No looking at the box top, this puzzle is always changing
29.04.2010 – XMG Studio has introduced Jigsaw Live: AR Puzzle, the first augmented reality-powered jigsaw puzzle for iPhone 3GS. Unlike traditional jigsaw puzzles which use static images, Jigsaw Live ups the ante and uses the iPhone’s video camera to provide a constantly changing video for the puzzle image. This unique implementation puts XMG Studio once again at the forefront of iPhone augmented reality (AR) development.
“Jigsaw Live takes a simple, traditional activity and completely revolutionizes it for the 21st century,” said Ray Sharma, founder of XMG Studio. “The Augmented Reality capabilities of the iPhone 3GS open up completely new gameplay opportunities and we are committed to exploring unique and interesting ways to bring AR into our games.”
Jigsaw Live has multiple challenge levels starting at simple 4-piece puzzles for beginners increasing to 100-piece puzzles for experts. Multiple puzzle-piece shapes add even more variety for unlimited re-playability. Completed puzzles can be shared with friends via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
Jigsaw Live represents next generation of AR apps
From a technology standpoint, Jigsaw Live came about as a result of the ongoing research and development that XMG Studio is conducting in the area of Augmented Reality as it relates to mobile gaming.
For Jigsaw Live the development team extracted raw image data from the iPhone’s camera and spliced the live video feed into multiple channels – one per puzzle piece. To accomplish this at a real-time frame rate, the developers utilized the programmable graphics pipeline with both vertex and fragment shaders. This off-loaded many intensive mathematical operations to the GPU and freed up processing cycles for additional features. Notably, they implemented real-time lighting (with a bump-mapped bevel), a platfom independent input system, and a scene graph to organize and manage relationships between objects. These elements will be incorporated into XMG’s AR Engine for use in future games and applications.
Jigsaw Live is XMG’s second AR game, the first being Pandemica, which was launched in November 2009. Pandemica broke new ground as the world’s first multi-player AR game for the iPhone. Pandemica’s creative gameplay and cutting-edge implementation of AR technology was recognized when it was named Best AR App earlier this year in the Best App Ever Awards.
About XMG Studio:
XMG Studio is an award-winning developer of hit games for mobile devices and a leader in the areas of Customization and Augmented Reality (AR). XMG creates fun and entertaining games that appeal to a wide variety of audiences by incorporating unique gameplay, deep social network integration, and compelling game graphics. XMG’s game portfolio includes: Pandemica, the World’s first multiplayer AR game and winner of Best AR App of the year (2009) in the Best App Ever awards; Drag Racer Pro Tuner, the top drag racing franchise on the app store; and Marine Sharphooter, our first million+ download sniper game.