You can now interact with your animal friends in augmented reality.
A major update has launched for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp that adds two augmented reality (AR) camera modes to the free-to-play mobile game.
With this new update, you can now place an animal friend in the world in front of you through AR to interact with them, and you can also explore your in-game cabin in AR as though you were really there.
Here’s how to use the new AR camera features in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp!
Tap the menu button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Tap “AR” in the bottom-right corner of the menu.
If you want to interact with a single animal friend as though they’re standing in front of you in the real world, tap “AR Camera.” If you want to explore your cabin through AR (either the first or second floor), tap “AR Cabin.”
Now, we’ll break down how each of these options works!
The first time you open the AR Camera, the game will show you a quick tutorial and information related to this feature. Tap the “Next” button to progress through these windows.
Now, you can place your first animal in the world and interact with them! The game automatically selected Flurry for us, presumably because she’s our Camp Caretaker. If you want to select a different animal, tap the menu icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen, and then tap “Animal.”
When you’re ready to place your animal friend, move your camera so that they’re where you want them to be and tap “Place here.”
Now, you can tap the menu button in the bottom-right corner of the screen to cause the animal to do different poses, to change the scene’s lighting, and to add furniture from your inventory to the scene. For instance, if you add a chair to the scene, your animal friend will sit on the chair in AR (You can only have a single furniture item out at once). You can also slide your finger left or right across your animal to rotate them so they’re facing a different direction.
If you want to move your animal (and furniture, if you have something out) to a different spot, tap the pickup icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
If you want to reset the scene (that is, remove all furniture, pose, and lighting changes and pick up your animal), tap “Reset” in the top-right corner of the screen, and then tap “Reset All” on the window that appears.
Finally, when everything is perfect, you can tap the capture button at the bottom of the screen to take a picture!
When you select the AR Cabin option, you’ll need to choose whether you want to visit your cabin’s first or second floor.
From there, you’ll be shown a quick tutorial and information about this feature. Once you’re done reading this information, your device’s camera will open. Move the outline of your cabin’s door to a place that’s high enough off of the ground that you’ll be able to “walk” through it, and then tap your device’s screen to place the door in front of you.
Now, tap the door again to open it.
From there, you can physically walk forward in the real world in order to “walk into” your cabin on your device’s screen.
Once you’re inside the cabin, you can continue moving around in the real world to explore your cabin as though you were really there. You can even tap on animal friends in order to talk to them!
If you ever want to move to your cabin’s other floor, tap the stairs icon near the top of the screen, and then tap “Yes” to move. When you swich floors, the game will reload the camera screen and you’ll need to place your cabin door again.
If you ever want to pick up your door and move it to a different location, tap the “Reset” button at the top of the screen.
Have fun!
To learn more about Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, or to view the rest of our guides for the game, check out our previous coverage.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
