About The Blog

Welcome to “games alfresco” where I vow to sensuously take the pulse of the new field of Augmented Reality (AR). They say it will reinvent interactive entertainment. And I believe it’s best played outdoors – alfresco.

If it’s your first time, start the journey by observing augmented reality through my eyes with the Top 10 AR Demos post.

If you’re into hardware – you’ll find solace with the Top 10 AR Devices, always a top post.

As a game developer, you’ll probably hang out in the Top 10 AR Engines area – a constantly evolving field.

Don’t miss the most exhaustive collection of Augmented Reality links on the web (right bar), including: vision, history, demos, software engines & tools, hardware, organizations, books, Influencers, and AR blogs.

Games alfresco has been on the air since March 2008 and is frequently referenced in the Augmented Reality community. Students study it in Computer Science classes; its “top ten” lists are being debated in conferences, and rumors say (don’t believe the hype) investors consult with this blog when making investments in related companies.

We are fortunate and grateful for the contribution of industry luminaries and leading companies in the space. Our aim is to induce a discussion that will spearhead AR into the main stream, so please consider this an invitation to join the discussion.

Games Alfresco is complemented with a facebook group we founded to serve as a community forum for discussing, sharing and promoting experiences in augmented reality games.

Call for sponsors

Illustration (future-retro augmented reality handheld device) by Sigal Arad Inbar

11 Responses

  1. Hi how are you this may come to you as a surprise but i have a gaming blog which i started 3 months ago and i am doing very well i found your blog throw technorati so i thought i would as you to add me to your blogroll or give a shout out to my blog you can visit my blog here http://www.criousgamer.com :D hope to hear from you soon even if it’s a no :D
    bye take care

  2. […] one little word in there: “location”. Augmented reality finds purchase here, […]

  3. We are pleased to let you know that we published the following press release

    Layar launches world’s first Augmented Reality content store
    By Maarten on April 28th 2010

    Amsterdam, April 28th 2010. Today Layar introduces a new revenue stream in Augmented Reality. Publishers on the Layar platform now have the possibility to offer priced Augmented Reality experiences on multiple mobile platforms such as iPhone and Android. The content store is seamlessly integrated into the Layar Reality Browser, which is already used on more than 1.6 million mobile devices globally.

    The Layar Payment Platform is setup to support multiple payment providers and multiple currencies, ready to serve the different local markets. Layar deals with legal, administrative and tax rules enabling the publisher to focus on their core activities: creating valuable experiences. The first payment provider is PayPal, supporting payments to residents of United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. More countries, currencies, payment methods and payment providers will be added regularly.

    Any publisher ready to start exploring the medium and monetizing their content can go to http://www.layar.com/create.

    The first publishers to seize the opportunity include among others:

    * Berlitz City Guides: Berlitz helps people experience the city’s highlights: the best attractions, coziest restaurants, most comfortable hotels, coolest places to shop and most fashionable nightlife.
    * Mouse Reality for Disney World and Disneyland: Helps find and navigate all attractions, shows, shops, dinning, transportation, and more in Disneyland and Disney World.
    * Eyetours: Explore Puerto Rico’s natural beauty and rich cultural heritage through exclusive video content of historical sites, museums, restaurants, parks and more.
    * UK sold prices: Find out for what price that house was sold.

    Raimo van der Klein, CEO of Layar: “We have built a great future proof platform that will make Augmented Reality a flourishing marketplace for content, services and goods. Seeing the current interest from especially the retail, tourism and gaming industry we are sure this will fuel the growth of the Augmented Reality medium even further.”

    Hubert Haarmann, Director eBusiness of Berlitz: “For Berlitz Publishing this is a great opportunity to forge ahead in the new medium of Augmented Reality using Layar. It helps us sell products successfully, now and in the future.”

    Publishers can start selling their content without upfront investments. Layar facilitates payments between the end-user and the publisher. Publishers receive 60% of the net proceeds. The costs for the platform, legal, administration, banking and others are covered by the remaining 40%.

    Android users who are residents of United States, United Kingdom, Canada or Australia can start buying layers right now after installing the new version of the Layar Augmented Reality Browser. The iPhone update is soon to follow.

    About Layar
    Layar is world’s leading Augmented Reality Platform on mobile. The Layar Reality Browser currently has more than 1.6 million users and comes pre-installed on tens of millions of phones from leading handset manufacturers and carriers by the end of the year. Over 500 layers are published on the Layar Platform with over 2000 in development. These layers are developed by the global community of 3000 Layar publishers and producers, and by leading brands and agencies. Layar is located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company is funded and has 32 employees.

    The free Layar Reality Browser is available on Android devices and iPhone 3GS. The Layar Platform is available for anyone to create their own Augmented Reality experiences on.

    Layar, see the world
    http://www.layar.com

    Find more information and screen shots at: http://site.layar.com/paid-layer-launching-partners/

  4. Its true that interactive games are taking over the regime of video games now!!

    The trend is forming up.

    But still the old games will still exist especially of iphone games and others.

    I got hitched to one such game and feel its unique among millions of others.

    if u want to chk it out too then find it here :-
    http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touchball/id377343350

    by

    AKKI_IDEAS

  5. […] via About The Blog « Games Alfresco.Tweet […]

  6. I am apart of a team that just filed a patent for location based augmented reality. Augmented reality is not new but what makes us different is that we don’t have any use for cards or other objects. We are 100% location based. For example, if you wanted to put a WSJ logo on the lawn of the White House we could do so with the precision to make it render out within 2.2 meters of the given coordinates.

    Below I’ve incorporated the visual portrayal of what we can do:

    Please do not hesitate to call or email me which any inquiries.

    Thank you for your time and consideration.

    //signed//

    Eric Nimmer
    Candy Lab Inc.
    Public Relations and Legal Affairs

  7. Hi, I`m Jeremy Raynolds.

    I love your website! It`s so cool and useful. I want to propose you a kind of collaboration, what do you think about guest posts? 
    Maybe you want to propose your own theme of topic I can suggest you my own one, just let me know :)

  8. Hi, we are just starting up a review site specifically aimed at VR online casinos. It would be great if we could share it is early days for us so we would love any advice you may have our site is http://vrcasinoreview.com

  9. We are WakingApp Realities, the VR/AR tech company that created ENTiTi, a tool that non-programmers can use to build, publish and edit their own 3D content. We are coming out with a new patent-pending SDK this Spring and would like to advertise in Gamesalfresco. We are open to editorial sponsorships, posting our own articles or going along with what you think is best :)

    Henry
    Community Engagement Director

  10. Watch this video about AR/VR to learn more!

    Go on YouTube and search Hack the Gibson: VR to learn about the world of VR and gaming!

  11. Hi! My classmates and I are doing a project on augmented reality and were trying to get some feedback on a survey we need to complete. Would it be okay if we can send you the link to forward to your users to get their opinion? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

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