Photo: Screenshot from Katsuomi Kobayashi's driving simulator
Google Maps is without a doubt a fantastic service, as it helps us not only drive to a specific destination safer and easier but also to explore pretty much any location across the world as conveniently as possible from the comfort of our own sofa.
In the last few years, Google Maps has evolved to become an all-in-one navigation solution that includes everything from Live View in AR to how busy a specific place currently is.
And thanks to a skilled developer, Google Maps is now becoming a game, too, as someone has created a very simple driving simulator that puts you behind the wheel of a car showing up on the roads already available in Google’s service.
In other words, you can drive on Google Maps’ roads just like you’d be playing a game, all using your keyboard for input. The simulator can run in your browser, so you won’t have to install anything on your computer.
Needless to say, you shouldn’t expect anything else than a simple driving experience based on the data provided by Google Maps, so there are no obstacles, and your car won’t hit any objects. In other words, you can easily go off the road and drive over a building because the Google Maps imagery only serves as a background for the driving simulator.
Originally released in 2014 but relaunched this year, the simulator has recently been refreshed with an updated Google Maps API that uses the WebGL version while also getting map types, tilt, and camera direction buttons.
Katsuomi Kobayashi, the developer who made the whole thing possible, says no new features would be added because the game has already reached the Google Maps API usage limit. It’s pretty clear this little simulator has been quite a hit lately, with more netizens giving it a try on their devices.
And thanks to a skilled developer, Google Maps is now becoming a game, too, as someone has created a very simple driving simulator that puts you behind the wheel of a car showing up on the roads already available in Google’s service.
In other words, you can drive on Google Maps’ roads just like you’d be playing a game, all using your keyboard for input. The simulator can run in your browser, so you won’t have to install anything on your computer.
Needless to say, you shouldn’t expect anything else than a simple driving experience based on the data provided by Google Maps, so there are no obstacles, and your car won’t hit any objects. In other words, you can easily go off the road and drive over a building because the Google Maps imagery only serves as a background for the driving simulator.
Originally released in 2014 but relaunched this year, the simulator has recently been refreshed with an updated Google Maps API that uses the WebGL version while also getting map types, tilt, and camera direction buttons.
Katsuomi Kobayashi, the developer who made the whole thing possible, says no new features would be added because the game has already reached the Google Maps API usage limit. It’s pretty clear this little simulator has been quite a hit lately, with more netizens giving it a try on their devices.
Google Maps API?WebGL??????????????????API????????????????????????????????? https://t.co/5dF3JPdgEi pic.twitter.com/TgWHNBmlWc
— ????VR (@korinVR) May 26, 2021
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