Magic Leap One, the company’s long-awaited AR headset, has been out for a month now. While we’ve been teased with some pretty interesting upcoming content for the platform, such as Weta GameShop’s shooter Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders and a newly announced mocap project with Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings) performing as an “orc-like character”, you’d be forgiven if you thought most of the still unreleased games and apps planned for the headset are still being developed behind closed doors. That’s not entirely true, as a group of AR/VR developers are currently testing out the headset’s abilities to create multiplayer experiences with a pretty inspiring first success.

Tweeted by JJ Castillo of Viewer Ready, a video reveals several remotely linked avatars shooting at targets—a simple demo, but an interesting look into the beginnings of an augmented shared space right in your living room, where real people can pop in for a chat and a quick game.

Created by Steve Lukas, a co-Founder of Across Realities, and joined by Castillo, and Twitter software engineer Andrés Ornelas and Anima Games founder Tony Ramirez, the four move around their respective rooms, tossing out targets with a hand gesture and having a group chat in the process of shooting down the targets, aided by the Magic Leap Control, the system’s single 6DOF motion controller.

While the interactions and low poly models are fairly simple from a gaming perspective, the effect it has on Lukas was anything but. In a tweet, he says he felt like he and the others were the “[first people] to land on the moon.”

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At this point, it’s clear multiplayer AR is still in its (very) early infancy, with Apple updating their ARKit software only recently to include multiuser AR at its core. This however is experienced through the tiny window of a hand-held iPhone or iPad, and are really more like first steps to get prospective AR developers to think spatially despite the lack of real Apple-brand head-mounted AR hardware.

It’s very likely that in years to come we’ll be popping in and out of our friends and family’s living rooms for a quick chat while going about our daily business, and while the $2,300 Magic Leap One is still very much a developer kit, and a second iteration of Microsoft’s HoloLens has yet to rear its head in response, we’ll be relying on these early pioneers to see just what the AR space can conceptually and practically offer despite its clear hardware limitations.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • jeff courtney

    It does look pretty cool though extremely costly.Recently got a mirage ar with star wars experience sole game.It is limited to that but still very cool,attainable and affordable.Worth it alone if your into breaching the hidden borders of ar tech.Praise Jesus!

    • JJ

      Hail Satan our true leader and provider.

      • Courtney A Jeff

        So you now acknowledge the devil a created being designed by God that was cast out of heaven.You dont believe God by worship His creation…weird.

        • jeff courtney

          And at the same time I apologize for arguing with you and getting offended.Call me whatever you like…crazy ect.I forgive you and ask you to do the same with me.

          • jj

            thats the first sensible thing you’ve said regarding religion. your vr posts arent bad we just don’t like you shoving your religion down our throat. and a simple praise jesus to you comes across as differently to us. You think youre doing good and we just see arrogance and ignorance because you don’t care whether we are interested or not you jsut project your faith into our discussions.

          • jeff courtney

            I will try to not be rude or push my belief and be considerate of your freewill and the vr community.

        • get lost

          are you a retarded or just an delusional idiot?? “god” is just afictional character created by man and so is “satan”…. stupid moron…

          • Get Schwifty!

            Prove it….

          • jj

            he doesnt have to prove anything, its up to you guys to prove he does exist. Actually fine if god does exist then strike this comment down with 2k downvotes. if the votes are there ill go to church this sunday

          • dk

            so Zeus Brahma and every other let’s call them imaginary friends r true unless u can disprove them …right
            if the deity can’t be demonstrated at best it’s a useless claim and the deity in question is indistinguishable from being made up
            as far as the jewish myths that r the basis for the christian/muslim/mormon myths ….the jewish god definitions people give r pretty nonsensical and self contradicting

          • kool

            God is just a word… We were all created and have a creator. Unless you know how we got here how can you shut down someone else’s guess?

        • you are a big idiot!

          • Courtney A Jeff

            Remember your the person obsessing and commenting on my posts.Tracking observing,watching and getting all emotional and enraged.Not me.Have a blessed one in Jesus.

        • gothicvillas

          Come on. Leave this religious mumba jamba to other websites. Here people share their passion in VR.

          • kool

            To be fair he didn’t start the religious discussion.

        • dk

          if your definition of a god includes all knowing and all powerful …..everyone including the devil is nothing more than a character in a book the deity wrote ….the devil character working against an omni god is complete nonsense it’s like Voldemort working against J. K. Rowling

      • Courtney A Jeff

        Go back to school,seems like you stay on the pc all day living home for free sponging off folks.Are you just some kid on here following and committing on every single of my posts.I dont need fans dude.

        • Raphael

          I blocked him some days ago but he immediately logged-in on a “guest” account and continued being spiteful. I responded in a similar fashion and it all spiraled out of control. My suggestion based on a lot of recent experience with him is to BLOCK and REPORT. Don’t even bother trying to reason or de-escalate. It won’t work.

          Block and report… block and report…

      • Courtney A Jeff

        I had pondered on a observation…do you not have a vr unit? Does this anger and attitude derive from envy or jealousy ?

        • jj

          “I had pondered on a observation”….yeah you’re no shakespear so don’t try to make up phrases and learn English. aaaaand bad guess I’m currently sitting next to an oddysey, a focus, asus, go, gear, oculus , 3 vives, vive pro w/ leap motion, tobii eye tracking and thats just whats out on the table…..

          • jeff courtney

            What can you play on the focus? I got a solo and its limited to daydream but in 2d all android apps.

          • jj

            lol nothing is that playable. the hardware is really really nice but there are no games and the ones that are are heavy with chinese and japanese. Its fun making and converting apps onto the vive, you can really see how much more power is there compared to the go, but yeah the market will be dead untill they really release in america for english apps.

            Thanks for asking :)

      • jeff courtney

        Stop writing weird stuff

        • jj

          you did it first

  • Krister Nielsen

    It might not look like much now, but wait a few years and you will see AR everywhere.

    • Muzufuzo

      in 15-20 years, AR will probably be extremely popular, thanks to advances in literally everything, not so much in a few years

  • This should be possible with whatever AR device, the fact that has been made with Magic Leap has been useful for the developers to have more attention

  • Why even slip Apple’s AR into the story? They are years late to the party. Google and Microsoft have done more. Nintendo had great AR in the 3DS 2011, and is still the company to make the most fun experiences with it. The guys at Magic Leap should buy an old 3DS and just steal all of those built-in AR games.

  • jj

    Lucas says it feels like the “[first people] to land on the moon.” can you sound any more dumb. like other have said “This should be possible with whatever AR device” – SkarredGhost and not only should be but IS possible and has already had every form of it made from cell phone ar to mobile to tethered. I used the Zed mini(which i dont even like to ue anymore) and created a multiplayer experience pretty close to this with a pair of vives. So for them to think this equates to anything neeeeaarrr walking on the moon is just so ignorant.