The main idea behind location-based gaming is to transform the city around you into a new setting that can be interacted with and explored. In Plundr's case, you're the captain of a pirate ship looking to pillage and swashbuckle your way to the top of the buccaneer chain.
Using WiFi positioning to track your movements and superimpose landmarks over your neighborhood map, Plundr builds islands that you can set sail for and investigate. Taking a walk to that coffee shop two blocks away will bring up a trading post where you can buy spices and deliver goods. If you head over to the nearby park, there's a few unsuspecting merchant ships to test your cannons on.
Developer area/code originally designed the title with laptops in mind, but working with the R4DS homebrew platform, the Manhattan-based company was able to port the game to our scurvy handheld and show off the fruits of its efforts at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 Conference late last May. Though we're still waiting to hear more about the clever game, these first shots of Plundr: Dangerous Shores that we scoured up will tide us over for now. Yarr!
Gallery: Plundr
[Via slavin fpo]
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