The Playroom (2013 video game)

The Playroom is a casual video game that is a collection of augmented reality mini-games. It was developed by Japan Studio's Team Asobi division, comes pre-loaded on all PlayStation 4 consoles, and is meant to demonstrate the use of the PlayStation Camera and the DualShock 4 controller. The PlayStation Camera accessory is required to play The Playroom.[1] If a camera is not present, a trailer for The Playroom will be displayed instead of the full game. Firesprite, a studio founded by former employees of Studio Liverpool, worked on the visuals of The Playroom. Downloadable content is free.[3]

The Playroom
Developer(s)Japan Studio (Team Asobi)[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Release
Genre(s)Augmented reality
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Minigames

Play with Asobi

Asobi is a pet-like robot that can be summoned by rubbing the Touch Pad. Players can interact with Asobi in various ways, and Asobi has the ability to recognize different people through facial recognition.[4] Asobi is an evolution of the previous Sony Computer Entertainment title EyePet.

AR Bots

AR Bots is a minigame that places forty robots in the DualShock 4 controller, which can be seen by swiping down on the touch pad in-game. When in the in-controller view, players can interact with the robots through the controller, utilizing the motion sensor and the buttons. The robots can also be displayed on the television instead of the controller screen by swiping up on the touch pad. When the robots are on the television, it is possible to physically interact with the robots using the PlayStation camera's depth capabilities.[4]

AR Hockey

Air Hockey, referred to in-game as AR hockey, uses two controllers to augment a virtual play field in front of the players. The motion sensor stretches the play field, and the touch pad is used to control the paddles to return the ball. The first player who scores seven points wins the game.[4]

Downloadable content

There are four add-ons, all of which are free. Two of these add-ons: Toy Maker and AR Studio, enrich the experience by taking advantage of the second screen capabilities built into the official PlayStation App.

Toy Maker

Toy Maker is free downloadable content (DLC) for The Playroom which takes advantage of the PlayStation App, allowing users to interact with the AR Bots through tablets, smartphones or the PlayStation Vita. Players can create a two dimensional drawing which will become a three dimensional toy for the AR Bots to play with. The Toy Maker DLC was released on 26 November 2013 in North America and was available at the PlayStation 4 launch in Europe on 29 November 2013.

My Alien Buddy

Double Fine Productions created free downloadable content, titled My Alien Buddy,[5] which utilized the skills in augmented reality mini-games that Double Fine learned while making the Xbox Live Arcade Kinect games Double Fine Happy Action Theater and Kinect Party for Microsoft.[6] The alien buddy is a deformable toy with which the player can interact. My Alien Buddy was released on 24 December 2013.[7]

Ninja Bots

A DLC game in which the player controls a ninja AR Bot, evading traps and firing shuriken. The Ninja Bots DLC was released on 13 March 2014 and supports up to four players.

AR Studio

Japan Studio created free DLC content, titled AR Studio, which, when used in conjunction with the PlayStation App, adds many features to help aspiring streamers set the stage for their own unique talk show.[8] A few included features are: colored smoke that comes out of the Dualshock 4 by pressing the touchpad, up to 3 different colored spotlights, a variety of screen filters, and a handful of virtual masks the streamer can put over their face.

The Playroom VR

A virtual reality game, entitled The Playroom VR was released in October 2016.[9] It contains a series of asymmetrical multiplayer minigames to demonstrate the features of PlayStation VR (running on the PlayStation 4).[9] It comes free with the VR headset and contains six minigames: Cat and Mouse, Monster Escape, Wanted, Toy Wars, Ghost House, and Robots Rescue.[9] The Playroom VR received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic based on six critic reviews.[10] Simon Fitzgerald of Push Square called it a "good collection of couch co-op mini-games that demonstrate the capabilities of the VR headset superbly. Although a few of the games you'll play once and never touch again, Robots Rescue is a standout experience that you'll wish was a fully-fledged game in itself."[9]

See also

References

Notes
  1. Additional artwork by Firesprite, My Alien Buddy downloadable content by Double Fine Productions

Footnotes
  1. "Reminder: Playroom Will Be Pre-installed On Every PlayStation 4". IGN. 20 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  2. "PlayStation 4 hitting shelves on November 15th in the US for $399, November 29th in Europe". Engadget. 20 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. Yin-Poole, Wesley (6 December 2013). "From the ashes of WipEout dev Studio Liverpool rises Firesprite". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. Fallon, Jimmy (13 November 2013). Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. NBC.
  5. "PS4 Playroom DLC "Toy Maker" released: we go hands-on". SlashGear. 26 November 2013. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  6. "Double Fine Is Making Free DLC For The PS4 Pack-In The Playroom". Kotaku. 1 September 2013. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  7. "My Alien Buddy Is Out Now For Free For The Playroom". The International House of Mojo. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  8. "The Playroom: AR Studio Out Tonight on PS4". PlayStation Blog. 18 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. Fitzgerald, Simon (25 October 2016). "Review: The Playroom VR (PS4)". Push Square. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. "The Playroom VR". Metacritic. 10 October 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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