Who AR you by Spectacular Suspects

Who AR You : Party AR game for Snap Spectacles 2024

Inspiration

We love social party games like Heads Up! and 20 Questions, and we wanted to bring that fun, collaborative energy into an immersive AR game. Using your body and space, especially with Spectacles, to literally "wear" your mystery character felt like a natural evolution. We imagined a world where games aren't confined to screens, but live in your environment. It is also a helpful learning game for families and kids.

What it does

Who AR You? is a multiplayer augmented reality party game. One player is assigned a mystery character from a chosen category (e.g., animals, celebrities, food). The twist? The character floats above their head, so everyone except them can see it!

The guesser asks yes-or-no questions to the "game master" to figure out their identity. Each correct answer allows them to ask another question—wrong answers mean waiting for the next turn. The game ends when the guesser correctly identifies their character.

How we built it

We used Lens Studio to create a multiplayer AR experience with character models, synced gameplay, and intuitive interactions. The Spectacles' hand tracking and scene understanding features helped us anchor character models above heads and allow for soft press interactions using hands to "press" invisible buttons in space.

Key features include:

AR character assignment using scene placement and head bounding
A custom-built soft press system for hand-based input
Multiplayer state sync and role differentiation (Guesser vs Spectators)
Visual UI to display characters and guide game flow

Challenges we ran into

Multiplayer & Synchronization

Problem: Pairing different characters with players in Multiplayer mode
Solution: Getting familiar with the Sync Kit and leveraging its entity-based syncing system

Function Lifecycle Understanding

Problem: Figuring out what functions are called automatically
Solution: Investigated Lens Studio lifecycle methods like onAwake and onStart, and used event listeners effectively

Generative AI Models

Problem: Needed custom models to place above player heads
Solution: Used Gen AI plugin in Lens Studio to create high-quality assets quickly and autonomously

Button Pinch Input

Problem: We needed a natural way to press buttons in mid-air using just hand tracking
Solution: We utilized Pinch Button component and interactor finger objects to fire on pinch events and advance game logic

Custom Animation & Feedback

Problem: We wanted to provide subtle visual feedback without distracting players
Solution: Built smooth transitions using tweening functions, soft resets, and visual cues for interaction zones

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a fully multiplayer, AR-native party game from scratch
Creating reliable and intuitive hand-based interaction with no physical controllers
Designing a game loop that encourages collaboration and laughter