each dragon’s growth will be entirely unique to the care each user provides. With the use of a “bespoke voice recognition technology,” gamers will be able to give vocal instructions to the dragons in Valyrian, just like a real Targaryen.
Future Of AR Experiences
Augmented reality allows for an immersive gaming experience by adding objects to a player’s real world. The objects can be anything from Pokémon or zombies to an enemy’s face or gun. The possibilities are endless! As this technology continues to advance, it will become increasingly difficult for players not to use AR in their gaming experience. Several companies are already striving towards this goal by releasing new products that enhance gameplay through AR features such as virtual reality headsets and smart glasses, allowing users to wear them while playing games.
The future of AR gaming will be shaped by advances in virtual reality (VR) technology. VR has already made its way into many games, but as headsets become more affordable and accessible to consumers, we expect this trend to continue. The same goes for augmented reality: as mobile devices become more powerful and less expensive, we can expect mobile games that use AR to become more common. Another trend we’re seeing is more realistic environments. Right now, most games are set in fantastical and fictional worlds—but as we continue to advance our technology, we’ll start seeing more realistic environments that feel like real places where you can explore and play games.