Forget Pokemon GO - FaceRig lets you become a dragon

Ever wished you could be a dragon? Of course you have - who hasn't? Well, now you can be (kind of) thanks to FaceRig, a brand new mobile app that lets you take on the role of a vast variety of digital characters no matter where you are.

These avatars are fully 3D, and you can record videos or take selfies of them in any location thanks to some Pokemon GO-like AR functionality. Better still, you'll get rewards for doing so on a daily basis simply for logging in.

There are over 40 avatars to pick from in total, but you can also simply swap your face with one of over 20 face masks. Up to four of your friends can also get involved in the fun on a single mobile in real time.

You were probably sold on the promise of becoming a dragon, but for those still on the fence about checking out FaceRig, we spoke to the developer to learn more.

Can you explain how FaceRig works?

FaceRig Mobile is an application that enables you to embody awesome digital characters anywhere. The app tracks your facial expressions and maps them in real time on a character. FaceRig Mobile is free, it has no in app ads and also does not collect any form of personal data.

What do you think FaceRig offers that you can’t get from any other title on the App Store?

FaceRig Mobile gives users the possibility to embody fantastic full 3D avatars and use the amazing Live2D avatars developed in Japan. They can use masks, or more recently, import their 2D character and animate it using our app. With FaceRig Mobile you can also get creative with your messages! Record movies and share them to any social media network.

What challenges did you face during development, and how did you overcome them?

Well, we were mostly core game developers (PC and consoles), and rethinking our complex PC program into a cleaner mobile version was much more difficult than we expected. That is because all of us had a favourite feature which we wanted to be included in the mobile version, but we were required to keep only the elementary ones since the targeted audience is different on each platform.

Can you explain the new LIVE2D element in the game?

Our collaboration with the Live2D team was very well received on the Steam version, especially by content creators. Recently we released an important aspect of this experience, the option to include your own Live2D avatar into the mobile version. All you need to do is create your own 2D avatar on your PC using the free Live2d Cubism Editor and then just follow the simple steps from our tutorial on the mobile app to import it.

Which part of the game are you personally the most proud of and why?

We are very happy of how the mobile version turned out. We've put a lot of work into it. The most important thing for us was to offer mobile users the same avatar quality and experience as most of them were used to from the PC version. We feel we accomplished that goal.

Do you have anything planned in terms of future updates for the game and, if so, can you give us any details of what these might include?

We plan on adding more content, licensed avatars and even a videochat system in which users can interact with other users as the characters they embody.

You can download FaceRig on iOS [download] and Android [download] for free now.