How did we get to where we are today, to what constitutes the state-of-the-art?
Lego as we know them have been around since the 1950’s, and aside from the introduction of new styles of bricks and the implementations they have remained relatively unchanged in their use and abilities. Lego Mindstorms were introduced in 1998, and with that, programming, motors, pneumatics, giving Lego the ability to move and be automated. This was Legos first step into working with computers and more modern technology and they have worked to improve that in the years since with Lego Boost in 2017 and in 2019 Lego created the first theme that utilizes augmented reality, that being “Hidden Sides” which pairs the physical properties and building aspects of traditional Lego with augmented reality integration in phones to add a digital play aspect providing a new way to interact with Lego.
How does your project build on and extend that history rather than just re-enacting it?
Currently the only them by lego to utilize augmented reality is the “Hidden Sides” where players scan the sets for ghosts and interact with certain parts of the set to defeat the ghosts and add to a collection of ghosts captured/defeated. My hopes for this project is to use mixed reality to add to the scale of lego beyond just the pieces of the set themselves and explore other styles of play beyond what is shown with Hidden Sides. If possible I would like to explore more of a multiplayer element.
What previous technologies and what advances in other areas fed into the development of your area?
Well for starters smartphones and other handheld devices have really opened the doorway to what we can do and where, things like using gps and implementing it in mobile games is just an example. Another technology that makes this possible is the developments in augmented reality and digital overlaying.
Are there major stylistic milestones, and how did they reflect the culture at the time?
The idea of play has shifted quite a bit with the transition and ease of access to digital devices, with Legos recent ventures they have attempted to bridge the gap between traditional play and digital play. This idea could be improved upon to work with our current situation as well with the current pandemic, allowing individuals to use that mixed reality to be able to play together in both a physical and digital space simultaneously.
Who were some of the pioneers in the field?
Murray Andrews: game designer and project lead for Lego Hidden Sides
Morton Heilig was the first to achieve augmented reality with the invention of the sonsorama, a device that delivered sounds, vibrations, scents, and visuals to a user in 1957.