Social networking has always been all about friends, followers, and a close knitted community. But today’s social giants are now expanding on the said idea with add-on features that not only attract these audiences but also imbibe merry making and competition. Thus, alongside the debut of new holiday-themed lens filters, Snapchat has debuted an endless running lens game as well.
Yes, you heard me perfectly fine. Snapchat has started realizing the importance and popularity of their lens filters which recently moved out of their mask-focused mode to also include background scenic filters. But, starting today, the social media giant is debuting a native gaming experience through the release of its first ever official lens game called ‘Santa Helper.’
You don’t need to do anything fancy to gain access to this new game embedded within a lens filter. Just open the Snapchat app, tap and hold to make the app recognize your face and to see the lenses available for you. The very first lens should possibly be the new Santa Helper game. Now swipe to activate the said lens, which will augment your face into an elf’s body. You then have to go down a snowy slope while collecting presents, ornaments and dodging rabbits that try to knock you out.
The most attractive aspect of this lens game is, however, the navigation mechanism which requires you to tilt your jibjab face left and right to control the elf. Also, since you’re playing a game right within Snapchat, you have the ability to click a picture or record a video at any time to share with your friends or add to your Story. This will also enable you to share your high scores and compete with friends when you seriously have nothing else to do but kill time. Doesn’t that sound awesome!?
For those who don’t remember, Snapchat has previously tried a hand at native gaming experiences with the inclusion of a sponsored mac & cheese game which enable you to catch noodles in your mouth, bounce a ball on your head or solve a puzzle with your face in it. There have also been some traditional methods of game integrations within the Discover section including the Serena Williams tennis game and ESPN football game. These were accessible through adverts and opened up in browser windows.
Snapchat’s addition of a native gaming experience within their social offering follows pursuit to Facebook, who has recently announced the release of ‘Instant Games’ in their standalone chat app. This enables users to play HTML5-based web games right within the chat window to create an environment of competition. You can play classics like PacMan and SpaceInvaders to achieve a high score and challenge friends to try and one up you if possible. Telegram is also one such messaging app which has debuted native bot-powered games to alleviate the user experience a notch further.
