BluffAROUND
Augmented Reality
August 2024
Project Overview:
BluffARound is an augmented reality (AR) card game that reimagines traditional bluffing mechanics by integrating digital interactions with physical gameplay. The project explores the themes of illusion, control, and unpredictability—leveraging AR to introduce an added layer of deception and strategy.
Context:
The game was developed by a team of 4, through the exploration of AR’s potential beyond its common use cases, as done by Lenskart (3D eyewear trials), Nykaa (Virtual makeup try-on), IKEA (for placement of furniture in one's space), etc.
INSPIRATION
Nykaa
They have a virtual makeup try-on to enhance online shopping confidence among their user base.
Lenskart
They have AR-based eyewear trials for a seamless fitting experience that emits the need to go to a physical store.
IKEA
They too have AR based furniture placement that helps a user visualize products in real-world spaces, such as their living room, by simply pointing the camera at the space.
RESEARCH + IDEATION
Initially, our team explored various AR use cases in gaming, from classic board games to interactive digital interfaces. A major breakthrough came with Pizza Hut’s Pac-Man AR experience, which demonstrated how AR could transform everyday interactions into engaging digital experiences.
This led us to ask:
How can AR reshape social deception games?
KEY IDEAS THAT SHAPED THE GAME
Bluffing but with a digital twist?
Players would make use of AR (through their mobile cameras) to scan cards, revealing hidden surprises that could either confirm or expose a bluff.
Perception vs. Reality
There would exist the illusion of control where players think they dictate the game, but AR introduces unpredictable elements
Tactile meets digital
This would include a hybrid of physical playing cards with the digital overlays through AR scanning
PLAYTESTS!
Description
AR, luck, and the human mind. All three of these “concepts” play illusions on us. With AR acting as a literal illusion, luck being controlled by others, especially in addictive spaces like casinos and card games, and finally, our own mind which plays with the fine line between reality and the beyond. BluffARound plays with the idea of the illusion of control that the spaces around us, the use of AR, and the digital world give us. We do this by giving players just enough control to think the game is theirs, but actually, as the game masters retaining it with ourselves.
While we were setting up the ARs, we noticed that our number cards in many situations were not being recognized by the software while scanned, the face cards on the other hand had enough detail to pass the AR detection test.
That’s when we came up with the idea of markers in the form of doodles on coloured pieces of paper that we then stuck onto the cards. This, when tested showed that the game now worked, so we then implemented it for the rest of our cards.
Creating the AR cards
From the deck of 52 - we first split the deck into 2 sets, of which we took ahead one for the AR. The set consisting of 28 cards was then split into the 4 of u - giving each of us 7 cards to work with in terms of setting up the AR itself.
The 7 cards consisted of a range of number and face cards, ensuring a well mixed set. We then went about setting a pattern for each of these sets for example : My set worked on a rule of card value -3, where a 10 of hearts card would show up as a 7 of hearts.
Experiential Observations + Learnings
The suspense and build-up led to them being overjoyed when the AR system was triggered.
Players expressed frustration over stacking their cards and suggested that a smoother process for managing the cards for a better experience. The main issue they faced here was not being able to remember the AR version of the card, thus leading to them scanning the same card multiple times.
None of the participants were able to recognize the patterns between the real cards and their AR counterparts. (Eg., a pattern of an addition of 2 over the cards, making a spades of 5 into a spades of 7)
The time it took to finish each round was longer than expected, mainly because players needed extra time to process the AR components.
One player started noticing when the other players took their phones to scan their cards and determined when to bluff based on that.
Most people did not figure out that the QRs were unique to each person and would not always show the AR version of those cards. This lent well to our experiential quality, ‘the illusion of control’ as just when the players thought they figured out which cards had AR versions, they were let down when the QR did not work in each case.