Motive.io, a platform for building location-based games, just launched with the latest version of the Mapbox Unity SDK. Here is how I used it to quickly create an augmented reality “Ghost Hunter” game.
To get started, I began by creating a base map in Mapbox Studio and styled it to match the exact look and feel of my game.
Styling the base map in Mapbox Studio.
Next, I used the Motive.io authoring tool to generate a catalog of items like batteries, food, hammers, and wood for game players to collect from real-world locations to hunt ghosts that are menacing their city.
Author in-game content like collectibles, characters, media, and more using Motive.io’s web-based authoring tool. Content is downloaded to your game on demand, which means you can add and tweak content even after release.
After I created my catalog, I assigned these items to real-world places using the Motive.io script editor. Using Motive.io and Mapbox’s location data, you can assign items to different types of locations (like restaurants or parks) along with a probability for how often the items will spawn in those places.
Motive.io’s script authoring tool lets you program complex gameplay with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Like all other game content, scripts are downloaded on demand.
I then followed a similar procedure to place ghosts in the game world that players hunt in the real-world. The Motive.io script authoring tool gives you control over where, when, and how the characters are placed. For instance, I could have a particular over-caffeinated ghoul appear only at coffee shops on rainy Tuesday afternoons, and due to Mapbox’s global location data, this works anywhere in the world.
Now, let’s run the game and see what we get! The Motive.io engine and server automatically sync with Mapbox map data and infrastructure so you get the latest game content at runtime. The Unity template that you create with Motive.io gives you controls and annotations out of the box.
Motive.io’s Unity templates make it easy to quicky create a game environment.
That’s it! In just a few clicks I created a location-based Ghost Hunter game! Check out Motive.io for more information, and stay tuned for some big announcements from them coming up at GDC 2017!
Going to GDC? Stop by Mapbox’s booth, #2330 in the South Hall Expo, to check out live mobile demos and walk through the code of the Mapbox Unity SDK. In the meantime make sure to download the SDK here.