I've been thinking a lot about this latest demo of Google Glass, which shows how the device will record live video from a first-person perspective, and while TechCrunch is smart to compare to the memory recording technology depicted in Strange Days, a pretty good movie ahead of its time, I've been wondering how it will impact virtual worlds and gaming. My first thought was they'd be used in augmented reality gamng/VR, and they likely will, but the experience capture function suggests another kind of application:
Google Glass to record and experience virtual worlds and 3D games from a first-person perspective! Gameplay videos on YouTube already attract tens of millions of viewers, so why not experience gameplay as viewed by a famous gamer or avatar? See what they're seeing in virtual places you could never explore yourself, either because they're inaccessible or require too much time to reach. And anyway, you can watch dudes jumping from actual air balloons only so often.
Google Glass is really interesting but what I think will really have an impact on VWs is Leap Motion.
Posted by: Indigo Mertel | Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 03:13 PM
That's why gps-enabled Lumiya is going to be so important
Posted by: Graham Mills | Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 03:35 PM
"And anyway, you can watch dudes jumping from actual air balloons only so often."
Um... like, everyday.
There's countless videos of people with cameras on on the internet. And news crews have been doing live footage for years. Not sure why this one is special.
Posted by: Pussycat Catnap | Friday, June 29, 2012 at 09:26 AM
I love that to show something new and fancy they decide to use an Airship.
Posted by: Jo Yardley | Friday, June 29, 2012 at 03:27 PM
There's a Charles Stross novel from a few years ago, called "Halting State", which pretty solidly covers virtual worlds, and has this sort of augmented reality tech as a natural part of the world.
And this is a link to a vid of him talking at Google back in 2007.
http://www.videosurf.com/video/authors-google-charles-stross-57245801
If you have missed "Halting State", you might have missed a few obvious complications.
Posted by: Dave Bell | Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 08:30 AM