Imagine stepping into the vibrant realms of World of Warcraft, navigating the vast landscapes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, or shaping the endless possibilities of Minecraft. Now, replace the virtual avatar with yourself, the digital realm with the world under your feet, and your controller with your smartphone or an AR device like the Vision Pro. This isn't just play; it's a gateway to weaving your own epic narrative in the very fabric of reality.
Welcome to XAR, an augmented world where you're not just a player but a creator of legends.
From Virtual Worlds to Augmented Worlds
Through years of evolution, virtual world games have produced numerous masterpieces, from the early days of World of Warcraft to the enchanting The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the timeless Minecraft, not to mention the iconic GTA series and The Witcher series. These great works share a common goal: to mimic the physical world and offer players a freedom that surpasses reality.
Remember the exhilaration of your first flight on a griffin in Azeroth, the amusement of tricking pig monsters in Hyrule for the hundredth time, or the thrill of discovering a cache of diamonds deep underground? These moments capture the excitement and satisfaction that come from transcending the physical world. So, why not augment the physical world itself, allowing people to achieve a greater sense of freedom and fulfilment in real life? That's the aim of the augmented world.
The dream of the augmented world is rapidly becoming a reality, fuelled by advancements in AR technology. Today, smartphones serve as gateways to this new realm, turning our immediate surroundings into stages for extraordinary adventures—at no cost beyond the device in your hands. The future promises even more with devices like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest, signalling an era where living within an augmented world is an uninterrupted, immersive experience.
However, hardware alone is not enough, just like virtual worlds, augmented worlds need a lot of content, gameplay and storytelling. XAR aims to build an open infrastructure for this world, crafted together with its players.
From Atoms to Voxels
Virtual worlds continue to simulate the physical world because of their inherent high degree of freedom. The natural world, with its mountains, rivers, flora, and fauna, provides an almost perfect playground for humans, offering endless exploration, vast freedom, and incredible interactivity. Early Greek philosophers believed that the complexity of all things must be composed of the smallest particles - atoms; and that the ever-changing movement should also follow some basic laws - physics. Modern science can now describe the structure of atoms very clearly, and physics explains most phenomena in our daily lives. The natural world uses atom-based ingenuity to provide humans with a nearly perfect playground, with endless exploration, high degrees of freedom, and excellent interactivity.
But what if we could augment the physical world with AR technology, enhancing its interactivity while drastically reducing the cost of interaction? Our answer is voxels. Voxels in the XAR world act as atoms, freely combining into any item and easily dismantled back into voxels at any time. We also provide a set of rules for voxel-based movement and basic physics laws. With these tools, ore, land, flowers, pots, flying insects, dragons, paintings, sculptures - anything you can imagine can be easily constructed. And all of this will be open-source, accessible, and license-free. The richness of the XAR world will depend on the players, designers, and geniuses who join in building XAR.
From Immediate to Spatial Socialization
Another fascinating aspect of the augmented world is its ability to enhance human socialization from a spatial dimension. Letters were humanity's first augmented social tool, enabling communication across different spaces. The development of modern communication tools - telegraphs, telephones, cell phones, and the internet - has continued to improve this communication, making it more efficient and convenient. Today, you can talk in real-time with friends almost anywhere on the planet and socialize in virtual worlds, where socialization has been maximized in the dimension of time.
In contrast, socialization in the same space hasn't changed much. Can family life, community life, workplaces, meeting places, and tourist attractions become as magical and interesting as virtual worlds? The augmented world offers a natural solution to this, which we call Spatial Socialization.
Imagine growing magical plants in your living room to share with your family, walking cherished pets in the community and battling neighbours, playing scavenger hunts at friends' gatherings, teaming up with other tourists to explore the mysteries of relics with NPC guides, and checking out comments or photos left by friends.
This is Spatial Social—the next evolution of connection, where every space becomes a nexus of shared stories and experiences.
From Virtual Items to Virtual Assets
Beyond the adventure, XAR utilizes blockchain technology to turn virtual items into tangible assets. Treasured artefacts, voxel-crafted masterpieces, and the victories against mythical beasts—each becomes a valued asset in XAR's economy. Blockchain ensures that your achievements and creations remain yours, enhancing the world not just through AR but as genuine assets in your journey.
A Call to Creators, Builders, Players, and Visionaries
XAR represents a collective dream to enhance our world, blending the thrill of gaming, the depth of social connections, and the value of digital assets through the lens of augmented reality and blockchain. It's an ambitious journey, one we invite you to join as creators, builders, players, and visionaries.
Welcome to XAR the Augmented World, where your augmented adventure begins.