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Mixed Reality Pacman

Posted by Zonk on from the one-reality-isn't-enough dept.

VirtualUK writes "The BBC News website is running a story about a team of engineers headed by Andrew David Cheok over at the Mixed Reality Lab, University of Singapore. They've developed a Human Pacman game which is played out on the streets of Singapore. The screenshots of what the players see is pretty interesting with users of both the mixed reality version and the virtual reality version being able to interact. The system comprises of a bunch of wearable computers that use GPS and wireless network connections to relay information regarding position. People in the US can see it showcased at the Wired NextFest in Chicago, June 24-26."

30 comments

  1. Long-term dupe? by Phisbut · · Score: 1

    Didn't I see that being posted here like, months ago?

    --
    After 3 days without programming, life becomes meaningless
    - The Tao of Programming
    1. Re:Long-term dupe? by Phisbut · · Score: 1
      Didn't I see that being posted here like, months ago?

      Yes, I think I did...

      And then again, this wasn't the first time either...

      --
      After 3 days without programming, life becomes meaningless
      - The Tao of Programming
  2. Actual BBC link by vertinox · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4607449.stm

    *coughs* Wasn't in the actual news post.

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
  3. Paintball by yotto · · Score: 1

    This will really take off when they can do it cheaply (and with sturdy enough equipment) to play a game of "paintball" where you overlay powerups and the like over real terrain.

    Imagine running through a pintball arena to the "rocket launcher" powerup. You hit it, and the gun you're holding turns into a rocket launcher. You leap over a barricade where 3 of your opponents are crouched, and you blow them away with a rocket. All this while, in reality, you're holding a plastic gun with two triggers (primary and secondary) and some buttons (Next weapon, previous weapon, favorite weapons).

    I'd pay $20/hour for an hour of that once a month.

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
    1. Re:Paintball by Nytewynd · · Score: 1

      Even better than that would be to virtually simulate quake or doom 3 entirely. Don't just limit to power ups, but throw demons in there too.

      You could do different weapons and powerups in a lazer tag style with friends, but at the same time have to worry about the flying exploding skulls. Paintball and laser tag can suck if one team decides to play it safe and bunker down. If you have giant demons roaming around, you would need to move or fight them while you worry about getting ganked by the blue team.

      --
      /. ++
    2. Re:Paintball by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1

      Sounds like an awesome idea...there's just two problems that most video gamers will have with your proposal:

      1. Running
      2. Jumping

      ^_^
      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    3. Re:Paintball by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      And here I was thinking the gamers are gonna love this. It's the ultimate in ragdoll physics!

      --
      tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
    4. Re:Paintball by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 1

      It's the ultimate in ragdoll physics!

      Only if you club the other players in the head.

      --
      "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
    5. Re:Paintball by Tedium+Unleased · · Score: 1

      this may really take off if slashdot ups its quota on posting this story from once a year to twice a year. i for one will be keeping an eye out for it again in november.

    6. Re:Paintball by Tedium+Unleased · · Score: 1

      yeah, they totally won't be able to handle the rigors of this kind of physical exertion : http://155.69.54.110//research/HP/FILES/related%20 pictures/PAGES/14.catching.htm

  4. Already posted YEARS ago by Vicissidude · · Score: 1

    There's nothing like deja vu.

  5. Club Dread by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 1


    This reminds me of the live-action Pac-Man game shown in Club Dread.

    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Club Dread by lisaparratt · · Score: 1

      It reminds me of last Saturday evening, down my favourite night club ;)

  6. ZONK, WE LOVE YOU!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Posting a dupe of a 6-month-old story and calling it news...Zonk, you're the worst Slashdot editor *ever*.
    The only thing that would make this worse is if you yanked this story now to cover up your idiocy.

    What do you say, Zonk? Can you make that extra effort?

  7. Real-life pacman by jangobongo · · Score: 1

    The graphics make this look like fun. I just hope players aren't so immersed in playing that they forget about their surroundings. Otherwise we'll be seeing "Student Run Over By Car While Playing Pacman" headlines and giving out "Darwin" awards.

    --

    Sig cancelled due to lack of interest
    1. Re:Real-life pacman by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 1

      and giving out "Darwin" awards.

      I swear officer! I thought the woman was a ghost!
      - And the reason you grabbed her...
      They were powerups,I swear!!!

  8. Old ideas by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

    I am tired of seeing all these semi-VR Pacman games. What I want to see is an implementation of Dig-Dug. I am sure we can all come up with a few folks we'd like to drop a boulder or two on.

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  9. This is simply further evidence... by Winckle · · Score: 2, Funny

    to suppost claims of people copying behaviour seen in video games!

    1. Re:This is simply further evidence... by Nytewynd · · Score: 1

      "But your honor, my client simply ate a power pellet and mistook the defendent as Pinky."

      --
      /. ++
  10. Dupe: Pacmanhattan! by pjcreath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    All you young whippersnappers with your "dupe" stories from 2003 and 2004. Back in my day, we had real dupes. From 2001, when Pacman was being played on the streets of New York.

    But seriously, check out the videos (Coral Cache link). They're priceless. (Edit: The videos seem to be offline -- does anybody have an archive?)

    "That ghost's gonna catch Pac-man, gonna *$#@ him up."

    1. Re:Dupe: Pacmanhattan! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hey smarty-pants, the pacmanhattan project was from 2004. i thought pacmanhattan was kind of a cheap hack, what with players having to stop and make telephone calls to get location updates. really it wasn't much more than some kooky costumes and a funny video to show at the ITP show that spring. looks like someone finally did it right with GPS.

  11. Think about the possibilities by dczanik · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While these folks may look funny, I think augmented Reality is a very exciting area. Think of the military training, and gaming possibilities. It's one step closer to the holodeck.

    Thought Doom was scary? Imagine playing Doom, but the monsters are in your house, and in your neighborhood.

    What about Co-op? It could be set up so you can look however you want to your team. Sure, you may be a 90 lb. ugly geek, but your game character could look like an 8 foot Predator alien.

    Think of the military too. It's a cheap way to teach the soldiers. A Virtual America's Army game? What about virtual tracers rounds?

    And like every new technology, think of the pr0n possibilities!

  12. Mixed gender? by Leroy_Brown242 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Mixed Reality Pacman"

    Better than mixed gender Pacman, I guess.

    --
    Pretty Pictures!
  13. pacmanhattan by degraeve · · Score: 2, Informative

    Has been going on in the US for a while: http://pacmanhattan.com/

    1. Re:pacmanhattan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has been going on in Canada, as well: http://pacvancouver.com/

  14. Video links by pjcreath · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I know, it's bad karma to reply to your own post, but...here are some of the videos, thanks to The Wayback Machine:

    1. PeanutGallery.mov
    2. DENNIS GETS FREE.mov
    3. escape.mov
    4. No luck finding Crazy.mov...

    And, yes, this was from 2004, not 2001. My bad.

  15. Mixed Reality? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I always thought it was called augmented reality.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality

  16. OSS Augmented reality by S3D · · Score: 1

    Luckily, most of Augmented/Mixed reality packages used by researcher is OSS.They are pretty easy to use for any hobbist with web-camera and C++ expirience. Some can be esily ported to Pocket PC.
    Most used are :
    ARToolkit
    MXR Toolkit

  17. Possibilities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I remember seeing a video a bit back that showed how they could insert virtual things without a bluescreen, and these things interacted with real world objects like tables and such (in the video he drops a virtual hummer toy onto a table and it hits the table and bounces realistically)
    combine that technology (demons can't clip through your table) with this, and we could have some awesome FPS action.