The University of Mississippi is adding another level to its Rebel Rewards app: a location-based, augmented reality game. The game, which is the first of its kind to be available to a college campus, looks for AR football receivers to throw virtual passes to before he disappears to earn the user Rebel Rewards points.
The game — which the University is partnering with Total Communicator Solutions, Inc. to create — is only available in certain locations, both indoors and outdoors.
“Ole Miss continues to enthusiastically implement new features and technologies that enhance fan engagement,” Erik Bjontegard, CEO and founder of Total Communicator Solutions, said in a statement. “We continue to deepen our relationship with Ole Miss, extending on-the-field excitement to fans right on their phones and watches, before, during and after Ole Miss games.”
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In addition to the game, the app features an AR function that allows posters of certain players go from being two-dimensional to talking and moving around. In a promotional video, tight end Evan Engram walks around campus and recruits students to look his poster through the app. When a user holds the phone up to the poster, the image of Engram begins to talk and move around.
The Rebel Rewards program, originally introduced in 2009, was designed to increase student involvement with Mississippi’s athletics program. The app was introduced in 2014 and allows users to collect points that can be used to win anything from Ole Miss gear to individual lunches with the athletic director.