When Microsoft unveiled its HoloLens virtual reality headset during its Windows 10 event earlier this week, a large part of its demo featured footage of Minecraft being played using the new tech.
In the video debuting the upcoming wearable, a man was depicted building his virtual world in the sandbox game, with it being laid out across the floor and furniture in his living room. It certainly looked impressive, but according to Microsoft it will also fundamentally change the way the game is played.
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Speaking during a Q&A session following the reveal of the HoloLens, a spokesperson for the company said that the head-mounted display allows Minecraft to take on “a whole new life” that veterans players of the game will be floored by. If the HoloLens lives up to Microsoft’s impressive claims, then it’s easy to see why the HDR would turn the world of Minecraft on its head. Previously the game has only been playable using a tradition first-or-third-person viewpoint, though the demo showed it being played as more of a city-building game, similar to the likes of SimCity.
The debut trailer for the HoloLens, featuring video footage of Minecraft appearing on the VR headset.
The huge worlds players create in Minecraft currently take a considerable amount of time and effort, given that players must traverse through the world as their player-character in order to build them. However, having a complete overview of the game’s map would enable these creations to be built in far less time, if that is the direction developer Mojang is looking to take it.
Mojang’s Jens Bergensten spoke of Minecraft‘s HoloLens appearance following the tech’s debut, saying that there were two versions of the game that had appeared on the headset, one of which Bergensten branded a “toy” while the other was “closer to the real thing.” It remains to be seen which version HoloLens owners will eventually get their hands on, and how the game will finally appear on the wearable.
