There’s a large mirror in my room, facing my bed. As I slowly open my eyes, I see an alien-like figure emerge right out of that mirror…

…with fear, my body jerks, while my hand reaches out to grab something to defend myself. There’s a RAY GUN??!

A Ray Gun — Credit: Weta Workshop

I’ve never used a Ray Gun before, heck I hadn’t used any gun at all, but instinctively I squeeze the trigger and out came the laser beams that decimated the alien-like creatures in no time. My heart was pounding, as you can imagine.

I pinch my own arm, just to make sure this ain’t a dream. It isn’t.

I hear a squawk in the living room. I head over to check, and guess what…

…the alien-like bodies are swarming all over my house. I start shooting them — when shot, they turn into smoke and just vanish. I’m perplexed, what is going on, I wonder. This is unreal — it’s creepy, yet thrilling!

A Game like No Other

Within seconds a virtual screen appears before my eyes. It says, “You’ve been awarded a SENTRY.” Wow, so now I have a machine soldier to guard my home and defend myself?!

And more of those weird creatures emerge from within my living room and the kitchen — from the ceiling and through the walls. The Sentry and I, are all over the place… Suddenly, I feel invincible!

You may have guessed it already. I’m inside a game — a game, like no other.

I’m not a gamer. The only game I’ve tried playing before this was Mario… and I sucked at it. This was different. This made me “feel” alive. I’m excited about life than ever before.

Mixed Reality, a Not So Distant Future

I’m playing this game on a platform that’s transforming the world. In 2018, five years ago, I was wondering if I would get a chance to even experience such an amazing platform called ‘Mixed Reality’ or MR for short.

Mixed Reality removes the need for screens…I neither need a desktop, nor a phone screen to gather information. The world is my computer now.

I am not restricted by a rectangular screen anymore.

All the information I need is right in front of my eyes — every step of the way.

The entertainment is as immersive as it gets.

Everything is Now Augmented

Unlike in Virtual Reality or VR, my surroundings are clearly visible in Mixed Reality. The digital objects are placed on the physical world. They augment the physical world with information. Remember the Pokemon Go from 2016?

The Famous Pokemon Go game, 2016 — Credit: Digital Trends

The definition of Augment:

to make (something) greater by adding to it; increase.

synonyms: increase, make larger, make bigger, make greater, add to, supplement, top up, build up, enlarge, expand, extend, raise, multiply, elevate, swell, inflate;

Not just augmenting, in Mixed Reality, the objects also understand their surroundings. What this means is you could hide a digital cat behind a couch and let your kid go find it by walking around that couch.

These digital objects seem so real that when I reach out to touch one of them, it ‘feels’ like it’s right there — like a physical object.

My mind tricks me into thinking that that’s an object just hanging in the air. Mind-blowing!

Five Years Ago — March 19, 2018 — An Historic Day!

I recall the day, exactly on this date — March 19th, 2018, half a decade ago, this super-awesome team in Wellington, New Zealand, that worked in Hollywood movies such as The Lord of the Rings and Avatar had designed and developed this Mixed Reality Game.

Back in 2018, Weta Gameshop was unveiled by the New Zealand PM: Jacinda Ardern

It took them 6 years to build it. The then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern unveiled the Weta Gameshop. In that interview, she’d mentioned this Mixed Reality wasn’t just going to revolutionize gaming but, she remarked “it would have much broader impact.”

Sir Richard Taylor, the boss-man of Weta said, “This is the rocket-ship for the mind. This is truly as brain expanding as I have ever encountered in my life…”

This truly is a game like none other…

It’s based on a Science-Fiction World of Dr. Grordbort!

The game was designed in association with another revolutionary company (the ever-so-secretive) Magic Leap. The company and its products have been revolutionizing the reality as we know it.

And it all started that March. We were about to march into a new reality — the Mixed Reality!

What a time to be alive! Thank you Weta. Thank you Magic Leap!