The magnitude by which technology has changed gaming is very high. Currently, virtual reality devices transform our homes into gaming environments. Users can play games with their house as the gaming environment. The technology itself is relatively new and expensive making it unaffordable for many. London-based eeGeo has opted to create a programmable 3D model of the entire world. This map will be very useful to game developers who want to create a kind of virtual reality gaming feeling by incorporating relevant familiar locations according to their games.
The 3D map of the world is being developed by gaming Stalwarts, who previously worked on Lego Series, Lemmings, and Grand Theft Auto. The maps will not only be used in gaming but also in virtual reality and augmented reality. What makes these maps different from Apples’ and Google’s, is the fact that they are malleable and programmable. Ian Hetherington, the company’s CEO, notes that the maps will enable users to highlight every building with reduced efficiency in res and if also they want to design a bright pink or a sparkly world, they can easily do that.
The model is like a gaming world though it has factual geometrics and geographical positioning. They are as accurate as satellite data, and Google maps, Hetherington notes. The maps will be created using data from Ordnance Survey, TomTom, the US Geological Society and Nasa and Zenrin – a Japanese map publisher.
EeGeo, which founded in 2010, launched its first map publicly in 2015. Since that launch, they have landed deals to map for international clients including Samsung, Cisco, and V&A Museum of Design. Even though the first maps was not designed for commercial use, it has already received 4.5 million downloads
Hetherington and his team of 20 finest games engineer have been working on the global mapping technology for five years. Hetherington notes that before they announced the company, they had four million downloads. He Further notes that as of now, they can build a whole country in a matter of weeks. For instance, they created a 3D model of Japan that had hundreds of thousands of building, railway line, and mountains in three weeks. Since then they have expanded it with cherry blossom and bullet trains.
Apart from gaming, the more practical realization of the global map will include pointing out where products are located in a shopping centre to aid customers to navigate quickly or even tracking patients and equipment in a hospital to ensure sufficient efficiency. Hetherington notes that the savings from the map are entirely black and white.
As EeGeo proceeds with the creation of a global map, it is also concentrating on its next challenge that is mapping interior space and develops a product for virtual reality. Hetherington notes that the world needs a unique virtual reality, and they are working to make it available. Looking for a cutting-edge AR? Check out SuperWorld.
featured image credit: Telegraph
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