Niantic makes augmented reality games like Pokemon go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. These games allow players to venture into the real world and interact with overlapping characters and elements. The company is now partnering with the Punchdrunk theater group to bring its technology to the stage. By adding AR to the immersive drama, the two hope to create a new type of narrative experience.
Punchdrunk is the company behind Sleep no more, a count of Macbeth That doesn’t have a traditional approach to theater. Instead, the audience is immersed in a set with multiple rooms where they can examine props, spy on the actors, and put together the narrative pieces for themselves. While Niantic hasn’t provided any details on how its AR technology could be integrated into this type of production, it appears that Punchdrunk could create virtual props, characters, and settings that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to include in a play, either because of issues. cost or size.
