What Did Pokémon Go Cost? The Secrets that Go into Creating an Augmented Reality App

After the initial waves of shock passed, it dawned on me that the apparently dropping floor wasn’t real. But thanks to the proliferation of augmented reality. It was virtually created to give a real effect. Pretty amusing and surprising to me at the same time. So I turned towards Google and some of my tech-savvier friends to learn more about it!

The holiday season was in full swing and during the jolliest days. I happened to barge in a shopping mall in my vicinity, that was resplendent with ostentatious lights, festooned with Christmas adornments, and radiantly gleaming with beauty.

And I was obliviously taking in the merriment and trying to keep out of the pushing and shoving throngs when in the midst of my wildest imagination. I saw the floor drop before me suddenly. Bamboozled at what was conspiring, I clung to the nearby bench for dear life, which was probably placed there for elderly shoppers who needed to catch their breath. To my horror, the passersby erupted in mirth of laughter at my predicament!

What Is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is what we end up with when we incorporate graphics, sounds, or touch feedback into our natural world through an external technique, which is in most cases technology and programming. This is how we create a virtual reality that looks real. This altered reality is known as augmented reality and is used to foster enhanced user experiences.

One of the most recent examples of augmented reality, and one which clawed deeply into the brains of Generation Z, is the popular mobile game app, Pokémon Go!

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that turned into a global sensation in the midst of 2016-17. Since the game app was made available for both iOS and Android lovers. The barrage of its avid aficionados reached anyone who had access to a smartphone and could walk. The game simply created virtual monsters with the help of AI and involved the players to look for them and hunt them down. It went viral like a forest fire because it showed these monsters on your mobile screen as if they were standing right in front of you when looking through your phone’s camera.

Pokémon Go is vastly different from other games since it doesn’t keep gamers locked up behind closed doors. The game operates on a heads-up display, or augmented reality HUD, of the real world. This unique characteristic of the game induced the players to go out of their hidey holes and run around to find a Pokémon and capture it. Not only this, player’s avatars team up to defend their territories, battle other users at “gyms”, collect rewards from “Pokestops”, and explore the world as they catch Pokémon. I also see it as a great way to induce people to take long walks, on their own.

With the release of Pokémon Go, mobile game development triggered the influx of games that involve augmented reality, and can provide a larger-than-life game-playing experience to keen players.

Why Should Businesses Focus On Creating More Game Apps Like Pokémon Go?

There are numerous reasons to engage in creating game apps that are based on augmented reality. First off, it’s the new industry norm and people love indulging in them. By increasing the user’s engagement through the introduction of characters or visuals that are based on virtual reality. You can augment the overall user experience of the app. Not only does this provide a clear motive to download and use the app. But also plays a great role in establishing a stellar rapport between the mobile app development agency among business sectors.

It’s a great time for businesses to delve into app development that capitalizes on the AR technology to lure in customers and boost their overall revenues, says the chairman of a leading app development service, Branex, at the Stevie Awards ceremony in New York, USA.

Since the development of mobile game apps using AR technology is escalating. Here are some probable points that could help business owners in deciding why they should glean a mobile app based on AR and what are the costs involved.

Features Of A Game App Based On Augmented Reality

Before you embark on a journey to create a game similar to Pokémon Go. Here is a walk-through of the techniques and technologies that are used in creating it, So that you have an idea of what needs to be followed to create something as remarkable as Pokémon Go itself.

Unity 3D Game Development Engine

There are multiple game development engines for apps that leverage AR technology. The most prominent and widely used among them is the Unity 3D game development engine, which is also the backbone of the famous Pokémon Go. Although the price of using Unity 3D for your AR game development lies on the pricier end of the spectrum than other contenders in the industry.

Unity 3D provides the best possible ratio of quality to mobile hardware used. This essentially distills down to the fact that the same code that is created can be used on various mobile app platforms, such as Android, iOS, and Windows to name a few, with minimal to no modifications entailed.

Use of Novel Technology

Pokémon Go also used a relatively new fangled technology which is still in its infancy. The “Novel” technology has been used rather sparsely in the past, but after its marked association with Pokémon Go. Novel has gained a prominent marketplace in the mobile app development industry. And all those willing to create game apps leveraging artificial intelligence are ready to use Novel to let their users become a part of the game; like literally!

Novel helps you integrate local landmarks in your game, allowing your users to not only recognize them as they play but also track and capture a character that is similar to the famous Pokémon.

You will need a global positioning system (GPS)

It goes without saying that in order to track areas within a city or within your vicinity, you will require state-of-the-art GPS technology integrated into your game app. So that the user, irrespective of their geographical location, can track geographical pointers of the areas that are in their proximity. Without an in-app GPS system, chances are that the game will still keep showing locations where it was developed, instead of the expanse it is used in.

Don’t forget to include in-app purchases

As a part of your revenue generation plan, don’t forget to include certain additional features that your app users can purchase. In the case of Pokémon Go. They are bonus Pokémons with unique capabilities, which can be anything from a weapon to a new location to a time traveler piece in the case of your new app. The choices are literally innumerable when it comes to developing a game app that is based on AR. When a user unlocks the bonus features of your app, you will receive revenue in the form of in-app purchases.

The cost of creating a game app similar to Pokémon Go?

And this brings us down to the main question that spreads anarchy in a business owner’s mind. How much cost accompanies such an extensive app development?

You see, there is no one-formula-fits-all when it comes to the cost of an app that uses AR as its base functionality, and the rule extends to every app that is developed on this planet. The cost of every app varies greatly, depending on the mobile application’s size, the platforms it is developed for, and the features it boasts. The more extensive and feature-intensive the app is, the more it will cost. However, a professional app development agency in the USA is the right window that you need to knock on if you have an app idea in mind that is similar to Pokémon Go. So why wait?

Just get in touch with one and see what doors it can open for your business.