When Nintendo released its Labo cardboard kits, the intention was to offer children and adults alike a new way to get creative while still keeping a close tie to video games by using the Switch. That's certainly happened now we have vehicle, robot, and variety Labo packs. But modifications are also pushing Labo in new directions, and one such project has created a brand new augmented reality game starring a much-loved Nintendo character.
As IGN reports, the AR game was created as part of the Japanese Nintendo Labo Creator's Contest. You can see the game in action in the video below tweeted out by the creator:
Nintendo Laboã§ã€ŒARルã'¤ãƒ¼ã'¸ãƒžãƒ³ã'·ãƒ§ãƒ³ã€ã''作ã'Šã¾ã—ãŸã€'ã'¤ãƒ³ã'¿ãƒ©ã'¯ã'·ãƒ§ãƒ³ç³»ç "究者本気ã®ãƒ€ãƒ³ãƒœãƒ¼ãƒ«å·¥ä½œã''ã©ã†ãžå¾¡è¦§ãã ã•ã"ã€'#ラボ作å"（フル動ç"»ï¼šhttps://t.co/JzeT7lXRcZ ） pic.twitter.com/RJCDApVsMz — eisuke fujinawa (@nawafuji) August 27, 2018
Luigi's Mansion was first released on the GameCube back in 2001, but this year it was remade and released on the 3DS. In the game, the player is tasked with controlling Luigi who is carrying around a Poltergust 3000 with which to suck up ghosts.
The Nintendo Labo project makes extensive use of Toy-Con Garage, which is software Nintendo offers with Labo to let you create your own projects using the cardboard kits. However, this AR Luigi's Mansion goes much further, with the creator installing a magnifying glass inside a Labo cardboard housing, which also has a slot for the Switch. The unit then acts as a focused torch that can be used to search the walls of a room for ghosts.
The game works by positioning reflective sheets on walls or objects where you want a ghost to appear. When one is found, shaking the Labo Poltergust 3000 sucks it up just like the original game did, only in this version the motion controls are used to detect the movement as sucking up the ghost.
It looks like a lot of fun for younger players and just shows you the potential Nintendo Labo has for creativity. I'm sure Nintendo is taking notes and the creations appearing at these contests will be fed back to the team tasked with creating new Labo kits for sale.