If you can recall our coverage of Amusement Expo 2018, then you might remember a game by the name of Mystery Island by Touch Magix (who recently became advertisers here on the site at the top). What made this title stand out was it’s “Mixed Reality”(MXR) nature – not in the sense that I’ve seen used by major PC manufacturers lately, but in the truer sense of the term to indicate the use of projection mapping to mix digital objects with the physical. Here’s a video of that initial prototype, in case you missed it or don’t recall:
The game itself is a simple platformer that is easy to understand and play. You control a pirate whose goal is to reach the treasure at the top of the mountain. As you can see from the video there, you face various obstacles (mainly skeletons) on your way up, collecting gold coins along the journey. Where it stands out is in the dynamic projection of mapping the game to a unique, staggered cone. As this cone moves with your pirate, it creates a fascinating effect that is uncommon to find among video games.
The New Mystery Island
We hadn’t heard anything about Mystery Island since, but it was at the AAMA Gala in Chicago this week, thus providing an update. The game has a completely new cabinet to go along with the MXR element, and this game will be available to purchase at IAAPA 2018 next month. Here is the new cabinet:
I haven’t received any info on whether or not the game itself has changed from the prototype build, although in looking closely at the pic above, you can tell a couple of things. First, the background of the island appears to have changed, although this could be one of various designs. The cabinet is more compact than before and is featuring more objects inside. This includes the pirate ship and the lives/scoring HUD is projected onto a cut-out cloud instead of just hanging out in the background. The torches on the marquee also look pretty nice.
I would assume that they have improved the projection effect with more precision than was done before. It is still primarily intended as a videmption game, but Touch Magix has previously mentioned that their games can operate without tickets. I’ll update this post accordingly in the event that we receive more info on the release version:
What do you think about it from the new image?
I rarely get interested in redemption games but this looks great and an interesting concept. I really like the spiral getting to the top of the stage but what happens when they reach the top?
This concept of projection could go much further even if the video and photos don’t do it justice due to quality of the capture.
Reaching the top means you win the posted ticket jackpot, although I did not manage to make it that far to see what kind of animation played.
Overall, it was a fantastic design. Almost like an interactive museum piece.