Air Hogs Connect Combines Drones and Video-Games

22/09/2016

Air Hogs Connect combines flying a real life drone with an in depth video-game. Players place an AR mat on the floor and load an app on their smartphone.

Once the app recognises the mat it constructs a virtual world to explore on the phone. However, unlike other virtual experiences the action happens in the real world as well as the virtual.

The cross over is hard to explain without playing, but works well for families because it's enjoyable whether you are watching or playing. The in-game drone behaves with real world physics because it detects the drone in real life.

The extends the longevity of the drone experience as the virtual craft must be upgraded over time. Players learn how to extinguish fires, drop troops to fight, attack alien soldiers and use the grapple hook to rescue civilians. Also, the craft itself can be upgraded in terms of weapons, the pilot and appearance.

With the popularity of the toys-to-life genre, Air Hogs Connect offers a new way for families to play together with its drones-to-life technology. The new Skylanders, Lego Dimensions and Lightseekers game will also expand this genre in 2016.

Andrew Robertson

Andy Robertson is the editor of AskAboutGames and has written for national press and broadcast about video games and families for over 15 years. He has just published the Taming Gaming book with its Family Video Game Database.