Augmented Reality

It’s been interesting watching the phenomenon that is Pokemon Go, especially as it spread through Latin America and Asia this past week. I find it amusing that the Japan release only came after Australia, North America and Europe. This, combined with watching the CGI projections at the Olympics opening ceremony, made me think about augmented reality.

I haven’t personally seen hordes of folks walking around staring at their cellphones, but maybe because I’m not going to the right places. In Pokemon Go, players can “see” something that non-players cannot. It first reminded me of the thestrals in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; only some students can see them, but they are invisible to others. But there’s a difference: the thestrals can be sensed in other ways by those who cannot physically see them, but the creatures of Pokemon Go are un-sensible or non-sensible to non-players. So a better analogy might be the divide between magic users and non-magic users. Magic users can sense magic, like Jedi can sense the Force. Non-users simply do not have that experience.

In previous posts, I mused about virtual reality as a window to experience a magical world. One could also go the theme park route with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (I have yet to plan a trip – I’m waiting for the crowds to die down post-summer – and the new L.A. park is much closer to me than Orlando.) Alternatively one could experience several days in a LARP format. I think New World Magischola have prudently chosen not to go the route of Harry Potter licensing, instead creating their own school and houses (but basically the same idea).

Here’s my new (potentially commercial) idea: Use a combination of live action with both virtual and augmented reality. Instead of having to build a theme park, one could use any nondescript building – a warehouse if you want more space, or on a smaller scale a shop in a mall. Use augmented reality to “help” users find these “places of magic”. It’s somewhat like St Mungo’s or the Ministry of Magic – hidden to Muggle eyes, but has traces of magic identifiable to a wizard. I’m not sure a hospital or a government building would be as interesting as a bazaar when you can actually buy objects (after all, you’ll need to recoup your investment by setting this up) or a place where you can have an adventure (like those popular escape rooms, or maybe on open grounds somewhere).

While Google Glass looked dorky when it first came out, I’m sure someone out there is designing something that will look sleek so that you can have a smooth augmented reality experience outdoors. If you are going somewhere indoors, a combination of virtual reality, augmented reality and “real” stuff (because you might want to actually handle physical objects) can be blended. I could imagine an indoor shop selling magical objects (maybe with a program that links to your augmented reality device), which you could then use in other adventures. One could bring Dungeons and Dragons to augmented life. I could also imagine an outdoor space where you could hunt a beast or find treasure (like Pokemon Go) with adequate mapping and preparation of the location.

Another consideration is whether to go with something the public already knows, probably requiring licensing fees proportional to its popularity. (I wonder how much Wizarding World of Harry Potter had to pay in terms of licensing fees.) Or create your own world, and try not to infringe on copyright. If you’re successful, the corporate world will come after you to protect their interests. I could happily work on someone devise a theory of magic to interact with virtual, augmented, and physical devices. But I’m not sure I’ll leave my day job just yet. I’m sure someone has thought of this idea already and is working on it, if not multiple people.

I also wonder about the longer term psychological effects of immersing oneself in an augmented reality that does not “physically” exist. Before the technology existed, we might indulge a very young child who plays in an imaginary world, but we would think the adult crazy and psychologically unstable. But one thing I’m pretty sure will happen is that we will continue to push this technology to its limits for better or for worse.