For my AR project, I’d like to use my home to create a short sequence of puzzles that use AR to encourage exploring a physical space while solving digital puzzles. I plan on pairing this with a narrative element to contextualize the puzzles, giving the feel of an old-school point-and-click adventure game, but instead of clicking you simply walk around the real world.

The narrative premise is that there is a cat stuck in the “shadow realm”, a Coraline-style dimension that exists parallel to our own. The AR application is a tool that allows the player to see into this dimension and interact with it. Solving puzzles opens barriers that allow the cat to progress through the house, eventually reaching the gate that leads to the real world.

Throughout the house in the real world, there will be images taped to walls in various places. Finding these and pointing the camera at them will open up a puzzle in the app. Additionally, some of these images will be used to show the player the position of shadow realm barriers, hinting at where they should look to find the next puzzle that allows the cat to progress.