An arcade classic makes a mixed reality comeback on Quest
The iconic Atari game Missile Command is being reimagined for mixed reality. I tried the free demo.
I've never played Missile Command myself, but I know it from a scene in Terminator 2 where John Connor plays it in an arcade (Youtube link).
In the game, nuclear missiles rain down on a city from above. With the help of ground-to-air defense missiles, you must prevent the nuclear impact. Use the trackball to mark where in the sky you want the missiles to explode. If the explosion cloud hits the nuclear missiles, they will be destroyed and the city will be saved.
The upcoming Meta Quest game Airspace Defender is inspired by Missile Command and reinvents this game mechanic with spatial gameplay and hand tracking.
Mixed reality breathes new life into an old game
Instead of a flat screen, you have a hemisphere in front of you. At the left and right edges are defensive missile launchers, which you fire with your left and right hands by pinching at the desired point in space.
The mixed reality game requires some movement, as it is difficult to predict the location of impact from a fixed perspective. Missile Command literally takes on a new dimension with Airspace Defender.
If the nuclear missiles hit a district, it will be wiped off the map. The districts are your "lives," and if they are all destroyed, you have to start over. If you survive a wave of attacks, you can use the money you earn to increase your stock of defensive missiles, buy better defenses, or invest the money in rebuilding a district (i.e. more "lives"). The goal is to survive as many waves as possible.
Air Space Defender is still in the early stages of development, but it already shows how the spatial medium of virtual and mixed reality can breathe new life into a classic 2D game.
You can try out current beta version for free by joining the release channel on the linked page. You can then download it from the Store.
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