Calgary, AB -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/16/2016 --A new smartphone game is due to launch on Indiegogo next month that transforms mundane barcodes and QRcodes into intriguing fantasy creatures and monsters. BattleScan is the brainchild of independent software developer Kris Bray, and could well change how gaming fans regard barcodes on the packaging of their everyday household items. Players that sign up for the game will use QRcodes and barcodes to unlock brand-new 3D characters, game items, weapons, or power-ups.

Kris says he was inspired to design and develop BattleScan based on childhood memories of a game that he played during the 1990s. Barcode Battler was a Japanese handheld gaming console that encouraged gamers to look beyond the barcodes that were provided with the game itself. Players searched and experimented to find their own barcode monsters from everyday food and cleaning products. Kris reminisces about cutting out barcodes, gluing them onto cardboard, and swiping them through the handheld device to watch the numbers become translated, or decoded, into statistics which then became characters or items for the game. The game would then determine a winner and a loser.

Following a treasure hunt like format with an imaginative story, players of BattleScan must search the earth for ancient artifacts containing symbols of their ancestors. ''Some of the obelisks that players find will bring items of fortune,'' explained Kris, ''but some of them will bring something much worse!''

Kris discovered a passion for software development when he was 12. That dedication is very much still there today. He has created numerous business applications and augmented reality apps for advertisements, and art and discovery exhibits. Augmented reality involves a user digitally manipulating their surroundings and Kris has been able to draw on his expertise to develop BattleScan and prepare it for release. He has plans to add multiplayer levels so players can pitch exciting battles against one another. There will be a street-fighter style battle in an arena which will be found by scanning, and later, a second augmented reality fight mode will be created for table-top battles similar to those found in Star Wars.

Following its launch on Indiegogo, BattleScan will be available for iOS and Android. More details are available on the developer's website.

Those interested in downloading the game on its release can follow its progress on Indiegogo.