[From iPhone World]

Apple’s new patent for multiplayer GPS enabled interactive iPhone games

November 5, 2010 by iPhoneWorld

A newly unveiled Apple patent (USPTO #20100279768) reveals Apple’s plans for multiplayer, location-aware interactive iPhone games.

In a nutshell the patent describes how iPhones could be used for real-world cooperative gameplay, using the iPhone’s sensors, camera, GPS module and WiFi/wireless internet connection.

Specifically:

• The iPhones would be all networked via either WiFi or wireless internet.
• The iPhones would have each others’ coordinates, and using the iPhone’s GPS module they’ll be able to identify players locations on a geodesic chart (think: game map).
• Accelerometer and compass sensors would be used to further coordinate gameplay.
• Interactive (virtual) reality of sorts will be implemented, as the feed from iPhone’s camera will be displayed on screen with overlays that obviously only individual players will be able to see.
• Some sort of cluster-processing will be implemented, so that all the iPhones would work on creating and maintaining the game world at the same time.

Basically this sounds like Nokia’s NGage and Sony’s supposedly coming PSXPHONE will have some challenges ahead of them, since Apple is taking games on the iPhone seriously.

After all, imagine a game of laser tag with your friends using only your iPhones – wouldn’t that be great?

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