*This exceedingly interesting entertainment experiment is the first "mixed reality" effort that really seems to me to deserve the term "mixed reality." It's not just geolocative; it's got prepared stage-sets and also uses intensely dramatic real-world locales.
*All the world's a stage, if you look at it right.
http://www.ronaldazuma.com/westwood.html
The Westwood Experience
Connecting Story to Locations via Mixed Reality
A research project and production by Nokia Research Center Hollywood
"Almost all experiences on mobile phones today focus all user attention onto a 3-4 inch screen. Can we develop new forms of mobile media that are more compelling because they make meaningful, human connections to the real world around a user?
"The Westwood Experience was a location-based experience that experimented with making an experience on a mobile device more compelling by tying a story to unique and powerful real locations. We enabled such connections between a narrative and the real world around the participants through various Mixed Reality effects and other techniques.
"We also enhanced the experience by exploiting the skills and resources that exist in Hollywood to provide high production values (for a research project). The writer is an Emmy-award winner. The actor playing the Mayor is a professional with over 200 credits listed on IMDB. The composer won G4’s award for best video game soundtrack in 2009. We rented two spaces and had a set designer completely change one of the rooms to another era.
"To learn more:
"Watch the six minute video overview (59 MB, .mov format)
"Read the detailed description page
"Read the ISMAR AMH 2010 paper"
