Sydney start-up launches The Realm System to bring ‘force’ to video games and virtual reality

AN Australian gaming creation launches today, promising to add ‘force’ and ‘feel’ to video games, and taking the Nintendo Wii concept to the next level.

Aussie device to let you ‘feel’ games

THE latest evolution in video game technology could come from a modest garage in Paddington, Sydney, where a small team are creating a way for players to feel the games they play.

The group’s creation, The Realm System, launches on crowd-funding website Kickstarter today, where keen users will be asked to invest in the technology at a cost of $US199 for a developer kit with six motion-sensing games.

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The Realm System co-founder Matt Long said the idea behind the invention began in Britain’s Teeside University, where it was used as a fitness device to assist people with a “sedentary lifestyle”.

Feel the force ... The Realm System for video games launches on Kickstarter today. Picture: Supplied.

“As much as it had these health and fitness benefits, to get it into the hands of as many people as possible, going through the gaming industry was the way to do that,” he said.

“The biggest and the brightest minds in development are in the gaming industry and it’s just a bit more exciting and sexy when it comes to technology.”

The Realm System consists of two hand controllers that fit over the player’s palms and contain sensors to track hand and body movements, including angle and acceleration.

The hand controls are connected to a belt with straps, allowing the device to measure how much resistance players are exerting. It also uses information from a connected camera.

Gaming system ... A belt and hand controls are used to register the player’s force. Picture: Supplied.

Mr Long said Realm added a new dimension to gaming that players had yet to experience.

“Everything you do in the real world has a level of resistance to it, whether that’s picking up a cup of tea or swinging a bat or throwing a ball,” he said.

“What this can do is measure a person’s three-dimensional force, all your angularity of movement, and your energy expenditure in real time. We think this is an evolutionary step in gaming.”

Fitness first ... The Realm System can be used in shooting, sporting and fitness games. Picture: Supplied.

While acknowledging competing motion-sensing offerings from Nintendo’s Wii, Xbox’s Kinect and PlayStation’s Move, Mr Long said by adding resistance to the mix, Realm games would be “more immersive than just waving your arms”.

Users would be able to play Realm games with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, Microsoft’s Xbox One, on a PC with a webcam, or on a tablet or smartphone, he said.

Six resistance-ready games created for the device included a zombie-killing title, fitness rehabilitation game, and sports games and would be included with its online offering.

The company’s Kickstarter project aims to raise $US150,000 in the next 30 days to fund the project, with The Realm System developers kit due to ship to investors in September.

Originally published as Sydney start-up launches The Realm System to bring ‘force’ to video games and virtual reality