As revealed in an exclusive today by Mashable, Hasbro revealed details surrounding a new app they are launching called the Star Wars Studio FX app. Why is this app so awesome? Because, instead of learning how to create 3D images and graphics or banging your head against a wall to master the green screen, you can use this app to easily create special effects for your Star Wars inspired short films.
The app is compatible with with several new Hasbro Rogue One: A Star Wars Story toys available this fall. The compatibility with these toys makes it easier to tell your own Star Wars story. You don’t necessarily need to own these compatible toys in order to utilize the free app, but owning these toys does have its perks! The Star Wars Studio FX app will help enhance your story, offering more than 30 special effects for you to use throughout the course of your film. Supposedly Hasbro is going to try to have 50 special effects when the app is officially launched. This is where I go into the perks of owning these toys…
There are no in-app purchases if you want a certain special effect. However, one way you can earn more access to different special effects is by scanning the QR code of one of the compatible Star Wars toys. Does this mean you’ll get a different effect every time you scan a different QR code. Unfortunately, according to Raymond Wong from Mashable, this is not the case. He tested out the pre-release version of the app and discovered some minor bumps:
“The only downside, as I discovered after unboxing a dozen or so figures and toys, is that the QR codes are random and don’t correspond to, say, a specific action figure or vehicle. You will get duplicate codes that don’t unlock anything.
via Mashable
Buying toys in order to access more goodies and get credit, especially considering how expensive some of the merchandise is, seems to be a bit brilliantly evil. However, I like that we do not need to purchase the toys in order to access the majority of the special effects available right now. This makes the app very cost effective, especially for those of us with money issues stemming from adulting and fulfilling fandom urges.
The app will be available on ioS and on the Android. It is currently scheduled to be released for September 2016, but the official date has not been announced yet. Stay tuned for more updates when we discover new information.