Published 6 March 2023
Michael, Michael and Andy start things off for this edition of Games at Work with an intriguing report on how a number of companies in Japan are founding a metaverse infrastructure called Ryugukoku. It is envisioned that participants in this environment will encounter metaverse services and content that “takes on the form of a moving ‘city’, ‘castle’, or ‘vehicle’ that roams around the virtual world” according to a Fujitsu press release. Furthermore, the metaverse infrastructure will have identity management, payment settlement, digital twins and a number of additional services provided by member companies. It will be very interesting to see how this develops!
Then, the co-hosts take on several headset stories, beginning with an MIT Media Lab project called X-AR, which provides x-ray vision to locate RF tagged items. Then, the team takes a look at the German startup Tooz, who have created an implementation of AR lenses that fit in very normal looking eyeglass frames. Next, the team considers a story from iMore about how the Apple VR headset may look, as well as the reported functionality of “air typing” as a user experience.
Then, the team turns their attention to generative solutions on several fronts. Among them is a camera that translates to text what it sees and then feeds that text into an image generator to produce a picture. Another example is Perilous Shores, which generates fantastic fantasy maps which could be used in role playing games. Then, the co-hosts look at scenario.com which allows the easy and rapid production of game assets. Michael R produces some cool potion bottles – see an example in the show notes below.
Wrapping things up for this episode, the team discuss the new APIs from OpenAI for ChatGPT and Whisper. They also touch on Wired Magazine’s policy statement for how they will and will not use generative AI technology for the magazine.
Do you have a philosophy for how you will (or will not) use generative AI? Have your bots 🤖 drop our bots 🤖 a line at @gamesatwork_biz (our home for now) and let us know!
These show notes were lovingly hand crafted by a real human, and not by a bot. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
Selected Article Links
metaverse + AR
The Register article: Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, pals proclaim ‘Japan Metaverse Economic Zone’
Fujitsu Press Release: Launching Industrial Applications of the Metaverse for a Digital Twin Society
EurekAlert article: Augmented reality headset enables users to see hidden objects
MIT Media Lab project: X-AR is an augmented reality (AR) system that gives humans “X-Ray Vision”
Wikipedia article: X-Ray Specs
Boy Genius Report article: Tooz AR glasses finally add AR to eyeglasses that look normal
iMore article: Apple VR headset won’t require an iPhone, will have “in-air typing”
Games at Work e192 – PVP-Y (Mr. Mumbles)
AI
Hackaday article: This Camera Produces a Picture, Using the Scene Before It
Perilous Shores generative maps
Games at Work e370 – Driving with the Queen (map generation)
scenario.com AI generated game assets
Dogear Nation e158 Vile in a Vial from June 2010
Engadget article: ThinkGeek is selling Mana Energy Potion if you want it
Ars Technica article: ChatGPT and Whisper APIs debut, allowing devs to integrate them into apps
Wired Magazine article: How WIRED Will Use Generative AI Tools
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:08 — 47.7MB) | Embed
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