LEGO Life of George game combines iPhone and real LEGOs
It was only a matter of time before toy companies began to develop interactive toys that use the iPhone and iPad. Earlier this week, Disney unveiled Appmates, a series of physical toy cars that you can drive on the screen of the iPad.
And today, Lego unveiled its new Life of George game that includes an EyeCue-enabled iOS app. The iOS app contains George's photos and it's your job to recreate these photographs using the game's 144 Legos and gaming mat. When you are done, you use the camera to take a photo of your model. Points will be awarded for the building speed and accuracy of the model.
The game includes 12 levels of various difficulty. Each level has ten photographs, letting you build up to 120 different models. There is also a two-player mode and a creation mode that lets you design models using your own photos.
The Life of George will hit retail shelves on October 1st with a price tag of US$30.
[Via Engadget]
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LEGO GROUP UNVEILS FIRST FULLY INTEGRATED DIGITAL-TO-PHYSICAL GAMING EXPERIENCE
- Combining physical building with a digital gaming application, LEGO® Life of George invites builders to test building skills in a race against time-
BILLUND, Denmark, September 29, 2011 – The LEGO Group today announced LEGO® Life of George, its first product to combine digital and physical play for a hands-on LEGO gaming experience. Featuring patent-pending brick recognition software, powered by EyeCue, the game challenges players to build models, and place them on a play mat that acts as a "green screen" to capture the image and receive a score based on accuracy and speed. Beginning October 1, 2011, players can purchase the LEGO Life of George set for $29.99 from LEGO Stores and shop.lego.com and download the free Apple iOS compatible gaming application.
LEGO Life of George is a 12-level game that can be played in novice or expert mode. Each level showcases an adventure from George, around whom the game revolves, and is comprised of models of varying difficulty based on the number of bricks needed and the building techniques required to replicate them. Builders are challenged to physically recreate the virtual models from George's photo album using the LEGO bricks included with the game; once they have successfully completed all 10 models the next level will be unlocked.
In addition to Game Mode which can be played alone or against one competitor in a pass-and-play format, a Creation Mode called "My Life" enables users to design and capture their own models in the app's virtual scrapbook.
"We understand consumers' powerful connection to casual gaming, and we have seen how successfully the LEGO brand can translate to a virtual experience, so we pursued development of a fun way to combine both physical and virtual play into one product," says Paal Smith-Meyer, head of new business at LEGO Group. "Life of George is a result of our desire to provide an innovative way for existing and new fans to play with LEGO bricks and interact with the brand."
Who is George?
George is a software engineer by day and adventurer by night. His main hobbies are travel, photography and numbers, and has a fun storyline for players to follow and engage with via his Facebook page, I Am George. Fans can expect to see updates and photography from George on his travels as well as hints to new game levels and app updates through his posts.
