Do you remember those barcoding games from the 90's that let you scan soup barcodes to reveal monsters to fight? The idea was so awesome but the technology didn't let you do much.
There are a few examples of mobile games that use this functionality and I'd like to discuss how this can be implemented into a mobile game that is fun and not just gimmicky. Examples include Codemon (Android) and Barcode Beasties (android) where the monsters you fight (other than against other players in multiplayer) are found within the codes, but that's about as far as it goes.
I've been talking with some friends and we came up with a couple ideas.
1. Obviously let the barcodes contain monsters to fight.
2. Include chances to find items or powerup instead of monsters.
3. Limit the number of barcode scans using an energy mechanic (ie takes 20 energy for one scan, player has 200 energy per day).
So far, the barcode mechanic seems to be only another way of wading into the tall grass (pokemon) to find random encounters.
What other ways could barcoding be used to go further than this?