Congratulations!
You’ve made it past my SEO nightmare of a title! I wanted to introduce this topic because I feel as though many overlook Augmented Reality applications in entertainment outside of the gaming community. One of my classmates and I discussed the possibility of experiencing a movie in AR. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the idea to fruition. While that thought is likely to stay in limbo, for the time being, it’s got me thinking.
What Are We Trying to Improve With Augmented Reality?
After revisiting that idea in my head, I realized it’s about how more than what. Trey and I were trying to improve how we can experience entertainment. Most advancements in entertainment that thrive make changes to how we are consuming the content. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Instant Video made their big breaks because they changed the way that we consumed film and television videos. The entertainment that we’re receiving has not changed at all! Augmented reality makes it possible for us to experience the SAME things in new ways! The reason why movie theaters have not died yet is that it provides an experience beyond the content.
What’s the Correlation Between Theaters and Augmented Reality?
Movie theater franchises are introducing larger, reclining seats, more snacks (that are still expensive) and better screens to improve our movie watching experience. What if we applied those same principles to role-playing games using AR? For instance, when I was younger, I used to log onto Habbo religiously. I enjoyed meeting new people in a semi-detached reality platform and seeing their creations. Runescape, World of Warcraft, and Second Life also provided a very similar experience, but what if we didn’t have to be completely immersed in a separate environment? We can experience the fun in real life!
