Microsoft’s “Holodeck”

Recently I found this article explaining an interesting new VR technology patented by Microsoft. It seems the company is already looking into incorporating the user’s physical surroundings with the traditional big-screen TV presentation of today’s popular video games. The new tech, referred to as Microsoft’s “immersive display experience” has already had a patent filed and, if it ever actually gets off the ground, looks to potentially revolutionize the gaming world with a near science fiction level of technology. This particular tech seems to be a long way off, but future generations of Microsoft’s Xbox could incorporate the feature.

We briefly glanced over the idea of a “Star Trek Holodeck” as a software that would surround a user and potentially be versatile enough to create any environment imaginable. While its true Microsoft will certainly slow the development of expressive art pieces using this hardware by demanding licensing fees and other “red tape” to be cleared by smaller artists and developers, the potential for a completely new, interactive, immersive experience would be made possible for a more mainstream audience.

While this article doesn’t give much support to whether or not video game design is an art form, the interactivity made possible by this technology certainly could lead to a more immersive experience when the common household console can turn your living room into its own virtual world.