Snapshot Feature
Technical Artist
Niantic, Pokemon Go (2018 - 2019), Unity Engine
The Snapshot Feature was created as a gamified tool to help users capture shareable photos of their Pokemon in AR. Although it was originally scoped as a minor feature in the release cycle, it was met with such an overwhelming outpour of player enthusiasm that it was later expanded into the Buddy Feature.
Placing virtual friends in the real world
For this feature to be a success, it was key to give users simple tools to flexibly place their Pokemon so they could get the perfect photo. In mobile AR the camera is building playspace by latching onto real-world points and converting them into usable game planes. We visualized this information through an fx sequence of sparkles and Pokemon footprints to let users know where they can and cannot place their subjects. For the actual placement itself I came up with several different prototypes.
Final
Prototype
Keeping players out of the mesh
One of the consistent challenges working in AR is the loss of control of the Camera. Because users are unconstrained they can (and will!) collide with game objects . Investigating the insides of Pikachu is bad for The Pokemon Company brand, but more importantly it breaks the illusion of an AR interaction. Pokemon don’t have colliders attached to their rigs so we had to get creative to make this work.
Final
Prototype
Lining up the perfect shot
We had to decide how to balance the ease of picture-taking against preserving the illusion that Pokemon are living creatures. A good example of this was my iterations on posing tools. Although it was easier for users to capture the perfect shot when they could select the exact frame for their subject to hold, it ultimately deteriorated the natural connection with the Pokemon, making them feel more like objects. In the end we decided to activate posing and rotation through taps and gestures.
Final
Prototype
Empowering shareable moments
— Some player creations —
