PreviewLabs has announced the release of Buggy Blasters, a videogame prototype to be played in augmented reality (AR) using the Microsoft HoloLens. Buggy Blasters is the first multiplayer videogame for HoloLens available on the Microsoft Store, and can be downloaded for free now.
In the Buggy Blasters prototype, two players play a capture-the-flag style gameplay mode while each controlling multiple buggies. These buggies can be controlled using a gamepad (the Xbox One controller), or the default HoloLens ‘air tap’ controls, in which players tap their fingers in the air to direct the buggies to the indicated positions. The prototype can be played by two players each wearing a HoloLens in the same room, or from separate locations across the globe.
Before starting a match, both players define a rectangular area on the floor they want to use. By keeping the overlapping area of the two rectangles, a shared space is created fitting both players’ rooms.
There is also a single player mode included in Buggy Blasters, which allows players to freely drive around in a simulation similar to driving a radio-controlled car. It also takes full advantage of the HoloLens’ spatial understanding feature, allowing interaction with the real environment, for instance driving the buggy off the couch or down the stairs, or bumping against the walls.
During the past six months, PreviewLabs experimented with the HoloLens creating several prototypes including for remote support in machine maintenance scenarios. The Buggy Blasters prototype’s significance stretches beyond entertainment as it explores new ways for users to collaborate in augmented reality by creating a shared space while at different locations.
Despite the fact that the HoloLens is not presented as a gaming device, videogames do full a large quota of the software available via the Microsoft Store. Microsoft themselves commissioned a new instalment in a fan favourite franchise, Conker, in Asobo Studios’ Young Conker, in addition to Fragments and RoboRaid.
Buggy Blasters is available to download via the Microsoft Store for HoloLens now, without cost. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest videogame titles made available for the HoloLens platform
via Mint VR