Similar to Skyrocket Toy’s Recoil, another A/R laser tag game that debuted last year, 6DoF is essentially a two-grip toy blaster that attaches to a smartphone. Simply slide the phone in, fire up the app, and you’re ready to do battle in virtual/augmented reality. It uses positional tracking technology (SLAM, ARKit, ARCore) so when you run, jump, and duck behind the couch, it runs, jumps, and ducks on screen with you ⏤ no goggles required though. And that’s what’s especially cool about the Merge ⏤ it’s not Pokémon-style augmented reality. During a battle, you’re not looking at an opponent on-screen standing in your kitchen, as you would if you were trying to a catch a Charizard. Rather, it tracks the actual opponent in the room, but on the phone’s screen, they’re inside a video game battlefield as if you were wearing a pair of VR glasses. They call it handheld VR. It’s also cool for a couple of other reasons: First, gamers will be able to play against opponents online as they would with a traditional gaming system, but now they don’t have to sit in front of the television the entire time; and second, Merge has opened up the “Blaster SDK to developers and games studios worldwide” in hopes that they’ll create games and accessories ⏤ so there could be a ton of fun action down the road. Only time will tell. Right now, the 6DoF Blaster is slated to hit stores the summer and will cost $50. Until then, you can read more about it on the Merge website.
