Framed is a location-based AR game built in Unity for mobile. You’re trying to clear a friend’s name, and the only way to do it is to get out there and find the evidence yourself.
Players use a simulated UV light to uncover hidden clues scattered across five real-world locations. The mystery unfolds as you move through it.
Project Details
Role: Creator and Developer
Development Platform: Unity
Published on: Android
Programming Language: C#
Features: Location-based AR using Niantic VPS
Inspiration & Concept
I love escape rooms because they allow you to explore, discover, and put the pieces together yourself. There is something deeply satisfying about a story that only unfolds when you actively participate. Framed came from wanting to recreate that feeling outside, in the real world, with AR as the layer hiding everything in plain sight.
Location-based AR is perfect for this kind of experience because the place itself becomes part of the puzzle. You are not just playing a game set somewhere, you are physically in it, and that changes everything about how the story feels.
How I Built This Location-Based AR Game
I built Framed in Unity using Niantic Lightship to scan and anchor five real locations in the park. When you hold up your phone, the experience detects which location you are at and triggers the corresponding part of the story. Because the narrative is linear, I set it up so that only the correct location activates at the right story moment. If you wander over to a later location before you are supposed to be there, nothing happens.
The UV light effect uses raycasting. As you move your phone around, the light casts into the scene and when it collides with a hidden clue, that clue becomes visible.
I also recorded video footage and placed it into the locations as holographic elements, so the story plays out around you as you discover it. Getting the detection logic right took the most time. I wanted the experience to feel seamless enough that none of the technical scaffolding would break the mystery. When it works, you just feel like a detective.