LEGO’s new concept, BrainBricks, merges the real and digital worlds to create a synergy where gamers use physical blocks of LEGO and extend their game on gadgets like the iPad, smartphones and their desktops.
The gameplay of LEGO BrainBricks entails gamers to create an object with the LEGO bricks. Each BrainBricks cube has a sensor in it that understands the LEGO brick’s relation with a corresponding brick. This information can be communicated to an iPad, a smartphone or any other digital device wirelessly using the sensor. The LEGO object created by the user is then digitally constructed in a game environment and the gamer can play with this object in the 3D game. The
Call it the next step in the physical gaming world but I feel these technologies are coming into being because the head honchos of the leading toy companies don’t want to be left behind. Children today are more in touch with technology than the generations of the past. They play games like Angry Birds; play cricket using the Wii controllers rather than an actual bat. The growing insecurity of the Hasbros and Fisher Prices of the world is forcing them to adopt new technologies in their obsolete games. I personally feel that board games and other physical games have a charm of their own; a charm that is lost on the kiddies of today. I hope the introduction of digital technologies doesn’t foretell the sad demise of the games of the past. For now, don’t be surprised if you see a Monopoly set with augmented reality crammed into it.
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