Use the barcode in your Loquiz game for real-world interaction

With Loquiz, you can make a game interact with the real world in many ways (such as the activity station or a QR code). In this article, I want to show you how to use a barcode.

There’s one good thing about the barcode: It’s everywhere. I bet that you have at least one item on your desk that has a barcode on it, such as a tissue box or a hydrating cream. Look at the numbers on it: All you have to do is input them into your Loquiz game, and then it will work. Click here to jump to the part where I explain how to add barcode scanning in your game.

Let’s try a game that lets you scan different barcodes

The barcode hunt

First of all, download the Loquiz app (Android & iOS). Then allow photo permission and scan the following QR code, or input the username/password:

Scan the correct barcodes among those from these products:

Aisle 1

Aisle 2

Aisle 3

How to include a barcode in your Loquiz game?

Let’s take the example of our Barcode Hunt. I’ll show you how I added barcodes in this game.

Loquiz supports EAN-13 (Android & iOS), EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E (Android) barcode types.

If you want to generate the barcodes yourself, you can also use this website. Make sure you use the correct barcode type.

See the box? It has a barcode. Note down the number associated with it: 5034567890137.

So how do we activate a barcode with a Loquiz game? In the Creator, we use the following logic block:

You’ll always need to attach it with a “when-then” block like this:

Then add any action to it. Basically, it says that if you scan that particular barcode, then the logic takes the following actions.

Now, if we go into the game logic, it looks like this:

We show task 2 on the playground. If we scan that barcode, then task 2 disappears, task 3 and 25 appear. Besides, we open task 8 as a congratulatory message.

Important note: Don’t forget to activate the “Code Scanner” in your Loquiz game. To do so, go to the config, design page, then tick the following box:

Alternatively, you can also activate a task by barcode this way: Go to your task’s settings, activation tab, and tick/fill this part:

So that’s how you can include barcodes in your Loquiz game! Combine this with real-life items like cookie packaging, soda cans, tissue boxes, etc. It will increase the immersion in your game even more. If you want more advice on how to develop your Loquiz game, feel free to contact me; I’ll be delighted to help.