Lightseekers is the Tomy action-figure powered video game from PlayFusion. The large articulated figures link to the app via Bluetooth and have physical weapons that grant in-game attacks with lights, sound and voice.
It's not everyday I get the first look at a huge new toy-line, card and video game but today was one of those days. Tomy and PlayFusion, a developer with talent from Runescape, Tomb Raider, Street Fighter and even GoldenEye, are partnering to create what they hope will be the next step for the toys-to-life genre that crosses physical action figures and video game mechanics.
Spending the best part of a day with Lightseekers, I've realised that calling it a toys-to-life game doesn't do its scope and ambition justice. Even with the parts of the experience initially being revealed, the technology and integration goes beyond what we've seen previously.
Knowing where to start, and avoiding buzz words, is the biggest challenge here. PlayFusion introduce Lightseekers as "the fusion of fantasy and reality... integrating video games, smart action figures with artificial intelligence, augmented reality, interactive trading cards and more, creating the most ambitious transmedia entertainment platform ever envisioned."
What this actually means to families is large articulated action figures that work as toys but also grant access to an upgradable on-screen characters. So far, so Skylanders. But Lightseekers figures are intelligent, they respond to each other and what's going on in the game with lights, sounds and vibrations.
The game itself feels different to play, being designed for the tablet's touch interface rather than being ported from a console. It also has a Runescape lineage with the overhead perspective and a world to explore and quest in.
Light Seekers smart figurines (Image: PlayFusion)
It looked beautiful on the big iPad Pro screen I played it on, and I was assured it worked well on other devices. As you play through combat, puzzles and mini-games you gain access to different locations, races and quests. There are reported to be hundreds of hours of quests and infinitely re-playable dungeons.
PlayFusion has plans to keep enhancing and adding to the experience, not only through updates to the game but also the toys. These updates are planned to be weekly and responsive to the community -- as you would expect from the developers who worked on Runescape.
Equipping characters is where the new magic happens. This is achieved by placing physical weapons in the hands of the toys. Instantly they are equipped in the game and can be leveled up in deep and complex ways as players expect in a RPG.
Light Seekers Screen Shot (Image: PlayFusion)
The weapons themselves also respond to the on-screen action and the players progress with banks of different colored lights to depict different powers and abilities.
The final piece of the experience (that's being revealed initially) is the card game. This is an in-depth battle experience like Magic the Gathering that can be played away from the screen. The cards are also used in-game to boost weapons or bring in helper "pets" to assist your hero.
Each physical part of the game, figures, weapons and cards have a unique id and are owned by a player. This not only means that the game can trace the lineage of a particular item, but also that players can trade upgraded weapons or help power up friend's kit.
The free Lightseekers app can also reward players for interacting with almost anything—songs on the radio, shows on TV, movies, posters on the wall. Which I saw in action and worked very well.
When the game releases in spring 2017 players will first access it via either the Tyrax Starter Pack or the Mari Starter Pack. These provide one action figure, one weapon attachment, five trading cards and a tribute card for a target retail price of $69.99.
Light Seekers AR Cards (Image: PlayFusion)
"We're aiming to make this very competitive so families can get excited about this without worrying about the cost" said Mark Gerhard, PlayFusion CEO, when I spoke to him at the studio.
“After 18 grueling months of working in complete stealth mode, we’re ready to take the world by storm. Our team is pumped to finally unveil Lightseekers and clearly demonstrate how this is a game-changer for many industries,” states Mark Gerhard CEO and Co-Founder of PlayFusion. “Lightseekers takes everything the world currently thinks about toys-to-life, turns it on its head and makes it a massively more connected experience–more integrated, more intelligent, more mobile, more interactive, more engaging, and more magical than ever before, for gamers of all ages.”
Initial impressions are strong and strengthened further by the ambition of PlayFusion to grow the game in novel ways. “Our platform is an entirely new concept – a revolutionary suite of proprietary next generation interactive entertainment technologies – sentient action figures, smart accessories, innovative augmented reality, and groundbreaking image and audio recognition technology all brought together to provide completely new entertainment experiences,” Gerhard continues. “We’re trailblazing the future of innovative mixed media connected entertainment for our players, and are proud to be at the forefront of providing a next generation technology platform that seamlessly connects the broadcast, publishing, games and toy industries.”
With strong toys to life offerings from Skylanders, Lego Dimensions and Anki Supertrucks this year, Lightseekers is an interesting new direction for the genre. It not only provides proper toys rather than static figurines to complement the on-screen experience but it integrates play patterns of both perfectly.
The depth of the game, the interaction of the figurines and the Runescape feel to the whole experience may also attract an older demographic to what we have previously called toys-to-life but perhaps now need a new name for.
