“The Optimist,” developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, is the latest take on the multi-platform experience known as the alternate reality game (ARG). Linked to the Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird film due in 2014 called “Tomorrowland,” the new ARG is part of Disney’s efforts to create new interactive experiences that place its audience members directly in the action and reach beyond the niche ARG audience to attract more people. Continue reading Walt Disney Imagineering Redefining Alternate Reality Games

Microsoft has filed a patent application for a multiplayer gaming headset that could one day rival the Oculus Rift. The application, first filed in January 2012 and recently made public, includes technology related to voice interaction, eye-tracking, facial recognition, and various components for tracking head movement. If the patent application is more than a defensive measure, it could extend the Xbox platform into new hardware and new locations. Continue reading Microsoft Files Patent for Multiplayer Head-Mounted Display

Disney Research has created a haptic, or touch feedback, system that uses bursts of air. The AIREAL system simulates touch, or tactile sensation, in three-dimensional empty space. The haptic feedback can be applied to countless applications and situations, and may offer new ways for users to interact with their devices. The concept is to make touchless experiences, such as motion and gesture control, a physical interaction. This will ultimately give the user a more natural, touch-like perception. Continue reading SIGGRAPH: Disney Creates Air-Based Touch Feedback System

Google’s internal startup Niantic Labs has created a game called “Ingress” that is still in closed beta release. It is an augmented reality, massive multiplayer video game that uses location-based augmented reality of actual locations as game play. The augmented reality is based on where the player is physically, and adds layers to the game based on the surroundings. “Ingress” also opens up some compelling possibilities for advertisers. Continue reading Ingress Brings Augmented Reality to Mobile Video Gaming

For those who want to create their own virtual reality headsets, there are not many resources available. USC’s MxR Lab aims to change that by offering a newly launched showcase of creations and modifications that DIY enthusiasts can build, including open source code for both the devices and integrating full-body motion control through either Kinect for Windows or OpenNI. Continue reading USC Launches Web Hub for DIY Virtual Reality Projects

Virtual reality has yet to take a stronghold commercially, but a new product might change that. A new VR headset from California startup Oculus VR “costs just a few hundred dollars and puts players inside games like no television set can,” writes The New York Times. Resembling a pair of ski goggles, the headset is a combination of the affordable but high-quality parts made for the mobile electronics market and new technology from Oculus VR. Continue reading Oculus VR Believes the Time has Come for Virtual Reality