Google seems as excited for ‘Star Wars’ as any other fan of the series, and their new experimental game ‘Lightsaber Escape’ on Chrome will make you a Jedi. The tech giant has rolled out an exciting way to ramp up the hype for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. It’s simple, easy to use, and won’t take much of your time.
Interested users need to head over to their Chrome browser on desktop or laptop, and type in “Lightsaber Escape” into the search engine. Or, they could directly visit lightsaber.withgoogle.com to get their unique code. Google will instruct you to type it in on your smartphone, which will essentially turn your mobile device into the electric blue lightsaber of a Jedi Guardian.
Calibrate and go
The monitor will turn into the vessel to carry you through the short game, while your smartphone will become your one and only weapon. From there, it’s quick swinging, wild slashing, subtle blocking, and controlled motions to get through the groups of First Order Stormtroopers as you navigate the Star Destroyer. Without spoiling it, the point of the short web game is, as it says in the title, to escape.
There won’t be any acrobatics involved, and, sadly, no use of pushing, dashing, jumping, or choking with the Force. Google is keeping it short and sweet. However, it’s an interesting way to promote the upcoming movie, build up excitement, and let Google show off what it can do.
“Lightsaber Escape” is a fun little web adventure, but it’s just one of the over 1,000 Google Experiments. It was born out of a collaboration between Disney, LucasFilm, the team behind the visual design of the upcoming movie, Industrial Light & Magic, and, of course, Google. The tech giant is jumping on the ‘Star Wars’ bandwagon, but they’re also proving what sort of programs it can design using just Javascript, WebGL, and HTML5.
The immersive 3D graphics boasts the endless possibilities of creating a genuinely decent-looking game and an entertaining experience. Other than magic, Google made use of WebRTC and WebSocket to maintain the real-time connection between the online game and your smartphone. It assures as smooth communication and quick responses to your movements.
It’s essentially the perfect way to promote the upcoming movie, engage users, and show off the powers of HTML5. However, Adobe Flash has long since lost that battle.
According to the company, other browsers could be used to enjoy “Lightsaber Escape”, but they recommend Chrome for the best user experience. All you need is your smartphone, and a few minutes of spare time. If you’re at work or school, it’s not precisely recommended unless it’s ok to wave your arms around in front of the computer screen. You have been warned.
Image source: lowyat.net
