Augmented Reality Coolness: Pocket Jets, New iPhone Game from Second Life Innovator Robbie Dingo!

Pocket Jets, a sweet-looking new iPhone 4 game (click here for its iTunes landing page), uses augmented reality to put you in command of a remote controlled fighter which you can fly solo, or head-to-head in dogfights seemingly displayed right in front of you. Check out the demo video:

Besides being augmented reality, longtime New World Notes readers will likely appreciate this app's developer: Robbie Dingo (Rob Wright IRL), a UK artist who also created some of the coolest Second Life apps ever to hit the grid. For instance: a game of Russian roulette for your avatar, this powerful machinima inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, and, of course, a virtual pot plant that grows 25 feet high. (I still have that last one in my SL yard.) With Pocket Jets, Robbie's added iPhone apps to his portfolio.

"[T]his particular app wasn't that difficult to make once I managed to get my head around interpreting the gyroscope rotational data (that was hard)," he tells me. "It was easier in general because I am relying on real-world scenery (AR) rather than VR." This despite the fact that besides Flash, his main programming experience is with Linden Script Language:

With iPhone apps, he tells me, "the programming-language used is different of course, but the programming-principals remain the same. I found that coding in/for SL is certainly a good grounding for future steps." And while developing for the iPhone gives him access to a much larger audience, there is something he misses about developing in Second Life: "[It is always done 'in public' so to speak. So, you could be in the middle of building and testing a scripted vehicle in SL (like say, a fighter-jet), and someone might come along and jump onboard with you (whether you wanted them to or not!) In my early days in Second Life, before I got land, I would build in the sandboxes for exactly that reason." He continued developing in SL sandboxes even after owning land for that very reason. "Programming for the iPhone is a more solitary endeavour for me," he says, "and despite the sometimes distracting side to working in-world in SL, I actually miss working in the sandboxes the most."

Click here to check out Pocket Jets for yourself, and if you do, share your review here. (I still have an old ass iPhone 3, so I won't be able to try it out until I upgrade.)

Comments

[Bettina Tizzy]

That Robbie is genius. (Hi Robbie!) Looks like fun. Downloading...

[Adeon Writer]

I'm on my iPhone right now and I'll be downloading this as soon as I hit another Wifi spot. :)

[Nathaniel Flores]

This is one type of story that LL should be citing in their marketing, where someone at least partially cultivated a talent or creative knack in Second Life and has been able to translate it into out-world endeavors. I vaguely recall there being other SL game developers that have been able to market their games off the grid as well. Likewise you have musicians who have polished their talents performing in SL, DJs, virtual artists, real artists who found an outlet there, etc.

Much like I posted in another thread about prim-building being a decent primer for learning 3D modeling, here is a person that considers LSL scripting a good 'ground' for learning programming and has now expanded out to do other things.

It's really a shame that the 'adult' content is often the dominating narrative about SL when there is so much positive stuff to talk about. It's also too bad the technical issues, problems with LL management, etc. continue to be at the forefront of the discussion and largely drown out things like this.

[Kimberly Rufer-Bach]

I agree with Nathaniel. Some of the most dedicated Residents we have are people who learned or are learning valuable skills inworld. I'm sure I've put in more hours inworld learning and practicing building and scripting than I would have had the endurance to spend on poseballs.

Congrats to Robbie Dingo!

[Dizzy Banjo]

Nice one Robbie!
Certainly agree that there are many overlaps between creating virtual content and augmented content. I also found both LSL and prim based instrument building useful when transitioning to iOS development and thinking about making music interactive with the RjDj crew

[Ann Otoole InSL]

Hey Hamlet for some reason on the main page the angry birds vid is showing for this article. Just fyi.

[Hamlet Au]

?

Looks fine to me. Refresh, still a problem? What browser/OS you using?

[levis maigre]

I also found both LSL and prim based instrument building useful when transitioning to iOS developmen

[levis détendue]

I'm sure I've put in more hours inworld learning and practicing building and scripting

[tiffany uk]

I hit another Wifi spot.

[vivienne westwood necklaces]

Certainly agree that there are many overlaps between creating virtual content and augmented content