Game Developers Have a Bright Future With Google Glass

Friday, April 25, 2014

Game developers should keep a close eye (pun intended) on Google Glass and its potential to create immersive games. As Google points out, “With tons of tiny sensors and a screen that fits neatly above the eye, Glass is an exciting new place to play.”

There are plenty of examples of Augmented Reality devices (we reported on several during GDC) but they tend to be bulky, single purpose devices. Glass, on the other hand, is designed for many purposes and could potentially provide a boon for any number of gaming opportunities.

To demonstrate these opportunities at their most basic, Google has hacked together five simple games that experiment with the features of Glass and demonstrate some of the possibilities for gaming. They built the games to play well on Glass by utilizing its unique features and design.

Each game is visually simple and straightforward to play. Google intentionally wanted to show games that are quick to get into when you have a few, free minutes and just as easy to get out of when you want to turn your attention back to reality.

They bundled a few games together in the Mini Games Glassware, but you can jump directly into each one from the main voice menu. This is a central theme on Glass: use voice actions to minimize the time it takes to go from intent to action.

Glass sensors provide a unique playground for novel and intuitive user experiences. Whether that’s tilting your head, firing with your voice, or slicing with your hands, these games show how the sensors open up new gaming possibilities.

If you want to learn more about building games for Glass visit the GDK documentation.