HoloLens Development Edition pre-orders are coming in fast

While VR may be all the rage nowadays, particularly on PC and consoles, we see a whole lot of potential in augmented reality (AR) technology.

Microsoft’s HoloLens, an AR headset, is one of these devices.

Since yesterday, the 29^th of February, Microsoft has begun taking pre-orders for the HoloLens Development Edition at the very expensive price of $3,000 (R47,000) per unit.

This edition of the HoloLens officially launches on the 30^th of March. The release is all part of a roll-out for businesses and developers.

Microsoft will provide tutorials, documentation and information to companies so that they can develop apps and games with AR in mind.

For game developers, the Development Edition will include three playable HoloLens games developed by Microsoft. The three games in question are Fragments, Young Conker, and RoboRaid.

These games will showcase the gaming applications and capabilities of augmented reality. This is relevant to game developers who will be the obvious early adopters of the HoloLens.

With the release of the Development Edition, Microsoft aims to create a software ecosystem within which they can sell future versions of the HoloLens to regular consumers.

One of the first games that comes with this version of the HoloLens is Fragments. The game situates you in an AR crime drama.

You’ll be able to investigate crimes, find clues and eventually solve said crimes through character interactions. The game promises a higher level of emotional engagement that will blur the line between the digital and real world.

The second game that is bundled with the HoloLens is Young Conker, taking Rare’s popular squirrel character away from his platforming roots.

Conker makes his way into the real world in this game. The gameplay experience with Young Conker changes depending on the environment you find yourself in.

This means every player has a unique gameplay experience, since every person’s real world environment differs drastically.

The final game that makes the overall package is RoboRaid. Previously known as Project X-Ray, RoboRaid is a first-person shooter that has you fighting off alien invaders.

In the game, you use a device called a Clicker to shoot at waves of enemies as they fly into your room shooting lasers.

RoboRaid is an interesting game because it makes use of spatial sounds as part of its gameplay design and alerts you to the direction enemies are attacking from.

Amazingly, RoboRaid was created by eight people over just 12 weeks.

There will be non-gaming apps included with the HoloLens as well. One of these apps is HoloStudio that is used to design 3D environments, objects and characters in actual 3D.

HoloStudio also teaches developers how to use the HoloLens’s interaction model. The model is made up of gaze, gesture, and voice inputs. These can be used within games and applications.

The Development Edition will run an enhanced version of Skype, which will allow people using Skype on Windows devices to communicate and interact within a holographic environment.

In this regard, Skype could perhaps revolutionise how we communicate through the added benefit of augmented reality.

The final non-gaming app included is HoloTour which gives users 360-degree panoramic views of international destinations. For example, you can walk around the city of Rome in glorious 3D visuals and sound.

With all this awesome content coming bundled with the HoloLens, AR is definitely something to be excited for.

Seeing games like Minecraft be taken to the next level with the HoloLens gives us hope that AR could have a much bigger impact on gaming.

It will be very interesting to see what type of games come out upon the release of Microsoft’s HoloLens Development Edition.

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