Future Friday: Open World Games Tease an Augmented Future
‘Sandbox’ video games hint at real world development
Typically, art imitates life. Over the past 20-plus years, video games have kept to Oscar Wilde’s famous quote.
EA Sports recreates the world’s most popular stadiums and athletes with startling realism. Rockstar Games built interactive replicas of downtown New York, Los Angeles and the 1911 American frontier.
But is the opposite also true? Could life soon imitate the virtual worlds that billions of gamers around the world explore every day?
READ: Could Smart Glasses Revolutionize the Gaming Industry?
From The Sims to Spider-Man, sandbox games ask players to complete tasks with both creativity and skill. These open-world games usually incorporate a GPS, which gamers use to navigate the environment.
The GPS in these virtual worlds function very differently than our own - for now
- In games, a digital map is laid over the player’s 3rd or 1st-person perspective On-screen, the virtual and physical worlds become one and the same
- In real life, navigation is trickier. We must stop to check our smartphones for directions
What if we copy the hands-free way video game characters get from A to B?
With Smart Glasses, augmented reality (AR) is starting to make this possible.
Like countless other open-world games, Marvel’s Spider-Man has gamers navigate environments with heads-up displays. Could this gameplay feature be used in real life?
Image credit: Attack of the Fan Boy
Becoming one - the virtual and real
People rely on their smartphones for everything. Yet, the act of pulling it out of your pocket isn’t exactly seamless.
Most of us use Google Maps to get around. What if you didn’t have to take your eyes off the sidewalk to check for directions?
What if you could navigate the real world just like Spider-Man on your PS5?
Vuzix Smart Glasses are already helping businesses and society overcome major challenges:
Remote training
Imagine you’re a technician. Because of COVID, learning from an instructor in the classroom is impossible. How do you develop the muscle-memory and knowledge needed to repair terminals? Simply broadcast your POV to an off-site instructor over Smart Glasses!
Socially-distanced healthcare
In these times, protecting the well-being of health experts is paramount. What if they could see exactly what a patient’s nurse or caregiver could see - from their sterilized office? This is now a reality.
Vaccine handling
Educators are starting to embrace Smart Glasses. COVID vaccines require a great deal of care, and specialists are training handlers using the hands-free technology. That’s right, Vuzix is helping you get that jab sooner, rather than later.
GPS
Just as people rely on smartphones to get from A to B, they’ll likely rely on Smart Glasses in the future. Hands-free, the display in your lenses could provide directional prompts - in a non-intrusive way. Just as Legend of Zelda gamers have their location highlighted on the map, the way to your dentist’s office could be gamified.
What do you think?
Are open-world sandbox games previewing how we’ll get around in the near future?