Gamers are all used to going head-to-head against other competitors online, but face-to-face is usually the realm of local gameplay sessions with mates. That could soon be a thing of the past, however, with Teatime Games announcing a new social platform for mobile devices which uses augmented reality (AR) called Teatime Live.
Teatime Live is a face-to-face mobile gaming platform that lets users communicate with fellow players with real-time video chat while playing. In conjunction with the launch of Teatime Live today, the studio also released Hyperspeed, a futuristic racing experience to showcase the video features.
Every Teatime Live videogame will begin by prompting new users to select a “Gameface” – an AR filter used during two-way live video as you play. In Hyperspeed , for example, players face will be placed side-by-side, sporting one of the funky looking helmets they’ve chosen.
“Everyone at Teatime is incredibly excited to launch a new way to play mobile games, and we hope to see other games studios building interactive experiences on the platform. Hyperspeed is one example of a game using Teatime Live that we’ve created, but we expect to work with other game studios on many different genres,” said Thor Fridriksson, co-founder and CEO of Teatime Games in a statement. “Our games are made to emphasise the social aspect of being able to play together. It will allow the players to communicate through shared experience, the way we used to. Technology has the capability to both entertain us and connect us, and we see no reason why it shouldn’t do both.”
Teatime Games haven’t yet confirmed if any other videogame developers are currently working on titles for the Teatime Live platform, but thanks to the completion of a $9 million Series A funding round recently – led by Index Ventures and Atomico (the investment team behind Supercell/Bossa/Rovio) – Teatime Games plans to release several more titles to support the platform in the coming year.
Teatime Live and Hyperspeed both support iOS and Android devices and are available to download in the App Store and Google Play Store. For further updates from Teatime Games keep reading VRFocus.