[From The Displayground, Microvision’s ‘official’ blog; the press release for this prototype is here and a short video of it in action is here]
PicoP Gaming Applications hit Intel® Extreme Masters
December 10th, 2009
by Ben Averch
Hi all,
I’m here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where the people are warm and the weather is…not! For the next three days, Microvision will be showcasing some innovative new uses of the PicoP display engine for gaming applications at the Intel® Extreme Masters North American Championships, taking place at the enormous West Edmonton Mall. Intel Extreme Masters is classed as the biggest gaming tournament worldwide, with six events around the globe and a total prize pool of $530,000. Our press release issued earlier today is [at the url above].
As you can see from the video, Microvision has designed a unique handheld first-person shooter projection game controller prototype that uses the PicoP display engine to project images on any surface. Using the infinite focus capability of the PicoP display engine, combined with a motion sensing module, it’s now possible to play video games on multiple surfaces, all while tracking your character’s point of view in 3D space.
At Intel Extreme Masters, we’ll be putting this prototype projection game controller into the hands of some of the world’s best gamers, playing the ultra-realistic combat simulation PC game “Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising”. We think the PicoP gaming application is an exciting new way to take first-person shooter games to the next level of interactivity and immersion, and it will be great to hear first hand what championship-level gamers think about it.
We will also be demonstrating a family-oriented title that uses a simple, disc-shaped PicoP-enabled projection game controller. Gamers will have the chance to steer the character Aladdin on his flying carpet around pyramids, through canyons and across the desert to re-capture the five missing rings of the Vizier, just by tilting and waving the projection disc. These demonstrations highlight the versatility of PicoP technology for a wide variety of gaming experiences.