Ever since Pokemon fans were little, they always fantasized about having real life Pokemon battles with their friends. There have been similar attempts to this with Pokemon GO, but that is separate from the actual rules of the Pokemon video games or the Pokemon Trading Card Game. Now thanks to an extremely dedicated fan, Pokemon augmented reality may soon become much more accessible for everyone to enjoy.
A YouTuber by the name of Fyone has created a concept for an augmented reality game that would add an extra flair to Pokemon Trading Card Game battles. By using the AR software within the Unity 3D game engine, and character models and animations from the Pokemon games, Fyone has created a game that has fully animated models of selected Pokemon cards.
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Fyone was inspired by the resurgence of the Pokemon Trading Card Game popularity, thinking that it would be cool to bring the cards to life with all the newfound public attention. Still, the game is still in the early development phase, so only Machamp and Pikachu have working character models. But with these two cards, Fyone has added a lot of extra detail, such as commands for the cards, life bars, and attack and entry animations.
For the UI of the demo, Fyone decided to make the game rules work similarly to the official trading card game rules, with a few minor exceptions. Since Fyone didn't have any power cards, he programmed the game to work without them so that the Pokemon can attack without using energy cards. Also, Fyone made it possible so that Pokemon can be used in later stages and not have to evolve them from their previous forms for the sake of the demo.
Fyone also envisioned the aesthetic of the game to look like a blend of Pokemon Sword and Shield and the Pokemon Trading Card Game UI. This can specifically be seen in the art design for all the command labels. Additionally, with both Pikachu and Machamp's attacks, the animations for Bikabika and Dynamic Punch moves were taken straight from the games as well.
The end results are similar to the 3Ds image targeting and works about as well as the games. At the moment, Fyone hasn't said anything about whether or not they will continue expanding the project or if they will make their demo accessible to the public. For now, it is nice to imagine how far technology has come to make fans' childhood dreams a reality. Hopefully, Nintendo can pivot off this idea and create something extra special for diehard Pokemon trainers everywhere.
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